# Collars?



## harmonicker (Dec 6, 2009)

Now that Sunny got her fur cut off, I feel like the collar we have for her is too big and bulky.
I am reading once her fur grows in and gets long it is best to use a small ribbon type collar so as not to break off her fur.
What collars do you guys use on your fur kids?


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## thinkpink (Sep 25, 2004)

I usually use a harness on Bella when we go out in case she decides to pull she won't hurt her little neck. Sometimes I'll add a collar to accessorize, especially in summer when she isn't wearing clothes regularly. I saw your picture you posted and the collar looked to be 5/8" wide. That's the size I normally put on Bella. If that seems bulky to you, you might want to look for one that is 1/2" or 3/8" wide instead.


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

Maltese are too small to use collars attached to leashes. A collar to accessorize and a step-in harness with the leash is safer. I get my harnesses from our SM member Angelyn, at Tickled Pink Boutique.


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## jodublin (Sep 27, 2006)

My dogs no longer wear collers , as they tend to make matts around the neck :wub:


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

Gigi has too many collars, one to match every outfit. All from different places and different sizes. But my favorite collar had to be this one: http://www.moderntails.com/product.php?productid=16859 My Gigi only wears collars because harnesses matt her long hair and collars dont. But if your baby is a puller on walks, do not ever use collars. Gigi has never pulled on her leash ever in her life so its safe for us to use. But we never leave collars on, only wear them when we go out. Sometimes we wear show leads, because they're faster, but most of the time we like to be fancy.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I have satin lined collars from Tickled Pink...
Leash and collar set up is only for a dog who is reliable about not pulling. Constant pulling on a collar can be harmful. Decorative collars (or a collar to wear tags on when traveling) are just fine. 
I never leave a collar on all of the time, but especially not a longer haired dog as it will cause matting. 

I use a head halter (Gentle Leader) for pullers and a show lead for coated dogs.


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

I just use show leads, I don't have any collars. If i didn't use a show lead though, I'd use a step in harness.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

QUOTE (BellarataMaltese @ Dec 22 2009, 12:58 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865680


> I just use show leads, I don't have any collars. If i didn't use a show lead though, I'd use a step in harness.[/B]



Ditto. (for Ava)
Although if I put a step in harness on her, I bet she'd get a ton of knots!!!

My other pups wear step in harnesses or harness vests when we go walking. They don't ever wear collars.


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## aea6574 (Feb 18, 2006)

Howdy:

The hounds do not wear collars. When I take them on walks they use a harness.


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## harmonicker (Dec 6, 2009)

So for safety of theft and loss, do you guys microchip your pups then?
I totally understand not wearing a collar when walking, but I would be so worried if my little girl ran out the door or something by chance and was lost and had NO ID on her at all.
I am new here so still learning Maltese how to's :innocent:


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

Just make sure your dog has a license attatched to those harnesses or whatever you choose to put on them. It's a state law that dogs must have a license mainly for identification and locating owners. 

It's also for their safety too,it's hard to recover a dog if someone finds it and they don't have a collar on. Not like people go around w/ micro chip scanners and not every dog pound/animal shelter or dog warden carries one either. Just a thought... I watch my little munchkins as closely as I can but I've had one slip out of the car when I get out,it happens so quickly. I do a head count everytime I get in and out of the car or the house.
No one an say their little fluff has never been out of their sight ever.

I had one slip out of our store when a customer walked out,she walked 2 stores down the the pizza parlor and luckily someone read the hand made ID tags I made with their names and phone numbers on them. She called while I was walking ,looking for her. She was gone about 10 minutes but it felt longer. It can happen and most likely will happen. I make sure I have 2 or 3 places for ID'ing my kids.

(#1)Handmade dog tags
I stamp their name- Sasha
I stamp mobile phone--###-####
then stamp home phone--###-####

I stamp this information on the back of the (#2) dog license/tag and I stamp it on a custom made tag,just in case the dog tag would come off or get damaged. I also stamp it on their (#3) rabies tag.
Maybe it's overkill on safety but you can never be too careful w/ our furry treasures.

Besides,I'm a pilot,we have redundancies all over in an aircraft to be safe,why not do that in other important aspects of our lives...

This way if they'd become lost,I have a way for someone who finds them to call me straight away.
Dog license/tags have the owners phone and name on record ,but you have to call the court house,but what if it's on a week-end ,holiday or after hours or you're out of town or out of state..... Not like people have the courthouse phone number on them....

I guess I'd rather deal w/ a little matting around the neck than take the chance of not recovering my babies....


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Yes, all of my dogs are microchipped.


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

A note about identification, I wouldn't worry so much about losing your malt, than having your malt stolen. Maltese are high desirable pets, they have broken into cars, and home and stolen maltese. I really worry with my tiny baby, they can just put her in a bag and walk away with her without anybody knowing! I was told never put your pets name on the tag. If someone wanted to steal your dogs, they would know his name! It would be rare that a good summaritan will find your lost pup and return him to you. Maltese are very expensive, average is atleats $1000 each, and that person may try to make an extra buck and sell him on the classified lists. With micro-chipping, that little identification can not ever be taken away from your animal! Lost animals have been returned to their owners after many years thanks to their micro-chip. A theif can just slip that collar off his head, and your baby can never be identified again! Every vet and animal rescue show I have watched immediately scans every animal they encounter lost. Read this past thread from JMM: http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/index.php?...c=46469&hl=

I can't leave collars on my Gigi, they will be stuck to her hair after a couple of hours. Torture for any animal to undergo.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

Mine are all chipped too ,just got the two newest members done .
I was lucky someone called me when my little one got out of the store. We had it happen another time when our German Shepherd got out of her exercise area.

I don't leave mine in the car alone for long or in certain places at all,due to all the dog fighting we have in this area and scum bags to steal them and sell them to testing labs too. We've had more than one dog napping ring,stealing dogs, removing collars,scanning them for chips,removing chips and selling them in the paper or to medical testing labs and for dog fighting.... To remove the chip,they scanned to get it's location,pinched the skin under it to isolate it and a quick razor blade cut and popped it out and they'd dob a little Lysol ,of all things, on it for infection.. It wasn't hard since chips are just under the skin...

I would say, do all you can on identification,tags,chips,tatoos. If they steal your dog they're not really going to care what his name is,even if it's on the tag or not. But maybe if some good samaritan would find the dog wouldn't it make the dog a little less fearful if you called it by name? If you feel uncomfortable about putting a name on tags,at least put a phone number to reach you?

I do know if you happen to get stopped by the dog warden,no tag,no excuse ,it's the law. In our area,the dog warden and asistants will actually go house to house checking on dog tags.. We live in a rural area so maybe that happens more than in big cities. Dog wardens will scope out dog walking events to check on tags

I think most people are honest and caring and probably have had a pet in their lives,if they find a lost dog they're going to try to reunite it w/ it's owners. 

But you never know.
My husband had a cocker puppy,before we were married,he let her out to potty and took his eyes off her for a little bit talking to a neighbor and someone pulled up in a car and picked up his pup and started to drive off. He caught up w/ the lady,she said she was almost hit the puppy and was driving off w/ it to keep it safe and to find the owner. If she wanted to find the owner,wouldn't it be a good idea to ask the person in the yard where you found the pup? Needless to say he never let the pup off leash to potty again...

Nothing is fool proof if someone wants your dog for their own nefarious purposes they'll get it. But I think micro chipping and an ID tag with a way for someone to reach you ,used together, is better than than relying on just one method. ID tags are a way to instantly identify and reach you,my little fluff slipped out on a Sunday afternoon,so no place w/ a scanner was open,so micro chipping is fine if you can get to a place that has a scanner. Not all shelters have scanners. Ours just got one this year because we had a flower sale to raise money for it.

I can understand the collar pulling issue but if your dog is pulling the leash ahead of you,then it's not properly leash trained,it shouldn't be pulling you along while walking,it should be heeling beside you.

I like the satin lined collar idea,do they work well? If so I'm going to get 5 for the dogs and one for the cat. Yes even the cat has and ID w/ name and number.


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## MandyMc65 (Jun 14, 2007)

Mine are all microchipped and they rarely, if ever, have collars on.

Jax's harness has a couple ID tags on it - his ResQ tags & his CGC tag, which has our Name & # on it. Kenzie's harness, has no tags and neither does Joey's collar. If we were to let our dogs just wander around without us watching them, then I may be a bit more concerned, however we don't. Joey is let outside to potty (in a fenced backyard) and we stand there and watch him and the other 2 go potty on pads in the garage. They do occasionally go in the backyard as well, but again, never unsupervised. 

They also are trained to not go out the front door unless given the "okay" and we are also extremely careful about coming in and out. Since it is just my boyfriend & I we aren't too concerned about that either. 

If we were putting our dogs into the position to get out and away from us, then I would have a collar on them all the time. For example, my neighbor's dog sneaks out of their fence frequently! I've been greeted by her at my front door and scoop her up and take her back home - she's a 5 pound long haired chi. She has no ID, I just know it's their dog. 

Yesterday my boyfriend found a lost dog and she had no ID at all. He scooped her up, looked around the neighborhood around his shop and could not locate her family. She hung out with him at work all day, then spent the night in my house. Luckily, we take our dogs to work and my boyfriend took her with him today. She was sniffing around, so he put a leash on her and let her lead the way - she took him right back to her house. The people were thrilled! They could have saved themselves the worry last night if she had, had a collar with ID. 

I guess, if you are putting your dogs in the position of getting out or sneaking out then a collar/ID is a must as well as a chip. If you supervise your dogs, keep them on a leash, and/or train them properly then a collar/ID may not be 100% essential for you at all times. I personally take comfort in having them all chipped, that way if they are stolen/lost at least I can ID them as mine when found.


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

QUOTE (michellerobison @ Dec 22 2009, 05:22 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865776


> I do know if you happen to get stopped by the dog warden,no tag,no excuse ,it's the law. In our area,the dog warden and asistants will actually go house to house checking on dog tags.. We live in a rural area so maybe that happens more than in big cities. Dog wardens will scope out dog walking events to check on tags[/B]


Omg, they really do that in your area?! I heard of that happening in other countries but never here. I didn't know they had dog wardens. I can't believe they know how to remove chips. Now those are some proffessional thiefs. And they have animal testing labs!? Isn't that illegal to test dogs? :shocked: My kitty lived indoor/outdoors for 17 years without any identification and she had never gone missing. I just noticed how blessed we really were. 

I know I'm a risk taker here, but because of health issues my mother read about online, my Gigi is not micro-chipped, nor do we have tags. But she rarely leaves the house. When we do take her with us shopping, she's either in her carrier or in her stroller. Her feet rarely touch the ground, lol. And we don't walk her much in the winter, she's pad trained. My Gigi hates going outside and will run from me if she sees me with the leash. LOL So she's never away from us. Heck, my Gigi freaks out if she's not in the same ROOM with me. LOL Even when we travel, she sleeps in the same hotel room by me, goes every place we go. And NEVER boarded anywhere. When we're not home, she goes in her ex-pen, and NOBODY takes her out but me or my mother. Never leave your baby alone when you are out and about. Gigi's hundred collars now don't have tags. We will be getting her microchipped eventually, I'd just hate to put her under again. Anethsia and these tiny dogs is such a scary thing. 

Also with collar pulling, when we first got my Gigi, I was being brave and let her meet a 100 pound lab. In seconds the lab lounged at Gigi and we yanked her back so hard, she was lifted off the ground, but she was safe. The lab pulled down his owner, and I don't care if he wanted to play with her or attack her, if he stepped on her, her little body would've been nearly crushed. Thank goodness she was wearing her harness, if she was wear a collar, she would've deff. had a collasped trachea. 

So a collar and harness would be great!  But a maltese should never ever ever be left unsupervised in public.


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## MandyMc65 (Jun 14, 2007)

And to add:

I use a Comfort Trainer head collar on Jax for walking and sometimes a Puppia Harness, for rally stuff we use a collar. Kenzie has a Sensation Harness (it's a front-clip kind) for walking and a Bessie & Barney harness that we use occasionally.

We don't really ever use collars.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

QUOTE (ilovemymaltese @ Dec 22 2009, 04:48 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865784


> Omg, they really do that in your area?! I heard of that happening in other countries but never here. I didn't know they had dog wardens. I can't believe they know how to remove chips. Now those are some proffessional thiefs. And they have animal testing labs!? Isn't that illegal to test dogs? :shocked: My kitty lived indoor/outdoors for 17 years without any identification and she had never gone missing. I just noticed how blessed we really were.
> 
> I know I'm a risk taker here, but because of health issues my mother read about online, my Gigi is not micro-chipped, nor do we have tags. But she rarely leaves the house. When we do take her with us shopping, she's either in her carrier or in her stroller. Her feet rarely touch the ground, lol. And we don't walk her much in the winter, she's pad trained. My Gigi hates going outside and will run from me if she sees me with the leash. LOL So she's never away from us. Heck, my Gigi freaks out if she's not in the same ROOM with me. LOL Even when we travel, she sleeps in the same hotel room by me, goes every place we go. And NEVER boarded anywhere. When we're not home, she goes in her ex-pen, and NOBODY takes her out but me or my mother. Never leave your baby alone when you are out and about. Gigi's hundred collars now don't have tags. We will be getting her microchipped eventually, I'd just hate to put her under again. Anethsia and these tiny dogs is such a scary thing.
> 
> ...



Unless your dog is extremely hard to restrain, you do not need any sedation for a microchip.


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

QUOTE (JMM @ Dec 22 2009, 06:19 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865797


> QUOTE (ilovemymaltese @ Dec 22 2009, 04:48 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865784





> Omg, they really do that in your area?! I heard of that happening in other countries but never here. I didn't know they had dog wardens. I can't believe they know how to remove chips. Now those are some proffessional thiefs. And they have animal testing labs!? Isn't that illegal to test dogs? :shocked: My kitty lived indoor/outdoors for 17 years without any identification and she had never gone missing. I just noticed how blessed we really were.
> 
> I know I'm a risk taker here, but because of health issues my mother read about online, my Gigi is not micro-chipped, nor do we have tags. But she rarely leaves the house. When we do take her with us shopping, she's either in her carrier or in her stroller. Her feet rarely touch the ground, lol. And we don't walk her much in the winter, she's pad trained. My Gigi hates going outside and will run from me if she sees me with the leash. LOL So she's never away from us. Heck, my Gigi freaks out if she's not in the same ROOM with me. LOL Even when we travel, she sleeps in the same hotel room by me, goes every place we go. And NEVER boarded anywhere. When we're not home, she goes in her ex-pen, and NOBODY takes her out but me or my mother. Never leave your baby alone when you are out and about. Gigi's hundred collars now don't have tags. We will be getting her microchipped eventually, I'd just hate to put her under again. Anethsia and these tiny dogs is such a scary thing.
> 
> ...



Unless your dog is extremely hard to restrain, you do not need any sedation for a microchip.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Really?! That's great! Gigi seems like she doesn't even feel it when they give her shots. She just stays there.


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## tygrr_lily (Aug 22, 2007)

i'm paranoid about anything happening to paddy, so he's microchipped and he always wears a collar w/ id and my phone number on it. i bought the breakaway collars from tinkledpink, and they are fabulous and super safe b/c they will breakaway if anything happens so he won't get caught/choke. we also don't have to worry about matting b/c he's always in a short cut


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

I use a harness for walks, but he wears a breakaway silk ribbon collar from Tickled Pink. It's the 3/8 inch size, I wanted it to be as light and comfortable as possible. He only wears an ID tag on it for the same reason - no extra weight and noise from rabies, license, microchip, ect. I think that's too much for these little dogs. The only time he doesn't have his breakaway on is when he is at home with me. Of course I put it on when we go out, but I also put it on before taking him to my parents' house when I leave for work. I'm worried about them leaving a door open or something... He is also microchipped.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

QUOTE (PreciousPrince @ Dec 22 2009, 06:44 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865828


> I use a harness for walks, but he wears a breakaway silk ribbon collar from Tickled Pink. It's the 3/8 inch size, I wanted it to be as light and comfortable as possible. He only wears an ID tag on it for the same reason - no extra weight and noise from rabies, license, microchip, ect. I think that's too much for these little dogs. The only time he doesn't have his breakaway on is when he is at home with me. Of course I put it on when we go out, but I also put it on before taking him to my parents' house when I leave for work. I'm worried about them leaving a door open or something... He is also microchipped.[/B]


You should consider having your collars embroidered with name/phone number.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

I sometimes put a collar on Ollie just for appearances, but never attach the leash to it. When I need to use a leash he wears his harness. He has lots of styles of harnesses. They are much safer and healthier for them than a collar. My favorites are the traditional "H" style.


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## harmonicker (Dec 6, 2009)

I sure do appreciate all the replies and conversation here on this collar topic. :thumbsup: 
I like the idea of the name and number embroidered collar.
I have never read up on the risks of the micro-chipping...hhmmm
I am going to look into a harness for Sunny.
I use the Gentle Leader head collars for my Cairns, but I was worried about using one on Sunny since her head is so tiny.
SO a harness sounds better to me.
Sunny has a fenced yard to go into as well. We live in a village that is super small and everyone knows everyone.
Plus my two Cairn kids are SUPER protective of our yard/home, so she has been blessed with coming to live in a home with two resident body guards B) 
:Sunny Smile:


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## Moxie'smom (Dec 16, 2007)

I don't use a collar for Moxie. Only a harness and usually and easy walk gentle leader. 
The only time I use a collar is when we do obedience training in class. 

A soft trachea's is the reason Not to use a collar for walks.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

QUOTE (ilovemymaltese @ Dec 22 2009, 05:48 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865784


> QUOTE (michellerobison @ Dec 22 2009, 05:22 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865776





> I do know if you happen to get stopped by the dog warden,no tag,no excuse ,it's the law. In our area,the dog warden and asistants will actually go house to house checking on dog tags.. We live in a rural area so maybe that happens more than in big cities. Dog wardens will scope out dog walking events to check on tags[/B]


Omg, they really do that in your area?! I heard of that happening in other countries but never here. I didn't know they had dog wardens. I can't believe they know how to remove chips. Now those are some proffessional thiefs. And they have animal testing labs!? Isn't that illegal to test dogs? :shocked: My kitty lived indoor/outdoors for 17 years without any identification and she had never gone missing. I just noticed how blessed we really were. 

I know I'm a risk taker here, but because of health issues my mother read about online, my Gigi is not micro-chipped, nor do we have tags. But she rarely leaves the house. When we do take her with us shopping, she's either in her carrier or in her stroller. Her feet rarely touch the ground, lol. And we don't walk her much in the winter, she's pad trained. My Gigi hates going outside and will run from me if she sees me with the leash. LOL So she's never away from us. Heck, my Gigi freaks out if she's not in the same ROOM with me. LOL Even when we travel, she sleeps in the same hotel room by me, goes every place we go. And NEVER boarded anywhere. When we're not home, she goes in her ex-pen, and NOBODY takes her out but me or my mother. Never leave your baby alone when you are out and about. Gigi's hundred collars now don't have tags. We will be getting her microchipped eventually, I'd just hate to put her under again. Anethsia and these tiny dogs is such a scary thing. 

Also with collar pulling, when we first got my Gigi, I was being brave and let her meet a 100 pound lab. In seconds the lab lounged at Gigi and we yanked her back so hard, she was lifted off the ground, but she was safe. The lab pulled down his owner, and I don't care if he wanted to play with her or attack her, if he stepped on her, her little body would've been nearly crushed. Thank goodness she was wearing her harness, if she was wear a collar, she would've deff. had a collasped trachea. 

So a collar and harness would be great!  But a maltese should never ever ever be left unsupervised in public.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Unfortunately we live in between Toledo and Ft.Wayne and close enough to Detroit too,drug central ,we're on the drug highway between those cities. We have teaching hospitals in our area so they use dogs for teaching,it's really sad... We live in a rural area where farmers castrate hogs and cats or dogs w/ a razor blade and a boot. They stick the animal's head in a boot and a couple quick cuts on the scrotum,queeze out the testicles cut and pour on some alcohol and they're done. 
Theives know it's worth their time and a little money to know how to remove a micro chip. We have greyhound tracks nearby too so with many micro chipped when they want to get rid of dogs they'll cut out chips and cut off ears (tatoos). They're cracking down on the dog and cock fighting here but it still goes on.
Most of the stolen pets will end up in Toledo,Ft. Wayne or Detoit as bait for training fight dogs. If they can get money for them,it's not hard to learn to remove a chip.... I would venture to guess there's probably a youtube video on how to do it,seems like they have youtube video for everything.

There's a new way they do it now w/ radio transmitter and run too much power on the right frequency through an antennae,it will fry the chip,w/o hurting the animal. I just heard this on Discovery Channel tonight. They had a program on high tech thieves taking pets of the rich and famous. Thieves are always one step ahead aren't they,you know they had perfect counterfeit $100 bills before the newly designed bills were even in circulation...

I'm thinking more on the harness instead of a collar,a couple weeks ago ,I was taking my Sasha out to pee pee,onleash at night always. I had something run up behind me about the size of a small dog,I immediately jerked Sasha by the leash,trying to scoop her up into my arms,thinking it was a coyote. Luckily it was a little fawn separated from her mother,but it scared the bejeezus out of me. It could have easily been a coyote and I think back how it could have hurt Sasha or killed her.


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## Carole (Nov 1, 2005)

Never ever have used a collar....only harnesses. Even at the groomers I always have them hook the loop across and under one leg rather than totally around the neck.


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## EmmasMommy (Jun 2, 2008)

I have two Maltese. Emma is in a Puppy cut and Mimi is being shown so she is growing her full coat. 

For Emma she uses step in halters when we go out. She wears a halter clicked to the strap on her carseat. Emma hs a few decorative collars and some halter dresses but they are just for show. Emma has 2 micro chips. She has an AVID one because I found out that her other chip was not a widely used brand and was afraid the purpose what be aa moot point if if could not be read.

Mimi is a baby and has traveled many ways. She walks only on a show lead ( with a satin neck piece) She does have a step in halter for brief car rides to click to her car seat. For longer ( 1 hr+ ) rides she travels in a crate or a sherpa bag this is to prevent matting and for her comfort. Mimi has an AVID chip.
Just note to those who think " my dog never leaves my home so they don't need a chip". Accidents happen. If you were called away unexpectedly, say to a funeral and someone else took your dog.........friend, sitter, dog hotel, kennel....anything could happen. And it does everyday.

Cars get in wrecks, and dogs get stolen or lost in a variety of ways everyday. A microchip proves ownership , besides helping in reuniting you and your pet. 

I was recently told by our animal control that any microchipped dog in their system did not need a ID tag/collar any longer. Of course we have a leash law but it used to be that any dog had to have its license and rabies tag physically on their bodies. They recently changed the law to read that a microchip that IDs the dog with a valid rabies is fine. Our county does a "rabies shot/spay or neuter/license/microchip" for $5 if indigent/or $25 for all others- an extreme bargin! County animal controls now offer discounts on microchipping in many areas. All military family pets must be microchipped ( our son is in the military).


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## makettle29 (Nov 12, 2005)

My two malts ALWAYS have their harnesses on, WITH IDENTIFCATION tags. I only remove it for bath time. I use a leather harness called a Buddy Belt, you can find them online. They are sturdy and the leather is flat, they have never caused a tangle or a matt.

My malts are also micro chipped. his is primarily useful if they are lost and found by animal control. It will not help you find you pup if she or he is stolden.

I have learned all this the hard way. I've tried all kinds of collars and harnesses, silk, fabric, nylon, rolled leather and suede. Nothing beats the Buddy Belt for durability and 
control when you are walking the pup. Other collars and harnesses may look more fashionable but there are also lots of models that fail when the dog to pulls hard.

I have used this harness on a 5lb and a 10 lb dog. It works equally well, you just have to find the correct size. I've even got one with crystals on it!


mary anna herk and theena


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

QUOTE (EmmasMommy @ Dec 23 2009, 07:57 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=865984


> Just note to those who think " my dog never leaves my home so they don't need a chip". Accidents happen. If you were called away unexpectedly, say to a funeral and someone else took your dog.........friend, sitter, dog hotel, kennel....anything could happen. And it does everyday.[/B]


Off topic: Micro-chip or not, we don't trust a soul with my Gigi. Not a sitter, friend that we could trust to properly car for her. And deff. no filthy hotels or kennels. No, no, no. LOL I personlly don't go to funerals, when they happen, me and Gigi stay in the hotel together. Am I over-protective, I think so.  And plus, there's five people in my family, one could always watch her if something was to happen. But she'll get micro-chipped for sure...eventually.  No tags though, they would get buried in all her hair, and nobody will ever be able to find them! LOL Gigi is more of a child to us than a dog you can say. But they need to com out with micro-chips for children too!


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

Hunter wears a collar at all times (unless we are sleeping). His is 5/8" wide and I get them from upcountryinc.com. They have a great variety. I feel its important to have him have identification on him at all times because even though he is well trained - you just never know when animal instinct will take over. Also, wearing a harness all day isn't comfortable for him (or me when we have to brush him out) but the collar hasn't caused a single problem. He is in a puppy cut.

EDITED TO ADD: Hunter's collar has 3 tags on it. One with our names and number, one that has his state registration on it, and another is his medical alert tag (he is on heart medication and has many allergies). He does not wear rabies tag because its bigger than his foot but the state id can only be issues upon proof of rabies so they said he's ok. He does not get walked on his collar, he uses a harness (that always matches his collar) and leash but those come off when he's not walking or working and the collar stays on.


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## almitra (Apr 24, 2009)

With Pepper in full coat, I have no use for harnesses or collars, though I own a collar that she wears to go outside to potty (no yard--apt dweller here), but comes off the instant she comes inside. I am sure she'd mat like nobody's business if I left it on her like I used to.


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## Orla (Jul 5, 2009)

I have 2 collars for Milo but I don't use them - I use a show lead with silk neck piece.


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## njdrake (Apr 23, 2007)

Not long after I got Zoey someone told me that a collar could lead to problems with their trachea so I don't use collars except as an accessory. What few times they've had one on I've never attached a lead to it. We only use a harness for walks and all three are microchipped.


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## briones1980 (Aug 21, 2008)

Rollo & Dexter's dad leaves them in their collars daily with full id and county tags, and they miraculously don't mat. Chowder on the other hand, with his super fine silky show coat seems to mat when he even looks at a collar for too long. I was drawn to this thread b/c I was wondering if there was a magic collar that didn't cause matting, lol.


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## Dora's Mom (Nov 7, 2009)

I got a tag and collar for Dora but she doesn't wear them because it was a pain to take the collar off every time she went in her crate. We got her microchipped and she doesn't normally wear any ID except the chip. I suppose I could clip her tags to her harness, but I keep thinking what if she somehow got out of the house when we didn't have her harness on? Then she's just a cute little dog with no way to tell who she belongs to. So we got the chip. I so need to remember to keep her rabies tag in the "doggy diaper bag" so we'll have it with us when we go out.


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## Juanelle (Jan 1, 2010)

I always use a harness when walking. As soon as we get done, I take it off or it causes matting. This works best for Coconut because he has lots of energy when walking and a collar doesn't work well.


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

My pups (malts) wear collar only to attach their tags on .. Harness is used for walks . Puppia is their fave


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## remy (Jul 9, 2009)

remy never wears a collar. but he does wear a gentle leader easy walk harness when we go out. he also has a harness from trixie & peanut but it's old now so will replace it soon with a leather buddy belt.


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