Collar or no Collar?

[jennifert9]

This may be a strange topic but I have a question...how many of you leave your dog's collar on all the time? This is my dilemma:
I prefer to leave Duncan's collar on him at all times, #1 because it has all his identifying information on it like his rabies tag and his microchip info and #2 because I need a way to hold on to him when he doesn't have a leash on. (like when someone knocks on the door and I have to hold him while I open it)
However, my boyfriend always takes it off and swears Duncan likes it better off. Now I kind of agree with him because Duncan seems to love having his collar off and having his neck scratched. I worry though when I'm at work that something horrible will happen, like the house will catch on fire or someone will break in and Duncan will be loose w/o a collar....
So anyway, the second half of this problem is Duncan's neck itself...He has one of those necks that hangs down you know? I can't remember what it's called, I think a cowl? he's got a lot of extra skin and hair underneath his neck, like a St. Bernard. And I think golden's have it too. Do you know what I mean? I'm not describing it very well..... So I think he would be more comfortable with a bigger collar but the one we have is as large as they make, at least with the metal clip. ( He had a nylon collar with a plastic latch but he snapped it chasing a squirrel and I'll only use the metal ones now. Anyway, I'm sure I can find a larger one but then he may be able to get out of it.....Silly I know to spend this much time thinking about a collar but I was curious also as to what everyone else did, do you leave it on all the time or take it off when they are home...or do they wear no collar at all...?

[Denyce]

Sequioa our husky always has her collar on. If for some reason she bolts out the door...I want to be sure that she can be identified. What we use with her is a martingale or greyhound coller or modified choke collar. It is made of nylon and can hang looser on her neck when she is in the house. When she is on a leash it tightens up so it won't pull off her neck. I am not explaining this well at all...sorry.

Denyce

[Logan]

I keep the collars on all 3 of my Goldens, Jennifer, for the same reasons that you and Denyce stated. I just feel safer. Murphy, the old lady Lab, does not wear a collar, but she also rarely goes outdoors (maybe 2-3 times/day) and she has a recurring cyst on her neck that has totally healed up since we took her collar off, but her situation, as I said, is very different than the other 3.

I'd leave it on, and just keep working to find the most comfortable, safe one, for him.

Logan

[elizabethann]

I leave Fenway's collar on all the time. However, for some odd reason, I take his bandana off when we get home. I figure it might make him more comfortable without it. I'll always keep Fenway's collar on just in case he were to escape. Though he's microchipped, I'd want other identification on him at all times.

[LeahMM]

All of my dogs are currently wearing theirs but when I bathe them the colllars come off and stay off until we take them somewhere.

[LorraineO]

always always stays on... ANYTHING can happen in the course of a day and if they get loose,, or theres a fire or whatever,,,, they can be indentified..without,,, youre,, well you know,,, outofluck!
tell your BF to either leave the collar alone or pay the $$ to get him microchipped!!

[GraciesMommy]

Always on~~

[lute]

i would leave it on at all times if there is any chance of him getting away from you. i leave Beanie's collar on all the time, but Wolfie's i only keep on when she's outside. she can't have on all the time because it could mess up her neckline, and she needs a good neckline cause she's a showdog. i would leave it on her all the time if i could.

to leave it off just because you think he's uncomfortable is a bad idea. the collar could save his life and that's lots more importaint then his comfort.

[Suki Wingy]

I NEVER hold Nino by the collar! It chokes him . When I have to hold him back, I hild onto the scruff of his neck. I used to take it off all the time because I thought it irritated him, and it does a litttle, but now I've found a really good collar, and I never take it off. He is an escape artist and gets free at least once a month, and if you open the door, he bolts out.

[cali]

depends on the dog lol Happy almost never wears a collar but I can also garentee that she will never bolt she hnds out candy with me on halloween lol she walks out the front door all the time and I can leave her out front go do something and come back she wont go anywhere lol Misty where a collar MOST of the time, she like Happy wont take off anywhere however I dont trust her as much as Happy, Happy I can leave outside anywhere and she will stay, I leave her in peoples front yards all the time while I go in to visit lol she just wanders around the yard but never leaves it. Misty I always tie up for something like that lol but she does get into trouble a lot so I need to be able to grab her collar. currently she is only wearing a bandana. Perky always wheres her collar she does not go anywhere as long as my mom is home but she has wandered off just to find my mom before(ok so she slowly mosied over to the naighbores house lol) Blair always wheres his collar not that you can tell.. lol he WILL take off if given the chance because running towards moving cars is just the kind of idiot he is lol Ripley also always wears his because he likes to take off and meet people, he litterally finds new people to meet when he has his collar on people can just let us know they have him, when he is not wearing his tagged collar for whatever reason and he gets out people find us from is tatoo lol

[petslover]

None of my dogs wear collar.. Just when I take them walking.

[melandchico]

It is safer to leave it on, however, I take Goliaths off when we are in the house. It's one of those really wide leather ones (he snapped everything else we tried). He also has alot of skin under his neck and when he lays down, all the skin bunches up through the collar and up into his face (hard to explain). It also hurts us when he rubs up against us and it does a number on the walls (he rubs against them like a cat). But we don't really worry about him bolting out of the house because he has never even tried it and he listens better off a leash anyway. I know I am not much help in making you decision, I just thought I would let you know what I do. If your worried about safety, what about just taking it off while your home and later in the evening when people are less likely to knock?

[jenfer]

I used to have Gigi's collar on all the time, but lately I discovered her neck is going "bald". I think she pulled too much and thus it became "hairless" around her neck. So when we are home, I took the collar off... but I guess it shouldn't matter, because she is not on leash at home.

[Samantha Puppy]

When she's at home, Samantha's collar is never on. Only when we go somewhere or she's at my parents (they have a tie out when she goes outside, they don't have a fence).

[pitc9]

Sierra - always on, unless I'm brushing her neck, then it goes right back on. (She's run away before, and the people called me after reading her ID tag)

Buddy - He looooooves a good neck scratchin' so I'll take it off, and sometimes leave it off at night because he's on night watch security duty while Sierra and I are sleeping, and walks around, and his tags make to much noise, and the princess Sierra has to get her beauty rest!!