Dog Collar and Tags: Safety Warning

Most of us think of of our dog's collars and tags as safety and security but in chatting with a group of friends, all dog people, their stories shed anew light on collars and tags and not a pleasant one.

Yesterday, one of my friends was home, doing some chores when she heard one of her dogs choking and gagging. She ran to where the dog was only to find his tags had gotten caught in a floor heating grate. The dog was so tightly caught and pulling so much that she could not remove the collar, she eventually had to just pull the tags lose from the collar to save the dog from choking himself.

Then another friend told about one of her dogs whose collar had gotten caught on something on a backyard fence and was stuck there until she noticed her missing and found her and removed the collar.

There were quite a few other stories as well but there was one that was really scary and even I remembered hearing about it a while back. Two dogs were playing, like dogs do, and one of the dogs got its bottom jaw caught in the collar of the other and could not get free. The more the dogs struggled, the worse it was. They were eventually rescued but not without injury.

Now there are a lot of dogs going to be running around, as we jokingly call it, 'nekked', at least collarless in their own homes and yards. For many, although by law in a number of areas dogs are required to be collared and tagged, it had become a matter of safety and priorities. All of my friends, like myself, have our dogs 'chipped' and none of us ever have our dog out running around, they're all safely secured in home and fenced yard. They're only collared and tagged when out for walks or in public where it is necessary.

This is just being put forth as a word of safety and warning. Break-away collars are common for cats but not for dogs so please, keep this in mind and keep an eye on your canine companion if you keep them collared and tagged in your home or yard.