Very Scary Morning!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Today, I was sitting out on our swing on our deck while Vern and Fudge were playing in the yard. The next thing I know I start hearing yelps....lots of squeals and yelps. This never happens, so I knew something was very wrong. I ran down our steps only to find that Vern's mouth was stuck on Fudge's collar and he could not let go. He was choking Fudge. Her collar was so tight, I could not get my fingers under it. I couldn't find the clasp and I could not get his mouth unstuck. So, back up the steps I went like a wild woman, screaming for my husband, to try and get scissors to cut the collar off. The sounds they were making were terrifying. Of course, our scissors were not were they were supposed to be, so I am yelling and running around trying to find the scissors. I found the scissors and my husband and I ran down the steps and just as he got to them, they came unstuck. Both dogs were so scared and I will never forget Vern's eye looking up at me while they were stuck. He was terrified. They play great together and are very good with one another, so this was an accident, but when I think of all the things that could have gone wrong, it makes me sick. What if I had not heard the commotion...what if my DH had not been home....what if I never found the scissors????

I have Christmas collars on both the dogs. Fudge takes a medium, but I keep having trouble with the collars loosening and there is a gap created that makes it easy for the other to grab onto. Does anyone have a solution or a better collar I could buy? Right now, we are not letting Fudge play outside with a collar on, but that could be trouble if she ever got loose. I would appreciate any suggestions.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I am so glad to hear this story has a happy ending!! If the problem has only occurred with the Christmas collars and they never had a problem with their regular collars maybe going back to them would resolve the issue? Maybe there is another way they can celebrate Christmas?

I agree that not wearing a collar at all is not a good long term solution and I think you already know all the reasons behind that!

Hope you and the doodles can find a lot of snuggle time today. It sounds like you all can use it!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

My husband hates the holiday collars and has been saying they are too loose. Just once, I should listen to him :) Going back to the Lupine collar. Thank you!

[Paul & Michele]

I am so glad to hear both dogs are ok. Give them both a big Doodle hug from us and one for yourself too.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Glad to hear the dogs are okay. I was sorry to read the breakaway collars are not always a good solution since I've thought about them. I keep rolled leather collars on my dogs all the time with just enough room to get two fingers underneath. The are smooth so I think it would be hard for a dog's teeth to get caught under them and they don't loosen. You can barely see them so decorative collars make no sense to me. So far so good but who knows. I don't let the dogs out if I'll be showering or something so that I'll hopefully hear any problems. It is scary.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Oh, good point. I am going to look up the rolled collars. My dogs love to be outside and I have to say, in all honesty, they have been outside while I was doing stuff inside. I check on them a lot, but it just so happened today, I was sitting on the deck in the freezing cold, just because. I am very thankful about that fact. Yeah, in hindsight, the decorative collars are sure not worth it.

[Leslie J]

How terribly scary!!! I am glad that all of you are okay!

[sandy b]

So glad all is well. I know how scary that can be.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so sorry, Laurie. You must have been scared to death. I'm thankful everything turned out okay. For a while because I was worried about this happening I used the breakaway collars. The problem was they kept coming unbuckled, and it was a pain always putting them back on. Now I try to remember to remove their collars if I'm not home to keep an eye on them. The way my two play it could certainly happen to them.

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

Very scary! I have heard of this happening to other dogs and now I take their collars off as soon as we get back from our walks. So mine don't wear collars at home - they play during the day and often bite/mouth at eachothers neck area. I can see how easily this could happen.

[Pat and Traveler]

Oh, Laurie! What a scary story! So glad everything turned out okay. You and the dogs deserve some special treats! I worry about collars too, not so much about another dog getting stuck but about Traveler himself getting hung up on something. I just got a rolled leather collar, having read that it prevents matting, and also have a clasp collar for doggie day-care. They require "Flat, quick release collars are the only types of collar permitted (no choke chains, gentle leaders, break-away, or prong collars please." So now I'm confused. I've seen pictures of the break-away collars and the clasps are different from the one I have. Mine is like what you find on lots of products--backpacks, fanny packs, etc. I thought this was a quick release collar, but maybe it isn't. Does anybody know if the clasp collar is a quick release collar???

[Camilla and Darwin]

I just know that the quick release is a snap that will break open if it has a lot of force put on it. Like,a dog jumping over a fence and having the collar snag. A normal snap collar wouldn't release. Some people don't use quick release collars because their dogs have been able to break out of them simply by pulling on a walk, which I find frightening. I think that a normal snap collar, like the one that you have, is a good option. You can still pinch it and release MUCH easier than a buckle collar. However, if you weren't around to release the collar off of the dog... a quick release might be better.

EDIT: Now I'm unsure. By quick release do you mean breakaway? Because that was the type of collar I was describing in my post.

[Pat and Traveler]

Thank you for the answer! I think the quick release and breakaway are different? At least it looked that way from the requirement stated by the doggie day care. It said yes to quick release and no to break-away. I really find this confusing. And then I'm not sure of the difference between a quick release and what I call a regular clasp, like the backpack/fanny pack thing.