A collar is crucial to training and needs to be something your dog is very comfortable with.
It is a good idea to put a collar on your dog within the first day or two at home. Adult dogs should have collars just loose enough to pull over their head with a little difficulty.
It’s natural for a dog not to like a collar at first
Since dogs cannot express their displeasure, or take their “hands” and try to remove it, they will scratch at it. This does not mean it “itches” – it just means it feels strange and somewhat uncomfortable.
If you need to potty train your dog, and decide to put a leash on during the process, you’ll probably find that he or she will get used to the collar quite quickly.
A couple of notes about leashes and collars:
- Dogs can get their collars caught on their crate. Crate manufacturers recommend no collars when crated.
- Many pups, especially retrieving breeds, tend to mouth and chew their leashes. Generally, they outgrow this. If it gets so bad that there is a tug of war happening every time you attempt to walk, try spraying the lower end of the leash with a bitter type spray (available at your local pet supply shop) or wrapping the leash in tin foil.
- “Choke” or “Slip” collars, especially chain ones, are only for training and should never be left on a dog when the leash is not on.
- If you’ve had your dog since it was a puppy you’ll know to check that collar weekly and increase the size as he grows. Collars will imbed in dog’s necks!
- Get an ID tag for your dog’s collar as soon as possible.
Still Have Collar Training Questions?
Get in touch with us – we’d be glad to help!
