I want to make stuff for my dog

[battlemunky]

1 hour ago, Jay6040 said:

Sadly my staffy suffers from allergies but I think shes fine with leather, well she's worn leather collars before without any issues, so hopefully she will be okay. Do you think some sort of padding might offer better protection from stuff washing out from the leather onto her skin?

Padding would probably help. Honestly, I think it was a fluke but I can't NOT say something.

[Sturme]

3 hours ago, Jay6040 said:

 

Do the edges of the leather need to be sewn? I see on some collars theres stitching around the edges?

 

Thanks for all the replies!

stitch the edge, it will help prevent stretching and give it a nice professional look on a collar

 

[DebSweet]

I have had dogs with allergies, and newly adopted dogs with skin issues that had to heal, but who still had to wear a collar.  Here is what I had good luck with, and I hope this helps someone!

Some dogs have metal allergies; even good stainless steel can cause a reaction.  

Some dogs also have nylon/plastic allergies (fairly common). 

However, these same dogs usually won't react (in my experience anyway) to powder coated hardware.  You just need to keep an eye on the powder coat because it will chip over time.  

For dogs with leather, material, dye, or just collar rubbing the wrong way issues, padding works.  What I did was make removable collar covers to slip the collar into--old towels work great for a cheap and temporary solution to test to see if that's the problem.  

If you want something that looks a little better, look into working dog collars that have padded linings; I've seen some made of leather and lambswool at dog shows. 

If you still have questions, please feel free to ask; I'm happy to help where I can. 

 

[gary]

Jay, Check your messages please.

[toxo]

Jay, there's some good advice there. I don't know if you have a budget and allergies notwithstanding I just wanted to say that it's easy to do some basic stuff with hardly any tools whilst you learn about what tools to buy and for what purpose. For example a sturdy fork can replace a stitch liner/groover/creaser. Any straight edged piece of metal will do for cutting against instead of strap cutters. Instead of stitching paraphernalia, use rivets. Don't even need a rivet setter for learning just a small hammer. There's no doubt that the right tools will help enormously once you understand when to buy basic or quality. One cheap tool which I would advocate from the get go is a decent size cutting mat. not only will it keep your blades sharp but the lines will enable you to keep everything straight and square. There are patterns to be had all over the place, some free and some you have to pay for. Take a look at this one. Not free but really easy to follow and there's a video showing how to. Good luck. I'm sure you're going to love your leatherwork as we all do.

 https://www.leather-patterns.com/s/search?q=Dog harness pattern

[MikeRock]

Forget the strap end punch.  I got by for years with a water drinking glass or a pop can.  Just trace one side, judge center and match the other side.  If you screw up, cut a little to balance.

God bless

Enjoy your new skills:)

[TomWisc]

I have been following this thread and was thinking of making my dog a collar. What do you all think of using deer hide for inside of the collar? 

[NickJackson1997]

I think you may need additional tools for more extensive work. For example, some clients may ask you to sew or install various spikes. As far as I know, these leashes help control the dog because large breeds are pretty challenging to maintain, and these collars help with that. Mainly because it makes it more effective at teaching commands. This kind of collar was beneficial when training my dog on service commands. I also needed help at https://www.servicedogregistration.org. Fortunately, my dog is now independent and calm. Now I don't have to worry about letting him off leash.

Edited November 30, 2022 by NickJackson1997

[Bert03241]

On 9/26/2019 at 5:16 AM, Sheilajeanne said:

One of the most important tools for doing leashes and collars is a good strap cutter. That should be your first purchase.

You probably will not want to buy large quantities of leather at first. A good alternative is to look for belt blanks on sale. The leather is already finished and dyed on some blanks, or if you want to tool it, just get the natural veg tan blanks. Strap leather is also frequently available on sale at Tandy.

If you just want to add 'bling' to collars, you won't need stamps, just setting tools and punches and tools for finishing and slicking edges, such as an edge beveler and edge slickers. Edges can be slicked manually, or you can go high tech and  use an electric drill or bench grinder motor, and attach the slicker to that.

Thats really confusing you say first tool a strap cutter then tell him to buy pre cut belt blanks yikes then what does he do with the strap cutter watch it colllect dust LOL

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Bert03241 said:

Thats really confusing you say first tool a strap cutter then tell him to buy pre cut belt blanks yikes then what does he do with the strap cutter watch it colllect dust LOL

he's been confused since 2019, poor guy.