Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Team
    • Services
    • Products
    • Vaccinations
    • Testimonials
    • Employment - Veterinary Technician
  • Client Care Center
    • Pittsburgh Emergency Vets
    • Online Pharmacy
    • Texting & Mobile App
    • Hill's to Home Delivery
    • Request Appointment
    • New Client Registration
    • View Your Pet's Records
    • Senior Pet Questionnaire
  • Connect
    • Blog
    • Pet Memorials
    • Feature Your Pet!
    • Social Media Feed
    • Refer A Friend
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Team
    • Services
    • Products
    • Vaccinations
    • Testimonials
    • Employment - Veterinary Technician
  • Client Care Center
    • Pittsburgh Emergency Vets
    • Online Pharmacy
    • Texting & Mobile App
    • Hill's to Home Delivery
    • Request Appointment
    • New Client Registration
    • View Your Pet's Records
    • Senior Pet Questionnaire
  • Connect
    • Blog
    • Pet Memorials
    • Feature Your Pet!
    • Social Media Feed
    • Refer A Friend
  • Links
  • Contact

Martingale Collars - not just for Greyhounds!

9/14/2017

Comments

 
Martingale CollarImage Credit: Lupine Pet
Call them what you will: escape artists, "Houdini hounds," wiggle worms...some dogs are masters of slipping their collars. Too many people resort to choke or prong collars, not realizing the potential for injury.

​There is a better solution to safely keep your pup on the end of your leash - the martingale collar!

What is a Martingale Collar?

PictureImage Credit: If It Barks
Long used by sighthound owners (Greyhounds, Italian Greyhounds, Whippets, etc.), martingale collars were designed for dogs whose heads are smaller in diameter than their necks. On these breeds, a standard collar will slip right off if the dog simply lowers its head and backs away!

Think of a martingale as a collar within a collar: the larger portion wraps around the front of your dog's neck, and a smaller loop connects it, allowing pressure on the leash to narrow the diameter enough to avoid slipping over Fido's head, but not enough to hurt him.
​When your dog is relaxed, the smaller loop lays flat against his neck.

The mechanics of these collars make them an excellent choice for dogs of any breed that tend to escape by pulling away on the leash, and they are often used as an obedience training tool for gentle correction.

Image Credit: DogCollars.CC
Image Credit: DogCollars.CC

How to measure and fit a martingale collar:

PictureImage Credit: If It Barks
When choosing a size for your dog's martingale collar, measure around the widest part of her head, just in front of the ears. Also measure around the neck, where the collar will lay at rest.

TIP: If you don't have a flexible fabric measuring tape, use a shoelace - mark the end point and lay it across a ruler or tape measure.

After slipping the collar over your dog's head, tighten the buckle until you can fit 3 fingers inside the small loop between the two rings. These rings should not touch when pressure is applied to the collar.

Attach ID tags to one of the side rings (not the D-ring that the leash clips to) so that the collar does not tighten if the tags get stuck on an object.

Why to avoid choke chain and prong collars:

Choke chain collars are dangerous and can cause serious injury to your dog:
  • Tracheal or Thyroid damage from pressure on the neck
  • Spinal injury
  • Eye problems from increased intraocular pressure
  • Neurological problems
  • Skin irritation
  • Death by asphyxiation if left unsupervised and gets hung up on a tether or other object
Prong collars use negative reinforcement to demand obedience through fear and pain. Moreover, prong collars purchased in the pet store and used incorrectly without instruction by a certified trainer. This is an ineffective technique that - in addition to the above risks - can elicit aggressive behavior in reactive or fearful dogs.
Comments

    Archives

    March 2023
    December 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    March 2021
    January 2020
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Behavior
    Boarding
    Cats
    Cold Weather
    Common Diseases
    Dental Health
    Deworming
    Diet
    Disaster Preparedness
    Dog
    Dogs
    Emergencies
    Fecal
    Greyhounds
    Halloween
    Holidays
    Intestinal Parasites
    Kittens
    Laser Therapy
    Lost And Found
    Lyme
    Microchip
    Microchipping
    Obesity
    Pain Management
    Poisons
    Prescription Diets
    Preventive Care
    Product Alerts
    Products
    Senior Care
    Spay/neuter
    Summer
    Thanksgiving
    Ticks
    Training
    Travel
    Vaccines

    RSS Feed

Request Appointment
HOURS BY APPOINTMENT
​ MON 10:00AM - 7:00PM

TUES 10:00AM - 6:00PM
WEDS 9:00AM - 7:00PM
THURS 9:00AM - 5:00PM
FRIDAY 9:00AM - 4:00PM
SATURDAY & SUNDAY CLOSED
Picture
Call: 724-933-7387
Text: 724-397-3041
Mobile App: Pet Health Network (iOS/Android)

Picture
151 Wexford-Bayne Rd Wexford, PA 15090
​© Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital 2023
Picture