# Downside to leather collars?



## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

I would like to get our Pyr a nice thick leather collar. Are there any downsides to letting him wear a thicker wider-ish collar?

No spikes or studs or anything like that, just a thick leather collar. He's too much of a leaner to put anything pointy on him. I'm thinking a cow collar cut to fit the dog. The width is 1 3/4". Input? Suggestions? I referred back to the older spiked collar threads, but they're a bit more hardcore than what I'm wanting. ( I don't want bleeding thighs when Goose leans against me for attention )

Today, I was finishing brushing out his shedding undercoat and got to a spot that was oozing. Puncture marks. :flame: I pulled the hair out of them and trimmed it up so I could see the wounds and give them a good cleaning. They aren't huge, but they aren't little either. They aren't bleeding and don't appear infected. I cleaned the area with soapy water and a rag, and then slathered it with Neosporin. They aren't deep enough or large enough to require stitching and they actually appear a few days old.(There was never enough blood to notice it even on his white fur. Nothing that would have made me suspicious)

I'm thinking the dogs he confronted a couple weeks ago may have come back and tagged him on the side of his throat. I'd like to prevent that in the future.

The goats and poultry are all fine, and don't worry, if I ever catch his "friends" back on our side of the fence, they won't be going home. :viking:

This isn't meant to discuss the efficiency of a spiked collar to prevent death, but a thick leather collar shouldn't hurt, right?

We have one of these for our dairy cow and it's nice strong leather(took her pulling and leaning on it. It's on her 8 month old calf now and he's not exactly easy on it). (Cheaper than a lot of dog collars too)
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/leather-neck-straps/camid/LIV/cp/16692/

or maybe one of these collars designed for hog hunting dogs?
http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/WildBoarUSA/-strse-99/F.-3-INCH-BIOTHANE/Detail.bok
http://www.hogdogvests.com/products.php


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

Those Biothane collars are nice, and weatherproof too. That's the only downside to leather--it's not weatherproof, and stiffens and breaks down when it gets wet.

Do keep in mind that a heavy, wide collar will mat the fur around the neck.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> That's the only downside to leather--it's not weatherproof, and stiffens and breaks down when it gets wet.


X 2

Nylon lasts a LOT longer


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## Goatress (Feb 4, 2011)

My friend is actually in the process of building leather LGD collars that will be sheepskin lined and be along Turkish lines. She will be marketing them. They will be stout - made from saddle leather - stout enough to withstand about anything. When I get a photo will post. 

Right now my dogs are in average width nylon collars because they chewed up the last Turkish collars I bought (non spiked). They were fancy and had bells and stitched beads which soon came unraveled. However I do like sheepskin, it is easier on a dog's fur. I do prefer leather as it breathes I think more than nylon. 

I also run a lot of dogs collarless. If the attacker is hell bent on doing damage, this is where carlancas and Turkish spiked collars come in. But in your case, as you've stated, you don't want to go that direction. There was some sheep catalog I had a while back who was putting out bright orange nylon "LGD collars" and advocating using plastic ear tags like you would put on cattle, for ID (dog's name, your phone no., etc.). 

Problem I saw with that was the tags were too easy to get pulled off by another dog. Can't remember the name of the company maybe someone else will know who I am talking about. But they were wider collars than most and bright orange nylon.....


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## horsepoor21 (Mar 14, 2007)

Goatress > I'm not sure if it's the same thing you're talking about but I got the tags for collars that look like ear tags for my dogs . They're not plastic though and virtually indestructable . I hurt my hands just getting the stupid things ON their collars .hahaha

I'd be interested in your friend's collars when you have photos please !

ETA > Oops ,I forgot to say I got the tags from Premier Supply . I really like that company ,they are very helpful !


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

have you considered the kevlar & ballistic nylon cut collars made for hog hunting


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

Have to agree with the leather not lasting well in the elements. I can't imagine sheepskin lined would last well either. Make sure whatever you use the collar is not tight enough for the dog to get it caught and hang itself. 
So far I prefer the nylon, or synthetic collars for my dogs, they just seem to last longer.


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## Goatress (Feb 4, 2011)

horsepoor21 said:


> Goatress > I'm not sure if it's the same thing you're talking about but I got the tags for collars that look like ear tags for my dogs . They're not plastic though and virtually indestructable . I hurt my hands just getting the stupid things ON their collars .hahaha
> 
> I'd be interested in your friend's collars when you have photos please !
> 
> ETA > Oops ,I forgot to say I got the tags from Premier Supply . I really like that company ,they are very helpful !


YES! That was them, Premier Supply! So they are tougher than regular cow ear tags, well maybe that is a plan after all.....they sure do stand out good, and would be great way to show people from a distance that the dog is someone's.

My friend is ordering all kinds of cool bells and stuff to put on these collars. Her husband builds saddles for cowboys. She'll be doing cool stuff like leather tooling, burning edges and stamping on these. Some will have spikes some not. I am excited to see too and will post pics as soon as they get the prototype collar done! Thanks again for refreshing my memory about those ID tags from Premier. :bow:


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## Goatress (Feb 4, 2011)

Pops2 said:


> have you considered the kevlar & ballistic nylon cut collars made for hog hunting


Pops do you have a link or links you could post for those of us who don't even know they made these (ahem, that's me!). Sounds like they would hold up to anything.....


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

Thanks everyone.

Wolf Flowers- Do you know how stiff the biothane is? I know they are advertising it on a hog hunting site, so I would think it was built to handle some chomping.

Goattress- I'd love to see the collars your friend is making. I did refer back to the older threads and checked out Turkish and carlanca collars. I could see using them in a higher pressure area, but our Pyr roams our 5 acre farm and when he's no roaming, he's by the backdoor waiting for someone to come out to lean against for attention. He surprises us because it seems as though he's slacking, but when duty calls he seems to appear and take care of business and then back to his nonchalante ways. He's such a leaner and lover and on top of that we really don't have a high predator problem. The occasional dog, fox or hawk. I just don't think a carlanca collar is warranted in our situation, ya know? Hate to get a spike to my leg or someone else's because the pup is being a love bug. LOL

Pops- I think the collars in the last link are a combination of nylon and kevlar, both of the last links- the biothane and the kevlar- are hog hunting dog sites. So we were on the same train of thought there.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

Goatress said:


> Pops do you have a link or links you could post for those of us who don't even know they made these (ahem, that's me!). Sounds like they would hold up to anything.....


http://www.hogdogvests.com/products.php

There are some here, the fourth product down. I was checking them out too, they were in the third link of the OP. 

Here's another place that was getting some good reviews from hog hunters because of the variance in width. 
http://www.cazadorescutgear.com/product_detail.asp?ID=72

This source uses the ballistic nylon, because of a study that showed kevlar can degrade with moisture. There are videos showing the collar in use and how they can take the pressure. (It's hog hunting with dogs, so the videos are a bit bloody, just a forewarning.)
http://www.razorbackoutfitters.com/detail.aspx?ID=5


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## longshadowfarms (Nov 27, 2002)

Have never had a problem with good leather. Our last Lab wore hers for 14 yrs and then our Basset wore it for another 4 yrs. I like rolled leather on a Pyr - not so likely to cause matting in the hair.


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

wolffeathers said:


> Wolf Flowers- Do you know how stiff the biothane is? I know they are advertising it on a hog hunting site, so I would think it was built to handle some chomping.


It depends on how thick it is, but it is stiffer than most of the leather used for dog collars and just as tough, tougher if you consider that it is waterproof/weatherproof.


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

I got some leashes made from it, and really like them so far.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

i got mine custom made by Ugly Dog Ranch. they sold out to Wild Boar USA and no longer offer the ballistic nylon collars.
i can vouch for cazadores cut gear. Mike didn't start selling cut gear until a few years after i got my stuff so i haven't used it. but i know Mike & Michelle are real stand up people.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

So how flexible are the kevlar or ballistic nylon collars? Would it be something that could be left on the dog?

Would the biothane collars be enough to prevent or severely impede puncture wounds to the neck?

I personally love rolled leather, but I don't think they would provide much protection in this case.

Thank you everyone so much for your input, I do really appreciate it.


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

wolffeathers said:


> So how flexible are the kevlar or ballistic nylon collars? Would it be something that could be left on the dog?
> 
> Would the biothane collars be enough to prevent or severely impede puncture wounds to the neck?


I can't speak for the kevlar/ballistic nylon, but biothane is really tough, at least as tough as leather if not more so.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

i did want to add, on the leather, if you condition it once a month with a good leather cgonditioner then a rub down with some beeswax weather wont bother it.

i work renfaires so leather worn all day in the sun with random rain and thunderstorms, wet dry wet dry wet dry all season long is something i know well...keep it conidtioned and a light coat of bees wax itll last a lifetime...

its when its not conidtioned regularly that the weather takes its toll on it, because rain then dryig in the sun removes ALL moisture form the leather, and you want to keep some moisture in it or, being skin, itll crack and split when too dry 

personally i like a good simple leather collar on any dog, as long as the collar is properly fitted and not likley to get caught on fencing/branches ect.


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## westbrook (May 10, 2002)

leashes leather, collars.... nylon with plastic car seat type closures.

if an lgd decides to go after a predator it is easy for them to get caught by the collar on logs, branches, a junk pile, anothers tooth!

having a leather collar with a buckle is dangerous. I keep collars on my dogs so if needed, I can pull them away... but my dogs often loose them because they got caught on something up in the hills and the collar - thank goodness - breaks away.

Leather doesn't last long in the elements, nylon does.

Leather leashes are far superior to nylon for meany reasons, first and formost.. when the dog pulls, you can grab hold of leather and it stays, nylon slips from the hand.

If you put a buckle collar on a dog, it must be loose enough for the dog to slip out... doesn't work if the dog is hanging by the collar. the weight of these dogs, the break away collars come undone so the dog easily falls free.

http://breakawaycollar.com/


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

ballistic nylon is pretty rigid. it's flexible enough to wrap around the neck comfortably but it isn't going to bend in the middle w/ the dog's neck.


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

I prefer the nylon with a snap together thingie  no buckles. I have had them try to go over the fence to get at a coyote. One day there were four running along side the property in the daytime and my one LGD got caught on the fence, I leave their collars looser then house dogs and thankfully his plastic snap snapped. I was running toward him but he freed himself before I reached him. 
I would worry they could get caught or hung up on something and the leather would not give like a nylon one.


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