Why My Dogs Do Not Wear Collars

Most dog owners feel that collars should be worn at all times. Collars provide a sense of security to the owner. If the dog were to become lost, the dog wearing a collar stands a better chance at being found and returned. Also, collars provide owners with a better sense of control. One need only grab the collar of an excited animal to calm it down.

A dog found without a collar conjures up thoughts of abandonment and animal cruelty. However, dog collars in multi-dog households can in fact be more harmful than allowing your dogs to be collar-free. Even the so-called quick release collars have a dark side. My husband and I unfortunately experienced this first hand.

Last spring, my husband and I brought home a white husky puppy, which we aptly named Cubby. Cubby is the nickname that Robert from the television show "Everybody Loves Raymond" affectionately calls his younger brother, Ray. The reason for Cubby's entrance into our lives was to be a companion to our rambunctious Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix dog, Perry. It had become increasingly apparent that Perry needed a young friend he could play with. He had been wearing our older dog, Yoda, out (Yoda is our 11 year old Border Collie/Keeshond mix).

One of the first things we did was to outfit Cubby with his very own collar, complete with an engraved tag with our address and phone number on it, should Cubby ever become lost. All three of our dogs wore collars with identification tags on them. Even with a fenced-in back yard, we wanted to err on the side of caution. All it takes is one dart out the front door, or a push on a loose gate with a nose, and we wanted to give our dogs the best possible chance of finding their way home should any of them ever escape. All three dogs also wore special quick-release collars, which are designed to break away easily should they become caught on something. Again, the quick-release function probably existed due to my over protective nature, but I wanted our dogs to be as safe as possible should they ever become caught on something while being out of my sight.