# Do you leave your dog's collar on?



## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there as to whether you should leave your dogs collar on all the time or not. 

What do you do and why?

My boys wear their collars from the time they get until the time they go to bed. They don't go out (even in the fenced yard) without a collar and tags. There have been several times where I have been very grateful that they had collars on and (fortunately) I've never had an experience where I wish they didn't have them on.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Bailey wears her collar all the time, usually without tags, as she usually has to be on leash and the tags get ruined/lost anywhere we go.

Frag doesn't always wear his collar in the yard, and usually doesn't wear one inside as he breaks out of his crate and has gotten snagged before. He's reliable though and he's chipped. He doesn't wear his collar at the park or for agility either, as he swims and I don't want him getting snagged on agility equipment.

Duke wears his collar AND tags 24/7 per the rescue's rules, with their contact info on it and his ID number.


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## Sendiulino (Jun 20, 2011)

Yes, she has a flat quick-release collar that she wears all the time. (and yes, I realize quick-release isn't a guarantee, but I thought it was worth mentioning, because I won't allow her to wear a buckle-collar 100% of the time -- that's just me)

The "why" is mostly convenience. Right now she's just learned to ring a bell on the back door to go out to pee, and at 4.5 months old, she has to pee a LOT. We have a fenced yard but she can't be trusted off-leash (she puts everything in her mouth, like rocks, etc), so we have to leash her and personally walk her out to the yard. Having to get her collar on every time would be a nightmare and would not help with her potty-training (she needs to learn that ringing the bell = immediately I get to go outside to pee, so she can make the connection more quickly. Lo and behold, it worked).

As she gets older and we don't have to rush her out at the drop of a hat, I'd imagine you'll find us leaving her collar off. But as it stands, she's had it on since her last bath three weeks ago.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

collars are off when on our property at all times. When we leave our property the collars go on, unless I take them off while out for a specific training purpose.


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## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

I don't use collars, but I keep a harness on at all times except when at the dog park, playing with other dogs (who tend to use her harness as a handle), or when sleeping.


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## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

Mine are on at all times except in crates. If they are milling around the apartment they are on, sleeping they are on, all the time. Misty is not trust worthy to not chase a rabbit (they are in abundance here in the middle of the Metroplex - weird) and Sierra is so friendly she will follow anyone if she were to get out. Because I live in a city, in an apartment I figure it is safer to have them "labeled." Speaking of which I need to change their tags from our old address to the new one (at least I got the tags made already)


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## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

Aidan wears his collar during the day. He doesn't wear it at night when everyone is asleep (no supervision), or when he is in his crate or ex-pen.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

She doesn't wear a collar except for when we're outside. They she wears a collar with tags. This isn't because of any specific incident or anything, I just think she looks prettier without them and doesn't get her neck fur all ruffled.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

No collar/tags in the house or yard. I also take them off for training/sports purposes, even if we're outdoors and in unfenced areas. Kit is the sort of dog who will just stare up at you waiting for a command after you unclip her leash/collar. She's way too into people to run away or escape. I do worry about the possibility of snagging a collar on something though.


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## Louisexx (Aug 3, 2011)

I just put on collar when I need to walk with dog outside..
I take it off when we stay at home~


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## dmickle1 (Jun 19, 2011)

I take my dog's collars off when they're inside and only use them when we're outdoors  Not for any safety reasons, I just like that their neck fur doesn't get all displaced. Atlas, especially, has kind of a big ruff that collars make a dent in.


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## Deeken (Feb 14, 2011)

I only put collars on if I'm taking Deek for a walk. My last dog wore collars all the time because she was a bolter. Deeken is the extreme opposite of a bolter and likes to rub against everything. I figure the chances of him getting hung up on a collar are higher than the chances of his running off. Plus they totally ruin his ruff.


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## Shiningsummer (May 24, 2010)

The only times my dogs wear their collars are on walks and in class. Otherwise they're nekkid.


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## Mdawn (Mar 3, 2007)

Well...I don't have a specific "rule" about it. Uallis a lot of the time has his collar off. I WANT it on him when he goes outside but sometimes I forget and he goes outside without. Eddie...he normally always has his collar on because he gets huffy when I take it off. 

I don't really worry about it one way or another, EXCEPT when they are off property, then collars and tags are to be on. Once my boyfriend brought Uallis into my work with JUST his car harness on and no collar or tags. I was NOT happy.


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## katG (Jun 27, 2011)

I leave Trucker's collar on except when we go to bed. I also worry about it being on when he is home alone, but the risk of him getting out without his collar and tags scares me more. My family comes and goes all day long, and my dad has Parkinson's Disease (he is home most of the day) and sometimes has difficulty getting in and out of the doors, so I worry that he would accidentally let the dog outside and not be able to catch him. Our Boxer never wears a collar.. only a harness when we go on walks. Our Bostons wear collars all day and off at night when they are crated.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Blaze hardly ever wears a collar. unless he is on a leashed walk/going to a pet store/dog event ect. Dog parks and such he hardly ever wears one.

Soloman wears a collar everytime we go some where.

Both of them get their collars off the second they come in from some where. espeacially since most places we go involves swimming, and id never let them sit in wet collars.


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## sawsall (Jun 22, 2011)

Collar with tag on at all times. The puppy could accidentally escape the yard or house at any time so I see no purpose in removing the collar.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Day time- it's really random if Bus will have a collar on. Outside he's either wearing a collar, harness or slip leash. He's never been one to bolt out of the house. IF he goes out the front door, he waits on the porch or goes to welcome the guests arriving. The one time he's gotten out the back door he went to wait on the front porch until we noticed he'd gotten out. Night time- he's always naked. It's a habit that started when his first collar. It was a little too big and I didnt like leaving it on him when he wasnt being supervised. No tags inside, he's gotten them caught in air conditioning/heating vents more than once...


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## brandiw (Jan 20, 2010)

Heather and Sasha wear collars most of the time, Moe wears his all of the time. I keep a collar on Moe all of the time because he can be aggressive towards strangers, and if any sort of issue pops up, I want to be able to use the collar to control him. Also, animal control in my town doesn't always scan for microchips, so even though mine are chipped, I'm much more likely to get them back if they have a collar with tags on.


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## osdbmom (Feb 15, 2011)

I leave mine with collars and tags on all the time. Just very lightweight, nylon collars with their tags. We dont have a fenced yard and Im scared if one bolts nobody could catch her to leash her, and even if they did, they wouldnt be able to call me or know where she belonged.
This happened to a friend of mine over the summer. They dont keep collars on the dogs, and one got out one day while they were gone. She was next to impossible to catch and leash, she had to be caught bodily, which was hard, then the person who finally did catch her had no idea where she belonged, so my friend spent 3 days walking around handing out flyers and scared to death she'd never see her again. 


If I took their collars off every time they came in the house, Id have to put it back on every time I took them outside. Since they are both so young, Id be doing that like 50 times a day


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

Louisexx said:


> I just put on collar when I need to walk with dog outside..
> I take it off when we stay at home~


This for us as well.

She has gotten the "s" hook of her tags snagged in the carpet whilst rolling around on her new toy (thank God I was right there!) Then she got her tags snagged on the metal frame for her food/water bowls. My neighbor was there and it was scary for both of them!

So, outside - collar on.
Inside - collar off.

She is microchipped, so if she gets loose without her collar I won't worry as much.


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## JulieK1967 (May 29, 2011)

Molly wears her collar/tags anytime she's going to be taken outside of our fenced yards. Inside, she's naked but chipped, lol.


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## melundie (Aug 2, 2011)

My dog always wears her collar and tags. We take it off to wash them separately when she gets a bath and she'll actually bring it to me (from wherever it is!) so that I will put it back on her. Does the same thing with her bandanna.  Growing up, our dogs always wore choke chains. That was kind of the old logic with training and obedience--at least where we went, which grant it, probably wasn't the best. We just didn't know any better. Now, the thought makes me cringe and we have never and would never put one on Colby. 

Scary story if your dog wears one: my aunt's dog was playing with another dog when the other dog's teeth got stuck in her dog's choke chain collar. It actually strangled him to death--while they were watching! My aunt and cousins went over to help free the dog, but because they didn't have bolt cutters handy, the dog ended up dying right in my cousin's arms. We took the chain off our dog that day and have never put on on another dog since.


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## Keyray (Jun 30, 2011)

Vada wears her collar at all times, except when she sleeps at night and once in awhile when everyone is home and not going out anywhere. The area I live in requires all dogs and cats to be chipped and wear collars with tags at all times. There are quite a few rules on pets and they can be fairly strict (not that everyone follows the rules).


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

No, I never put them on my dogs. The only time they wear them is if we go for a Ranger ride far away from the house. My original reason for keeping them off was because I didnt like that line it left in their fur. Later, I started hearing about the safety reasons, so thats why I leave them off now. I worry about them getting hung up on something. My guide-in-training, who does not belong to me, is required to wear her collar with tags at all times. She's never left alone though, so I dont worry about her.


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## Sparrow (Jul 17, 2011)

Depends. 

I never leave any kind of training on unless the dog is in training or I am right there in direct control if something goes wrong.

If the dogs are in the secure yard the collars come off. Even the flat buckle collars.

If my dogs are working in the field it depends on what job they're doing whether or not the buckle collar, training collar or harness stays on. My dogs wear an orange working dog vest so we don't get turned in with people thinking they're panthers or cougars. Hate for our conservation agents to get false calls like that but if they're working in dense brush or heavy cover then I put the vests on breakaway so that they don't hang up & get hurt.

If they're doing water work the collars come off but the lifevests stay on which have a handle at the top if the handler has to assist in getting the dog into the boat.

Policy at our place is if the dog is going to be unattended... the collar comes off. Mine are never allowed to roam.


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## McBee (Jul 1, 2011)

Collars are typically off. If they were on, they get used as something to bit/grab when playing. They get put on for walks or car rides.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

The only time my dogs wear a collar is when a leash is attached or when I am travelling somewhere in the car. I always figure if I had an accident and the dogs got loose, it would be more likely that I would get them back with the information on their tags. They never wear them at home as my place is well fenced and they aren't the sort of dogs that would wander off without me.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

Off in the house
Off in the back yard
Off at the park

On in the front yard
On when we go for walks

My dogs are chipped and tattooed.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

On during the day, off at night. For me and my dogs, in the area in which we live, there is a bigger risk of the dogs running off and/or getting taken by someone than there is of them getting caught by their collars in anything.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

On pretty much 24/7. Collar comes off for baths and sometimes for neck scratches and re-fluffing the fur under the collar. He doesn't like the collar coming off. When I remove it and set it down he'll either watch the collar or pick it up and bring it to me to put it back on.


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

My dogs have always worn collars 24/7 while I was growing up and that is what I am going to do with my dogs because my dogs could get loose and run off at any time, and I know when I find a dog the first thing I do is look for a collar with an ID tag so that I know the dog belongs to someone and isn't a stray. Microchips and tattoos, while useful if you know to look for them, don't provide a visual cue that hey this dog is someone's lost pet and not a random stray. Plus if they have a tag with a phone number someone can instantly contact me if they find my dog and don't have to go look up who to call using the microchip reader or whatever.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

melundie said:


> Scary story if your dog wears one: my aunt's dog was playing with another dog when the other dog's teeth got stuck in her dog's choke chain collar. It actually strangled him to death--while they were watching! My aunt and cousins went over to help free the dog, but because they didn't have bolt cutters handy, the dog ended up dying right in my cousin's arms. We took the chain off our dog that day and have never put on on another dog since.


Wow, that's horrible. I've seen dogs get caught like that with nylon collars, but they were able to get them apart in time.

For Buffy:
home: no collar
fenced backyard: no collar
walks/traveling/classes: martingale collar w/tags
playing with other dogs away from my house (dog park, friend visits, daycare): breakaway collar w/ID tag

She's microchipped.

She once got caught on a garden fence while still a small puppy. She was out there for a good 20 minutes in the heat without me checking on her (I was sick that day and laid down on the sofa after letting her out). When I finally checked on her, her front paw was over the fence, trying to relieve the pressure on her neck and her one back paw was just touching the ground. She was glassy-eyed and panting like crazy and, once I freed her and brought her inside, she walked in slow circles and then was a little out of it for a bit. I still feel so bad that I left her unattended (the first time since I had her), and that she could've died due to my laziness. So, yeah, no collars when she's unattended anymore.


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## Bubbly (Mar 20, 2010)

Before Fergus, our foster dog, came to us, Bubbles wears her collar during the daytime.

However, that changed since Fergus came. I don't know how he got to it, but he's got the nasty habit of grabbing other dog's collars with his mouth when he's playing. During his first day or two with me, he grabbed Bubbles' collar during play and was trying to drag her and I can hear her choking. So from that point on when they're together Bubbles' collar comes off unless we take them for walks.


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## jkliveng (Jul 7, 2011)

melaka said:


> Wow, that's horrible. I've seen dogs get caught like that with nylon collars, but they were able to get them apart in time.
> 
> For Buffy:
> home: no collar
> ...


does your martingale collar slip off and on or do you have to untighten and re do each time? I have heard people say you should be able to slip them off but the guy at the pet store said otherwise.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Aren't martingale collars loose unless pressure is applied? Not 100% sure, have never used one myself.
My dog's collar is ALWAYS on (minus baths every few months) and VERY loose. Like I can pull it off him without unbuckling it (though it has to squeeze by his ears a little). I know this is probably the worst combination ever. 
But the area he has in our house is small, literally one room and a hallway. There is absolutely nothing he can get it caught on. He's lived like that for 5 years. And he walks great on the leash so we've never had a problem with him slipping out of it. 
Which isn't to say nothing will ever happen but... old habits die hard.


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## jkliveng (Jul 7, 2011)

it's loose but it won't go over his head, to make it loose enough to go over his head then when it pulls the rings touch, and I thought that was what was not suppose to happen. I need to mess with it some


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

jkliveng said:


> does your martingale collar slip off and on or do you have to untighten and re do each time? I have heard people say you should be able to slip them off but the guy at the pet store said otherwise.


I tighten and re-do it each time. It wont slip over her head comfortably.


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## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

Bella used to wear her collar all of the time when we first got her to get her used to having it on. I take it off usually in the house - but it goes right back on if there is a lot of traffic going through (doors being opened and closed like when my niece and nephew are over). She gets it put on when we go for walks as well as they have her ID/phone number to call if she gets lost and her rabies tag. I'm not worried about them getting ruined as her leash goes on her harness.


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## malamutelove (Dec 6, 2010)

on at all times. We live on property that isn't fenced. Well it is behind, and all the sides but not in front. Though you have to get though a forest and like a mile driveway to get the the street. I like to have the collar on because just in case maggie runs off. Malamutes are known to do that. She is only on the property with me at all times never by herself. We do have a fenced dog yard she runs around in.


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

My dog's martingales just slip on over his head. But he's a sighthound so he has a pretty thick neck and a little pin head 

Because he wears a martingale, I never leave Zephyr's collar on when I'm not with him, or when he's in his crate; I wouldn't want it to get caught on something and choke him/collapse his trachea. But I think he looks cuter with a collar than without so when we're just hanging around the house I will often put it on him, but sometimes I don't bother. If we come back from going somewhere I'll usually just leave the collar on until he goes in his crate or we go to bed. He probably wears a collar maybe 1/4 of the time.


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## Khloe (Jun 29, 2011)

Khloe's naked most of the time. He has his collar & tags on for walks and at the dog park, but that's about it.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

jkliveng said:


> does your martingale collar slip off and on or do you have to untighten and re do each time? I have heard people say you should be able to slip them off but the guy at the pet store said otherwise.


I'm not sure what the proper way is, but I'm able to pull her collar over her head. She has a pretty tiny head and thick neck, and it's tight enough that she hasn't been able to get out of it yet.


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