# Anybody using a "breakaway" collar on their dogs?



## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

Yes, collars are very dangerous. Bentley wears a break away and I love it. We'll never go back.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I don't use breakaway collars but if I know my dog will be playing with other dogs, I use a snap collar. At home she is collar-free. 

Here is a thread on this topic:
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retrievers-main-discussion/84580-collar-danger.html


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I am really interested in this thread. My goldens usually don't wear collars except orange during hunting season, and for working/showing/ going out on a leash. I would love for them to wear collars with id tags, but the four of them play and wrestle enough that I worry someone's jaw might get stuck on a collar. I'd love to hear how the breakaway collars work if you try.


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

This is the one Bentley wears. Amazon.com: Premier Pet Pet KeepSafe 1-Inch Medium Break-Away Dog Collar, Red: Pet Supplies

If you scroll down you'll see the "breakaway" part. When they're playing if Ky gets her jaw caught it will come right open. If I want to leash him it has 2 rings to hook the leash to so he is secure.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

We don't put a collar on our Yogi except for going out in public and to training. He's collar free inside our home, and when we walk we use a Kong harness with ID tags on it. It goes around his neck and his belly and seems secure. He is micro-chipped and we are very careful in keeping him inside when we open the door, putting him in a sit stay. 

Toby is visually impaired and I often need to guide him or stop him from running into something, so we use a collar. It's not a buckle but a breakaway collar, though I'm not sure it would break away (leather with brass snap locks). We use a similar harness on him because it has a nifty handle on his back that we can use to guide him.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Bella wears a rolled leather buckle collar at all times. I keep it fairly tight, so it's unlikely to get caught on something, and cannot slip over her head. No tags is a bigger risk, IMO. 


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## flykelley (Oct 15, 2011)

I have them as well, had a friend call me one night, he needed help getting his dead dog off a shelf in the basement. He had a choke chain on and tried to jump up and get some food off the shelf. Chain got caught and he came home to find his dog hanging. Its not a sight I will ever forget. Made me go right out and buy break away collars. When the dog are home they don't wear a collar, just when we leave the house. The one downside to this is you need to make sure you hook both rings with the leash or a good tug and off they go.

Mike


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## ssacres (Sep 29, 2012)

It does happen. When Mia was a pup and playing with her big sister she got her jaw stuck in sisters collar. It was horrible and I didn't know what to do. I ran to get a knife because her jaw was in it so tight I couldn't get to the clasp. It finally broke open before I had a chance to use my knife. They don't wear any collars now except when we go for walks. It could have broken her little jaw. It is still hard to talk about and go back to that horrible day. She actually had it twisted twice around her little jaw. If Bess would not have listened to me and stayed calm it sure could have been much worse.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Mine wear their collars super loose like necklaces so they can slip them if needed. The collars are only for ID purposes. The yorkies get walked on harness and Buddy gets walked on his martingale which gets removes when after his walks especially for play at the dog park.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Joyce, thanks for the link. I'm a fanatic about my dogs always wearing collars and tags. I thought the break away would be dangerous on a walk if the suddenly bolted. I didn't know about the DRings. I use martingales now as my prior dog could slip out of anything. Maybe I'll try it.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

I am neurotic about having collars on my dogs at all times ... b/c I live in an apartment on a main street ... and b/c I like for them to have handles if needed.

I specifically teach my dogs NOT to play the bitey face games that can lead to a jaw stuck in a collar - I just personally don't like the two-headed dog rolling through my small apartment. BUT - for clients whose dogs DO play that way, I recommend the Premier Breakaway Collars. Just remember to make sure you clip the leash to BOTH d-rings - otherwise the collar will break open the first time the dog pulls with any significant pressure.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

We aren't allowed to use buckle type collars when we go to the nursing homes, so I have a break away that Max wears only then. I got it at Petsmart, it's probably not the best, but that's the only time I use it. His regular collar is also fairly loose, he could (and has) slip it if need be.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

My friends Boxer was being walked, saw something, and pulled. The collar broke away and off went the dog. Its such a tough decision.


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## Phillyfisher (Jan 9, 2008)

laprincessa said:


> We aren't allowed to use buckle type collars when we go to the nursing homes, so I have a break away that Max wears only then. I got it at Petsmart, it's probably not the best, but that's the only time I use it. His regular collar is also fairly loose, he could (and has) slip it if need be.


Never heard of this. Can I ask why? Just curious.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Diogi said:


> .....doesn't seem common at all. What do you guys think about it? Is it a "solution" searching for a "problem"? Prior to reading this article, I'd never heard of accident like this?
> Thanks,



This may not be common, but it is definitely not out of the question. I'm afraid I have good friends who had two young Labs and one was killed this way. They thought the dogs were just playing out in the yard and by the time they figured out was wrong and ran out there it was too late.

My in-laws have friends in the neighborhood who lost a dog to a freak accident where the dogs rabies tags got caught between the porch floorboards and the dog strangled that way. Again, not something you would ever think of but animals get into the oddest fixes sometimes. Not common, but truly heartbreaking.

They make breakaway halters for horses also for similar reasons, the accidents don't happen often but if they do the results are catastrophic. People make choices based on their own lifestyles and how many dogs they have etc. We all have different tolerance for risk.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Yes, dogs can get killed with regular collars, have seen that when I was working in a clinic in Michigan. An owner brought two Goldens in, the word was: Got hung up in each others collar when tied outside and are not breathing. Well, both dogs already had rigor set in, so it had been a while since they strangled each other. Terrible to see. 
My lab mix also got his teeth hung up in Toby's collar when he was a baby and I had to reach in and disconnect the collars. I got Thunder a break away collar during Toby's puppyhood because Toby loved to hang on to Thunder's collar as well. He had fun removing the break away collar, lol. Luckily, I walk my dogs on my own property and no harm done. 

The problem with a break away is when you want to grab a dog real quick, you have the collar in your hands and the dog is gone. 

Toby's once got his rabies tags stuck in the grate of the AC vent and since then, no more collars in the house or in the yard.
I decided not to have collars on my dogs unless I have to take them somewhere. My dogs listen well.

The break away collars usually have d-rings where you have to snap the leash clip through both rings, then the break away does not give away anymore.


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

murphy1 said:


> My friends Boxer was being walked, saw something, and pulled. The collar broke away and off went the dog. Its such a tough decision.


Sounds like your friend didn't hook the leash to both D-rings. If it's attached properly it's the same as a flat collar and the dog is not able to break it open.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

I'm assuming the hanging / strangling risk is close to zero if the dog is supervised at all times in the yard, and while playing with other dogs. I understand that having multiple dogs probably changes the equation.

The issue of not being to grab the collar when unleashed could be a problem, IMO.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

We always think that would never happen to me, until it does. I had heard of the dangers of collars, but thought the chance of something happening to my own dog would be minimal. 

I got my own wake up call about a month ago. When I got home from work I noticed Flip's collar wasn't on him. I finally found it inside of his crate. The D ring had somehow gotten hooked on one of the crate bars n the door. Thank goodness I keep his collar loose enough to be able to back out of it. My heart still pounds thinking about what I might have come home to if he hadn't been able to slip out on his own.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Phillyfisher said:


> Never heard of this. Can I ask why? Just curious.


I was told that if a resident should get a finger under the collar, and the dog should jerk away (which they shouldn't do, but dogs get startled too), a break away collar would let go and do no damage to the resident. 

Also, there seemed to be a concern that the buckle part might be sharpish.


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