I personally would never use a choke collar. I am sure you will get good ideas on this forum.

Please do remember to take your pet's collar off when he is not being walked or taken somewhere.

Why would you not use a choke collar on a Westie if it were needed? You could try walking him for a few days with just a buckle collar and see if it makes a difference. If he acts up more then you can always put another one on him. I would get him just a regular buckle collar tho to wear all the time and keep a name tag on. The choke or training ollar should only be on when you are walking or training him.

Lisa

I don't like the choke collars. Choke collars can do irreversible damage to a dog's esophagus that will not reveal itself until many years after you have trained your pet. Just ask any vet.

You don't have to use a choke collar to train any dog. I am not familiar with Westies. I have used positive reinforcement as a training method and am pleased with the results.

I am more concerned that pet owner be aware of taking their pet's collars off when confined to a crate, and when not training, walking or going to the vet.

My suggestion is the same as dobes. You won't (usually) find external damage from a choke collar, but when use incorrectly it can damage the trachea.

Only use the collar on walks if you need it to keep him under control.........but learn where it should be placed on the neck. It should be up near the ears and in front of the two 'neck bones'.

Then while at home, keep the buckle collar on him. If you don't need the choke collar for control, then use the buckle collar at all times.

I am not a fan of choke collars at all, and think there are gentler ways to train your dog/walk with your dog. Here are a few items you might look into. Note, on the harness, there are many brands and types, so do a little research.

Gentle Leader

No Pull Harness

I did try a prong collar for awhile. It actually worked pretty well, but it was kind of a pain to get on, and I felt like there was still a possibility of hurting my dogs. (Especially my stubborn terrier who would pull/strain anyway.)

Keep in mind that *any* collar can injure a dog if not used properly, so training your dog how to walk properly is critical. (I know, easier said than done!)

Below is an article about collars.

Here is a link that might be useful: Collars

Thanks for all the input. I've never had a dog before, so I need some help from experienced dog owners.

Just to clarify, I did not choose this collar for the dog-his previous owner did. She told me he loved his collar, and I didn't want to make too many changes when he was getting used to his new home. Also, the collar hangs fairly loosely, and when he pulls on the leash, it seems to get as tight as a regular buckle collar. Still, I will go out and get him a new buckle collar this weekend.

It sounds like the collar your westie came with is a martingale collar. It is not a choke collar. There are different martingales. Some have a nylon or cloth loop, some have the chain loop like your westie has. Some people feel that the small chain loop as opposed to the cloth loop provides an audible correction when the chain loop tightens up and helps with training.

I love the martingale collars. Humane version of a "choke collar" (for lack of a better word) that tighten up to a certain point. They tighten but donÂt choke. Originally developed for dogs that have larger necks than heads, like a greyhound, so that the dog could not slip out of his collar. Marketed as better than a buckle and safer than a choke. They serve as a safety mechanism. Acts like an unassuming nylon buckle collar by day when fitted like as a regular collar, but provides a limited restriction and prevents the dog from squirming out of his collar when he gets excited, The wider nylon band (as opposed to a chain) distributes the pressure more evenly when pulling occurs and prevents damaging the trachea. No worse than a dog pulling when on a tight buckle collar.

It sounds like the dog is pretty well behaved leash wise. If there is no pressing need to escalate to a gentle lead to walk the dog, IÂd rather be safe and use a martingale which will tighten when needed. When the hunting instincts kick in and he lunges after those occasional nasty lizards- it will be harder for him to slip out of than a buckle collar would and provides instant tightening and more control but will go away as soon as he or you release  then its back to normal buckle collar.

To me the martingale is the best of both worlds. Regular everyday buckle collar but with the ability to act as a training collar and to provide safety from slipping out of a buckle collar.

Thanks, cjhwillis, you have described the collar exactly. It tightens but doesn't choke. I was concerned that he would wriggle out of a buckle collar.

You have set my mind at ease!

The martingale collar is what we use-- our dog can slip out of her regular buckle collar if she gets overly excited while on a leash, but she has yet to slip out of the martingale collar.

She wears her "regular" collar all the time, with her ID, rabies, and microchip tags, and the martingale collar goes on when we take her away from home-- and boy does she know when the martingale collar comes out! It's the "let's go!" signal, and she goes crazy-dog as soon as we take it off its hook.

Do most people not keep a collar on their dog 24-7? I just ask because we do. I bought nice ones with a buckle that can be released easily and they are very nice and wide collars. They are not too tight also. When we go on walks I use a harness. My dogs (corgis) have alot of fur around their neck and seem to be able to slip their collars easily so I like to use a harness instead.

I am just worried about my dogs getting out without a collar and ID. I guess I shouldn't worry because they have always had a collar on and we have had them for about 2 years.

It just seems that most people don't keep a collar on their dogs all the time.

-renee

IMO a collar with tags should always be on a dog.

renee,

Like you, I keep collars, with tags, on my dogs. I do worry about it however. There are people who will not leave collars on because there have been instances of dogs playing, and one dog will get its teeth caught in the collar of the other dog. It can result in strangulation. Scary. Some people use the "quick-release" collars to try to avert this problem. We used the quick-release for awhile with the result that almost every day we would come home to a collar off a dog and chewed up!

We have talked about this and weighed our options and the risks involved either way. For us, for our lifestyle, and for our dogs, the decision was that we did not want to risk a dog without a collar getting lost. Others will disagree. And I will not say they are wrong, I think it's a tough call.

But now you know why some people do NOT keep collars on at all times.

Yes, I know that people had problems with their dogs collars getting stuck on things and them hurting themselves. I just didn't know if any other people used collars or not. We have two dogs and they play alot that is why we chose a wide collar and one that isn't a belt type closure. I suppose since they are loose also, that if our dog really got caught it could slip out hopefully.

I have used training collars (the proper term for a choke collar) for dogs that needed them. Anyone who says "I would never use a choke collar", has been fortunate and hasn't met the stubborn old dog that doesn't respond to positive reinforcement, yet.

Training collars are for training (or walking) and should not be left on the dog when it is unsupervised.

I do like the martingale collar, my lab wears one. My old hound typically wears a training collar when we walk. We have used a halti and a gentle leader which works fine also. But I don't like to use the Halti of GL when walking multiple dogs with the spitter connection.