As a longtime dog lover, rescuers and foster for many dogs over the years, I am so sorry to hear of your losses. If anything can reduce me to a blubbering idiot, it is the passing of a beloved family companion. Evolution has not been kind to us people as dogs have learned to communicate with us humans by making eye contact the way they do.
Collars are a tool to achieve an end. For the most part they are intended to be an attachment point when we need to walk our pets in public or restrain them temporarily in a location. Over time, collars have also become an identification tool.
Most flea & tick collars are constructed of materials that will break if sufficient pulling force is applied. Some F&T collars are designed to loosen before breaking. The other types of collars with clasps, fabric, metal choke chains etc are designed not to break. These are intended for restraint and in the case of choke chains for training purposes. I am a firm believer in identifying one's pets. During the day when my the dogs have free access to the outdoors, my dogs wear collars with tags just in case they knock down the fence and go on the lamb. With tags indicating a reward (en espa?ol) for their return and a phone number, the chances of getting them back is increased.
Dogs who are in the house and not running loose about the property should probably not be wearing a restraining collar. Bed time or after the last outing for the night is a good time to remove these. Most retraining collars are size adjustable and each dog should have a collar that can be adjusted to several sizes larger than needed. When the collars are being used as an attachment for identification dog tags only, at great inconvenience to myself, I used to adjust the size of the collar so that I can easily slip three fingers (one on top of the other) between the neck and the collar. In most cases this is enough space to allow the dog to pull its head out of the collar but not quite enough slack to allow the collar to come flying off every time the dogs shakes or scratches itself. Although I have on occasion had to wander the yard looking for a collar without an attached dog.
Obviously when intentionally restraining a dog, the collar need to be adjusted so that it cannot be sloughed off. I have grown weary of constantly adjusting collar size so I now employ different collars for each dog based on the intended use. Much less size adjusting going on these days.
Dogs respond to collars. They clearly delineate daytime activities from nighttime quiet time. They are an excellent means of identifying your dog(s) and a very effective training correction tool. Neck collars are not the be all end all solution though. For dogs that have already learned to walk properly on a leash, consider a harness. This give the walker much more control over a dog that decides it's time to take off after that cat down the street.
Just remember to take restraining collars off when they are not needed or you are not around. There is no real need for a collar when a dog is confined inside a house. At other times, as long as there is a person around and the collars are loose enough, it shouldn't be a problem to employ them. But at no time when there is no supervision should your dog or your child be wearing a nonbreakable restraining collar.
So please identify your pets with a collar and a tag when they are outside.. Please restrain your dog when needed but also recognize that a collar is not an item that is attached at birth and then never removed. While not perfect, collars remain a useful tool and like any tool are intended for a set of specific purposes and need to be used in a way that provides the greatest advantage for your pet and its owner. Collars are not perfect and can be a hazard if not used judiciously.
Again, condolences, William. In time, please considered offering another companion a forever home, there are so many that need one.
