Dog collar construction advice?

[txoria]

Hi y’all -

I’ve been an off-and-on lurker on these forums for a while, & now I have a specific question!  I’ve been working on coming up with & testing a solid dog collar design for my goofball German Shepherd.  I keep having issues with my collars stretching.  For the most recent one, I used a midweight veg tan leather with a softer leather backing, & it was better than previous designs, but still ended up stretching significantly.

Should I go to a heavier weight veg?  Try backing the veg with harness or latigo leather?  Are there certain finishes or treatments that would help stiffen the leather & provide water protection? All ideas & experience appreciated!  I want to come up with a design that can be tooled on the outside but still hold up to all the wear that a dog will put a collar through.

 

Thanks!

Kambra

 

[Sheilajeanne]

Large dog collars need to be pretty thick. Also, I would use bridle leather or latigo, as these have a harder temper, are designed to resist the elements, and are less likely to stretch.

Oh, and you can also teach your dog NOT to pull. That helps, too! :D

Edit: just realized you want to tool the collar, which makes my suggestions invalid. Darn!

So, my revised suggestion would be to use a heavier weight of veg tan, then treat it with any of the numerous products available for making veg-tan resistant to the elements. Ask 5 people, you will likely get 5 different answers. Being a former horse person, I would clean the collar with a sponge that has one of those mildly abrasive nylon scrub pads on the back, then apply saddle soap. I find my dog's coat is oily enough that I've never had to use Neatsfoot oil to soften the leather.

I have a plain leather collar, about 7 oz., which has been used on multiple dogs since 1984, and has held up just fine. The stitching is starting to fray, though, and will likely need replacing soon.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Sheilajeanne

[txoria]

Thank you!  Helpful tips.  

Teaching him not to pull is the Holy Grail.  I’ve gotten 37 different opinions on how to do it, & so far none have worked very well ;D

[Sheilajeanne]

I can send you a PM about that. I do some pretty advanced obedience!  :D

[kgg]

Hi txoria,

My suggestion would be to maybe use a martingale style leather collar design to help reduce the amount of stretching and keeping it up high on the neck away from those powerful shoulders. To assist with the pulling what I have found worked with Huskies and Mals, who are true pullers by nature, using initially two collars at the same time on the dog for training worked. My goal was to show them to their championships in the conformation show ring and being able to walk them through crowds of people and dogs on a basic show lead. For that they really need to be trust worthy and focused. For those that don't know what a basic show lead is think of a shoe lace.

One collar being a sturdy martingale and the second a prong with a good bride leather lead being alternated between the two collars in short two minute time frames and training lasting no more then 10 minutes in total followed with 20 minutes of pure one on one play. I must tell you that before ever using a prong collar it must be properly fitted to that individual dog so get a pro to show you how to fit and use it.

Excellent small treats and positive reinforcement are going to be a must. Something like cooked meat / liver. What I have found is that after a few sessions the prong collar can be replaced with a show lead and after a few more sessions the martingale is removed for training leaving only the show lead.

My experience

kgg 

 

txoria

[Grumpymann]

I make what I call a training collar ( because Martingale is trademarked) it is adjustable. And has the features of both a choke chain and a regular collar. I use 2 triglides and a buckle, with a d-ring to attach the leash to. With very little training work the dog pulls a lot less. If you'd like a more detailed description of how it's done, let me know.

[Sheilajeanne]

Yes, training a dog not to pull is done mostly with treats. I don't even bother with a leash at first, because I do the initial training indoors. But once you move outside, a leash is necessary for safety. 

For a full grown large dog that's a determined puller, I use a prong, then, like you, transition to a regular collar or choke chain once the dog has learned not to pull.

Harnesses are MEANT for pulling...that's why huskies wear them when they are working! All that B.S. about a flat collar, choke chain or prong damaging the neck? How about a dog in a harness pulling its owner out into traffic, or towards another dog, and starting a dog fight? Believe me, I've seen it happen!

TEACH YOUR DOG NOT TO PULL, then it won't matter what it's wearing! Like you said, show leads are like shoelaces - if the dog pulls, the lead is going to break!

[Northmount]

On 5/19/2018 at 1:23 PM, txoria said:

Hi y’all -

I’ve been an off-and-on lurker on these forums for a while, & now I have a specific question!  I’ve been working on coming up with & testing a solid dog collar design for my goofball German Shepherd.  I keep having issues with my collars stretching.  For the most recent one, I used a midweight veg tan leather with a softer leather backing, & it was better than previous designs, but still ended up stretching significantly.

Should I go to a heavier weight veg?  Try backing the veg with harness or latigo leather?  Are there certain finishes or treatments that would help stiffen the leather & provide water protection? All ideas & experience appreciated!  I want to come up with a design that can be tooled on the outside but still hold up to all the wear that a dog will put a collar through.

Thanks!

Kambra

 

If you are making a 2 layer collar (lined) add a strip of poly webbing between the layers.  It won't stretch and therefore the collar will retain its shape better when subjected to water and other abuses.  There are some other posts about eliminating the stretch problem somewhere here if you wish to search for them.

Tom

[roo4u]

i suggest using a bridle leather under and then use your vegtan tooling leather over the top this will give you a non stretch base.  if you want a soft layer next to dog then sandwich bridle between layers, doesnt have to be real heavy.

also as suggested teach dog not to pull.  i disagree with the need for treats to train this however.  I can typically teach a dog not to pull in just a few minutes with just a choke chain, or sometimes just a flat collar just depends on the hardness of the dog.   prong collars have to be used a specific way and are not for the novice user.