Dog Collars

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The benefits we can reap from having a pet can be thoroughly rewarding. Due to their unconditional love, friendship and loyalty dogs are rightly known as ‘Man’s best friend’. Dog lovers can return the favour by taking good care of their pet.

It might sound like a lot of work at first but caring for your dog, after the puppy days, is relatively easy and most of the chores can fit neatly into your daily routine.

This article talks about some of the essentials you need to know about dog care.

Collar and ID Tag

The first thing you want to do for a new dog is give it a proper dog collar and an ID tag with your name, address and contact information. This increases the likelihood of your dog being returned to you if you are separated.

Laws

Check with your local animal shelter, veterinarian or humane society to find out what vaccinations your dog needs and be aware of dog fouling laws!

Spay or Neuter

If you are not planning on breeding dogs, help reduce the number of unwanted and stray dogs and improve the health of your pet by having them spay or neutered.

Training

Whether you purchase a book on dog training and teach them the basics at home or enrol in a class, having your dog learn basic commands will have a positive benefit on their behaviour and safety.

Register with a Vet

Regular visits to the vet will ensure your dog’s health and avoid future issues. If you need assistance locatting a good vet, check with a local animal shelter, other dog owners or a breeder.

Your Dog at Home

Give your dog a proper place to live. Dogs love to get out and run around, but need extended time out of the elements. Guard your dog from exposure to extreme weather. A big yard with a dog house is wonderful, but spending time with your dog inside and having a comfortable place to sleep, like a dog bed, is essential.

Dog Diets

Feed your dog a nutritionally balanced diet and make fresh water available to it at all times. Consult your vet for information on the type of dog food and amount to feed them in proportion to their size and age.

Dog Leads

A good, strong lead is a must-have item. There is a simple rule to follow; if the dog is off your property, the lead is on. Always ensure your pet is under control at home AND out in public.

Exercising your Dog

Dogs of all sizes and breeds have one thing in common. They love to run around and play. A fit dog is a happy dog, so spend time together taking walks and with dog toys such as balls and games specially developed to keep them mentally alert and . Taking frequent daily exercise is good for both of you and helps build the bond between you and your dog.

Groom your Dog

A clean dog is a well cared for. Sure dogs like to play outdoors and run around, and there are few things better for their health, and your relationship, than to give their coats a regular dog shampoo bath, trim hair if necessary and groom them with brushes and combs. Dog clothes like coats, hats and boots are also increasingly popular, and can help shield your dog from extreme weather.

Dogs like Companionship

Any relationship is a two-way street. You will have a pet dog that brings plenty of love and joy into your life if you are loyal, patient and faithful to your companion.

These are just the basics of dog care and picking up a book about dogs is highly recommended. Select a book that talks about various breeds, their traits and the care you should give them.

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A great way to keep your pet safe and looking handsome is to get a personalized leather dog collar for Fido to wear. Leather collars are rugged and can handle aggressive usage. By embossing your dogs name and your phone number to the leather collar you may help keep your pet safe if their tags were to ever fall off of the collar.

Ways to Customize A Leather Dog Collar

The most familiar kind of personalization you will likely notice on a leather dog collar is the dogs name. By customizing a leather dog collar with your animals name you help to identify your animal while giving him or her a fashionable collar to strut about in at the same time. The embossing of a name onto a leather collar is pretty common. For a little more detail you can have the outline of the embossing painted to make it stand out a little more or to add a little extra panache.

Spikes can had a touch of personality to your animals leather collar.There are a lot of sizes of spikes to fit your animals leather collar.Be sure you pick the proper size that will not interfere with your animal’s day to day routine.There are also a lot of studs to attach to a leather collar. Flat studs, star studs, round gemstone studs.

If you do put studs or spikes to your personalized leather dog collar do not forget toinspect the back side of the collar. You will want to be sure there is nothing rough that might hurt your dog’s neck. Look for the backside of the collar to have a another layer over it that hides where the studs and spikes were attached to the leather collar.

Emboss your animals name and add a few star studs. Design a personalized rhinestone dog collar by adding a few rhinestone studs to the collar.You can even create a custom theme for your dogs leather collar. Have a cowboy theme embossed on your pets collar or a selection of flowers. Have your favorite sports team embossed onto the collar, or create a crazy pattern of your own for your pets collar.

There are a lot of options are out there to create just the right customized leather dog collar to help show your pooch’s attitude.

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Pink leather dog collars exemplify all that is wrong with modern society, and not just on an aesthetic level.  You do have to wonder what the dog thinks when made to wear a monstrosity like a spiked pink leather dog collar.  Dogs must really love us in order to not kill us for having to go out in public dressed like that.  Although dogs aren’t color blind, they also don’t seem to care what color they wear.  It’s only people that insist on pink designer leather dog collars.

Trying To Improve On Nature

Not that Pepto-Bismol pink leather dog collars aren’t an assault to the eyeballs, but they also show the arrogance of the human race.  Leather is an incredible material.  It’s tough, it’s attractive and it smells good.  It also is very comfortable, once you break it in a little.  But it does not come in pink.  Although leather is often superior to other clothing materials, because it is not in pink makes it not good enough.

Just stop and think about all of the wasted materials, labor and effort that go into making pink leather dog collars – or pink leather anything, for that matter.  You have to have the land to raise crops to feed the cow or sheep.  You then have to raise the cow or sheep and then kill it, skin it and have the leather go through a special process called “curing”.  You also need to stretch and condition the leather during this time.

And then, you have to coat it in pink. Generally, you have to cover the leather in another material (usually not as tough) in order to just make the leather pink.  This often cracks off long before the leather underlay wears out.  But hey – it’s pink!

Other Canine Fashion Faux “Paws”

I you are going to insist on making your dog wear a pink leather dog collar, then please be sure your dog is a girl.  They say dogs can’t understand human language beyond a few words, but they sure know when they are being laughed at.  Once a human starts to snicker, that human’s dog then joins in to tease the boy dog that is forced to wear pink because the owner thinks it’s “cute”.

On a more serious note, please do not get any kind of dog collar with rhinestones, diamonds or small sparkly things that can easily pop off of the collar.  Dogs are like babies in that they explore the world through their mouths.  Dogs have been known to choke to death on the shiny attachments that have come off of fashion dog collars.

Technorati Tags: designer leather dog collar, Leather Dog Collar, pink leather dog collar

One great way to keep your pet safe and looking stylish is to create a personalized leather dog collar for him or her to wear. These leather collars are tough and can handle serious wear and tear. By adding both your dog’s name and your phone number to the leather collar you can help keep your pet safe if their tags were to ever fall off of the collar.

Different Types Of Things You Can Do To Personalize A Leather Dog Collar

The most common type of personalization you will likely find on a leather dog collar is a name. By personalizing a leather dog collar with your pets name you help to identify your dog while giving him a stylish collar to wear at the same time. The embossing of a name onto a leather collar is pretty standard. For a little extra detail you can have the outline of the embossing painted to make it stand out a little more or to add a little extra touch.

Leather collars are also great for attaching spikes and studs to. Spikes that you can attach to create a personalized leather dog collar come in a variety of sizes. Just make sure you pick a size that will not interfere with your dog’s day to day lifestyle. You can also pick a number of studs to attach to a leather collar. Flat studs, star studs, round gemstone studs. Many options are available to create just the right personalized leather dog collar to help express your dog’s attitude.

If you plan to attach studs or spikes to your personalized leather dog collar make sure to check the back side of the collar. You will want to make sure there is nothing rough that might agitate your dog’s neck. Look for the backside of the collar to have a finishing layer over it that hides where the studs and spikes were attached to the leather collar.

You can also use multiple personalization techniques on each collar to really produce a custom feel. Try embossing your pet’s name onto a leather caller and then adding a few star studs. Create a personalized rhinestone dog collar by adding a few rhinestone studs to the collar.

You can even create a custom theme for your dog’s collar. Have a cowboy theme embossed on your dog’s collar or a selection of flowers. Try embossing the logo of your favorite sports team onto the collar. Pick a rattlesnake pattern or create a crazy pattern for your dog’s collar.

Technorati Tags: Leather Dog Collar, Personalized Dog Collar, personalized leather dog collar

Do you Know How to Find a Good Priced Dog Training Collar?

Should you invest in supplies to train your dog?

It is important to know you will devote a lot of time and need to spend some money to successfully train your dog.

It is perfectly okay to buy very expensive dog collars if you prefer doing so. There are a lot of choices for you. Starting from stone studded collars to fashion dog collars, you can get anything but may end up spending a fortune. Most owners do not like to spend the extra money on dog training collars and therefore choose to use one that will be more practical and meet the basic requirements.

If you have a dog with a lot of energy or is highly curious you can find it stressful to train them, as you learn to deal with all his behavior patterns.

After investing for your dog’s training without satisfactory results, many owners tend to cut down from spending too much on other things that contribute nothing to improving the behavior of the dog. An option for cutting back on cost would be the type of dog training collar you use.

If the dog you are training likes to chew on things you may not want to invest in a nicer, more expensive collar at least until he begins learning to respond well to training. It is important to realize that the behavior of the dog and teaching them to respond to training is the main thing to focus on and not the collar, or any other accessories.

Even though dog collars are instrumental in getting better control and correcting unwanted dog behaviors, expensive collars can quickly effect your budget. To help stay within a manageable budget you don’t have to sacrifice quality because there are a lot of good functional collars that will work well without the high cost.

When shopping for the right collar you should also check its durability and functionality before you even begin to look at the price. It is a common mistake among buyers to use the cost as the basis for assessing the value, rather then basing it on the function and reliability.

Cost is a good margin for getting the right collar, but it should not affect the way one sees the item. You can find remarkable good dog training collars marked at an exceptionally good price. Another thing to be aware of is that just because the price is low, don’t think the quality of the collar is low too.

Don’t give into the mind set that pricing equals quality. You do not need to be in the mindset of thinking’s items at the lower end of pricing are of less quality, while those having expensive tags have the best quality. This usually happens but it is not always the case. You should do some research to find the best bargains available.

If your collar is integrated with advanced technologies will obviously be more expensive. The popular electronic dog collar is a good candidate. Electronic dog collars can run in price range from $100 - $1000 depending on what options they come with. You can expect a lot higher prices when more advanced technologies are used in making the collar.

Since dog collars can cost hundreds of dollars many people find it impractical to spend that much money on it, because it is a training accessory. With a little research you can find the type of collar you want and in the price range your willing to spend.

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When I was homeless in the South of England, I was surprised to see a lot of spiked leather dog collars among my fellow homeless – but not a lot of those collars were on their dogs.  Leather cracks and rots easily unless you have the materials in order to care for it properly.  Most of the homeless I met certainly couldn’t afford any leather cleaner.  I certainly couldn’t.  Instead, the spiked leather dog collars were reserved for other uses.

Fashion Accessories

What is a dog collar but a dog’s necklace?  What’s good for a dog should certainly be good enough for the master or mistress.  Therefore, many homeless preferred to wear spiked leather dog collars as necklaces.  If the collars were too small to fit comfortably around the neck, then they were used as bracelets.  This looked incredibly good with people who had Mohawks or other punk-like hairdos.

And what can a homeless person do if they don’t have a home to store all of their fashion accessories?  They could then be buckled to the loops or straps of a rucksack (backpack), purse or belt loops.  I remember one lady who made a definite fashion statement by using a tiny pink leather dog collar as an earring. 

Hanging Objects

I spent most of my time homeless in England living in a shelter I made myself called a “bender”.  You bent green hazel trunks into arches, tie them together and then threw tarps over it, basically.  I found many nice things in other people’s trash.  But I had a problem storing these things.  I found I could use spiked leather dog collars to hand some objects on.  I’d buckled the spiked leather dog collars around one of the hazel arches and then hand a basket or whatever off of them

Quick Home Repair

My bender wasn’t the sturdiest of homes, but it did last about three years.  The problem is that eventually the green hazel trunks dry out and snap.  This means your arch suddenly goes flying off in different shapes.  Sometimes, you can re-bend the trunk back into the arch shape and tie them off again.  I used whatever I had to tie the trunks back together, including ropes, bandannas and spiked leather dog collars. 

Even though I now live in America and live in a home, I still can’t help thinking why spiked leather dog collars are still used as dog collars.

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They’re handsome, stylish and sometimes controversial. They come mass made and some with designer labels. They also make incredibly high priced chew toys for a lot of puppies and dogs. They’re leather dog collars, once the standard dog gear and now a luxury thing. Is a leather dog collars right for your pet?

Benefits

A few of the benefits of getting leather dog collars are that they are long lasting provided you take care of them the right way. Even though they are more expensive initially than rayon or nylon collars, they can sometimes last longer than the life of your dog. A lot owners of dogs who get good and muddy like to use leather dog collars and leashes than of other materials because it is so sturdy.

Another advantage is that leather always matches your pet’s fur, whether it is brown leather or black leather. Leather has an undeniably timeless look and a great smell, if you take care of the leather properly. There are now a wide variety of leather dog collars in different patterns, colors, with rhinestones or other additions. There are even renowned designers of people fashions who are getting into pet fashions.

Cons

The main disadvantage of leather dog collars is that it’s made out of very tasty animal hide. At least, your dog thinks it’s tasty. You can’t tell your dog that it’s not good to chew on the $100 rolled leather dog collar but it is preferrable to chew on rawhide treats. They are made of nearly the same stuff. Dogs will chew on leather, but with patience and persistence, they can be trained not to.

One of the other disadvantages is having to clean and condition the leather dog collar and leash. This is something you do not have to worry about with nylon or rayon collars and leashes. You can throw them in the bath along with the dog. But prolonged exposure to soaking water will destroy leather. You need to get special soaps and conditioners for them. You might need to have the leather collars worn only on special occasions.

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, than you are already trying to cut out all animal-based products from your life. Killing cows for dog collars might not sit well on your conscious. But there are attractive faux leather dog collars that are just about as tough as leather on the market. As an added bonus, they don’t have the strong smell that attracts dogs looking for a quick snack.

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If you are interested in getting an electric shock dog collar for your dog, there are a few things that you are going to want to be aware of first. Mainly you are going to want to learn more about the argument on whether the electronic shock dog collar is cruel or humane.

What The Electric Shock Dog Collar Are

In order to make your own conclusion on whether the electric shock dog collar is cruel or not, you are first going to need to learn more about this type of dog collar in general and how they work. One thing only, you must know what you are doing. If you are a beginners, get the Swedish Silent Nylon Training Collar from trainingcollar.com and start in a dog training club to get the basic knowledge.

These dog collars make dog training easy for you, so that you can teach your dog how to stop barking. You only need to keep the collar on them for a certain period of time, after which they will have been permanently trained and you can take the collar off and should never have to put it back on them again.

They work by lightly shocking your dog when they bark, not enough to harm them but just enough to make them realize that what they are doing wrong. You should start by putting the electric shock dog collar on at times throughout the day or night when your dog may bark but should not be, for instance when you have guests over or when you are leaving to go to work in the morning.

Where to Buy Electric Shock Dog Collar

If you have decided that the dog collar is safe to try on your dog, which it is, and you would like to try one on your own dog, you can generally just head to your local pet supply store and find what you need.

These dog collars are so popular that there is almost no pet store that you can find that will not offer a electric shock dog collar selection for you to choose from.

These are really great dog training devices, well worth a try at least, if your dog has a problem with barking. Every good pet owner will make sure that their dog is trained properly and not being rude or upsetting to you and your guests.

You want your dog to be polite and welcoming, and make sure that they do not annoy or frighten you or people in your home. This is certainly not the only device out there that you can use to get your dog to stop barking, but this is definitely one of the best options out there today.

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All dogs need a dog collar because it’s usually required by law.  You might like the look of wide leather dog collars.  But is this the right kind of collar for your dog?  You need to take in mind your dog’s physique, temperament and any training issues he or she might have.  You might discover that the best dog collar isn’t a wide leather dog collar at all.

If Your Dog Pulls

Some dog trainers will recommend a wide leather dog collar to help discourage dogs from pulling strongly on the lead.  This is better than using a choke chain (which can often cause spinal damage in dogs) and far better than a dog shock collar (which should be banned).  Stay far away from any trainer who advises the use of shock collars.

But, in the end, no gadget will help your dog stop pulling, not even a wide leather dog collar.  For example Labradors need patient and persistent training to get them to stop.  When they pull, you stop and do not go any further.  You only walk when the dog is behaving.  It’s hard to do, but it’s the only sure cure.

This writer has a strong pulling dog.  I just got used to it.  I did teach her to stop and look back at me on command.  The pulling actually makes her seem a little wild and kept undesirable people away.  In order to keep her from choking, I attach her lead to a chest harness instead of her collar (which is nylon and not a wide leather dog collar).

How Big Is Your Dog?

Wide leather dog collars need to be on dogs with necks big enough to wear them comfortably.  Your dog might not be the biggest in the world, but if he has a massive neck, then perhaps it will take a wide leather dog collar.  Breeds that can take wide leather dog collars include Mastiffs, Bullmastiffs, Neapolitan Mastiffs, any of the bulldog breeds and some Great Danes.

Special Occasion

Genuine leather is beautiful and durable, but is also very expensive and can be difficult and time-consuming to clean.  You might also have a dog that can’t resist the smell of genuine wide leather dog collars and decides to eat it.  Not all dogs will eat leather, but quite a lot will.  Also, if any animal-rights activists are nearby, you will get the evil eye from them for using genuine leather.

You might want to save the wide leather dog collar for special occasions such as going to the dog photographer and have a nylon collar for everyday wear.

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Your dog is one of a kind (even cloned dogs show different personality traits).  So, why not get a one of a kind collar for him or her?  You can get such a stellar highlight of their canine wardrobe with a custom leather dog collar.  You do want to be sure your dog doesn’t love chewing on leather products before ordering a custom leather dog collar, or you will truly appreciate the phrase “love to bits”.

What You Are Paying For

Take your time in selecting what you want to go into a custom leather dog collar.  Because it is handmade, you can not only pick the length, width and color, but often get to pick out such things as what kind of leather you want, what designs (if any) to add and can even get a nameplate for your dog.  And yes, you can even get custom spiked leather dog collars (always a favorite with Poodles).  You can often get comfortable and long lasting matching leashes as well.

You will discover right away that all of this choice in custom leather dog collars will come at a price.  You are not only paying for a special design or size, but you are also paying for your custom leather dog collar to be handmade, which is a very rare thing these days.  By the time you get the custom leather dog collar, you might want to frame it rather than putting it around your dog’s neck.

Measuring Your Dog

You will be asked for your dog’s collar size.  Don’t just say “medium”.  This doesn’t fly with makers of custom leather dog collars.  They are going to spend a lot of time and materials on a collar and they want to be sure they get it right for you.  They might not be able to sell a custom leather dog collar that didn’t quite fit the dog it was designed for.  So, you need to give your custom leather dog collar maker an exact measurement.

Get a tape measure used for people.  Don’t use the stiff tape measures used by handymen and carpenters.  If you can’t get a ribbon-like tape measure, get a piece or string and mark of the points with your fingers and then measure that.   Wrap around the dog’s neck loosely and then add two inches and that’s your measurement.

Before you order a custom leather dog collar, be sure you understand the refund policies of the maker, just in case.

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