[04Coplan]

My "puppy" is almost 10 months old and almost 90 lbs, and we would find he was constantly loosing his collar when he played with our pitbull terrier. He would kindly bring it back in to me, but we were baffled as to why it kept coming off! I then realized during the wee hours of the morning, his neck is a bigger diameter than his head, so unless i snug the collar up under his jaw line, it will probably come off again. Is this common? Is there a better solution? Right now, he's collarless and tagless because of it, and I'm afraid we will get in trouble for him not having the required tags on him.
Thanks
April

 

[Tagrenine]

My "puppy" is almost 10 months old and almost 90 lbs, and we would find he was constantly loosing his collar when he played with our pitbull terrier. He would kindly bring it back in to me, but we were baffled as to why it kept coming off! I then realized during the wee hours of the morning, his neck is a bigger diameter than his head, so unless i snug the collar up under his jaw line, it will probably come off again. Is this common? Is there a better solution? Right now, he's collarless and tagless because of it, and I'm afraid we will get in trouble for him not having the required tags on him.
Thanks
April

Hi there! This is quite the conundrum. There are some breeds where the neck is greater in diameter than the skull, but the Golden is not one of those breeds. In those breeds, the dogs typically wear martingales, but that sort of collar would still come off during play.

90lbs is however, very large for a 10mo puppy. Is your puppy overweight? It might be the reason why his neck is larger than his skull and helping him lose the weight could benefit him exponentially now and in the future.

 

[04Coplan]

Hi there! This is quite the conundrum. There are some breeds where the neck is greater in diameter than the skull, but the Golden is not one of those breeds. In those breeds, the dogs typically wear martingales, but that sort of collar would still come off during play.

90lbs is however, very large for a 10mo puppy. Is your puppy overweight? It might be the reason why his neck is larger than his skull and helping him lose the weight could benefit him exponentially now and in the future.

I am guestimating his weight...the pit is around 65 (vet weight) and he is much larger and broader than him, so he may only be 70-80, but he doesn't look or feel overweight. He doesn't gorge his food, but a very slow eater. He's very active, and when he stands up to me, he's almost 5ft tall. I'll know weight better in June.
Thanks for the info.
April

 

[puddles everywhere]

The only time my dogs have a collar on is when they are training or going for walks. It's never a good practice to leave a dog in a crate with a collar on, it's not safe. It's also not very safe to leave any dog unattended with a collar on. If they snag it on something you will glad it comes off so they can get loose.
I must agree with Tagrenine that 90 lbs sounds really large for a 10 month old puppy.

 

[Ffcmm]

Oh Gosh I 100% agree with puddles, many multi dog households have suffered a loss when one pup’s jaw gets caught in the other’s collar. I’ve heard of dogs getting strangled, and then the other dog panicking etc. This type of freak accident is more common than you think, and very dangerous!

It sounds like your pair play a lot like mine and I would remove all collars in the house or if they really must have them, use breakaway collars.

 

[nolefan]

I personally know people who have had a dog die from strangulation because they thought the dogs were out playing in the yard, in reality one dogs jaw was hooked in the other dog's collar. A horrible heartbreak for the family. Another dog in our neighborhood was out on the backdeck laying down and somehow the tags on the collar fell between the boards of the deck and got caught, again the dog strangled. When I was a child, our neighbor's great dane hung herself on the fence with her collar and died. I strongly encourage you to use a martingale style collar for walks and having no collar on your dog in the house. Be sure your dogs are microchipped in the event they are ever lost. Safety first.

 

[HollyB]

Is he really 5 feet tall? I'm 5'2", and my (tall) Golden Retriever only comes up to my mid thigh....

 

[Dunmar]

Is he really 5 feet tall? I'm 5'2", and my (tall) Golden Retriever only comes up to my mid thigh....

I'm guessing standing on hind legs

 

[HollyB]

Ah ok. I though 'stands up to me' meant on 4 paws. You may be right, and the OP means on 2 hind paws! That's not an accurate way to measure height though... 😃

 

[Maggie'sVoice]

You can use a martingale collar or also known as a limited slip/humane choke collar. They are used on grey hounds. They are an unslipable collar.

 

[pawsnpaca]

Agree with what has already been recommended. No collar in house, crate or yard or any time your dog isn't under your constant supervision, and never when playing with another dog, regardless of whether or not you are supervising (make sure he's microchipped in case of accidental escape). You can use a martingale collar for walks outside the house, but I'd still recommend getting one with a quick release buckle (see example below). In a situation where the collar is trapped on a panicking/choking dog, you would have to tighten the collar briefly to get a traditional buckle collar to release... quick release collars are a much better bet for an emergency removal.

FRISCO Solid Nylon Martingale Dog Collar with Buckle, Red, Small: 14 to 17-in neck, 3/4-in wide - Chewy.com

Buy Frisco Solid Nylon Martingale Dog Collar with Buckle, Red, Small: 14 to 17-in neck, 3/4-in wide at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

 

[Lambeau0609]

Wow, 90lbs is huge for a 10 month old. My golden will be 5 yrs old in June and his highest weight was 73lbs which is considered over weight.

 

[DanaRuns]

No collar, for the reasons others have said. Unsafe.

I gather you have a giant Golden. Full grown, males are supposed to be between 65-75 lbs, and stand 23-24" at the withers. You sound like you have quite the beast there.