Along with owning a dog comes, purchasing dog supplies. Two of the basic supplies a dog owner must have are a collar and leash. The choices in this area seem endless and quite confusing if you are a first dog owner. The question often asked is “which collar offers me the opportunity to train, hold tags and still looks good?” Martingale collars and leashes have been gaining popularity and with good reason.
These dog collars came about for use with sight hounds. The neck of the site hound is larger than their allowing them to slip out of a buckle dog collar. Today, the martingale collars, sometimes referred to as “whippet or greyhound collars”, are the number one choice by show dog handlers while in the ring.
Handlers and owners who have used this collar site the primary benefit as controlling your dog without choking or damaging their neck. Standard choke dog collars are by far the most popular collar purchased by dog owners. The issue is that most people do not fit the collar properly on the dog leading to neck and throat problems.
The collar has a small chain fitted a control loop. This chain connects the sides of the collar; when you attach a leash to the control loop and tug the collar, it closes on your dog’s neck. The result is even pressure placed on the neck stopping short of actually choking the dog.
When fitting your dog with a sight hound collar, measure your dog’s neck just behind the ears and purchase a collar that when the control loop is pulled tight the sides almost touch. The difference between the standard choke and the martingale collar is that if your dog pulls and tugs while walking the choke continues to pull tight where the sides of the martingale collar will stop.
They also come as an all-in-one martingale collar and leash, which is the collar you will see when you are watching then next Dog show. Martingale collars are the perfect choice for small dogs as well, as their necks are very delicate. Training your small dog to walk on a leash using a standard choke will cause damage as you tug. Using a buckle type dog collar for training offers no control and their purpose is to add fashion as well as hold the dog tags.
The martingale collar is also a great choice for the jogger in the family who likes the security of having the dog along for the run. They are the best purchase any dog owner who is looking for an all purpose collar that will accomplish many goals from training, holding tags, and adding a little fashion.
