ARTICLE - FITTING YOUR COLLARS & USE OF LEADS.
We have had a couple of people ask about how to use and fit certain items. So here are a few notes to help you enjoy your leads & collars.
Articles covered:
Fitting the Half Check - The half check (or choke) collar is designed so that it tightens on the dogs' neck when the lead is pulled tight. To ensure proper fitting you MUST make sure that when the collar is adjusted the O or D rings can touch. This means that when the collar tightens, it does not tighten to smaller than the dogs' neck size.
A couple of times customers have said that their collars are too big. Do not measure the collar to include the chain. Measure from ring to ring - not including chain.
Choice of length - With regard to safety, consider if you will be able to hold your dog when s/he runs to the end of your lead and do not use a head collar. This is because if your dog is likely to run to the end of the lead, he will probably get a sharp jolt.
Double up - this means that you will be able to use the lead at half its' length, so for example a 20 metre line can be used at 10 metres.
Washing - we've never washed any of our dog long lines / training lines, but I would if I thought I needed to. I guess washing them out in a bucket of soapy water would be a good idea too.
Tangling - Consider the areas where you use your line and ask yourself if your dog is likely to get tangled around anyting?
Use as a trailing lead - Only let your dogs' lead trail behind him / her when you are:
Use with other equipment - as stated above we strongly recommend that you DO NOT use a long line with a head collar because of the potential jarring effect on the dogs neck when s/he runs to the end of the lead. Use your own judgement if you think your dog is calm enough for this not to cause injury to your dog. I guess a harness would be a good compromise and any jarring will be absorbed by the dogs body rather than neck with a collar.
Brass or Nickel Plate fittings - Brass will last longer if you abuse it, ie hang it outside or leave it wet. I use brass in my kennels and they last forever. Nickel will rust and sieze up, but if you store them indoors they will be just fine. Some people chose brass because it looks nicer too, I will always make up leads for myself with brass as I think it looks much nicer.
When I designed our Head Collar, it was a mix of improvements on other head collars on the market. For example the safety clip that attaches to the dogs collar, the completely adjustable neck piece that fits like a collar, wider nose bands for larger dogs up to 1 inch wide and the ability to fit the nose tight enough to be comfortable and safe yet not ride up under the dogs eyes.
The neck piece of the head collar looks like a collar and should be fitted snug, so that when you try to pull it over the dogs ears, it does not come off.
The nose piece of the head collar fits tight enough to be comfortable for the dog and should NOT be fitted losely, it is NOT designed to be loose.
The 2 pieces of material that hang under the dogs' nose - the one with the O ring is for your lead and the other clip (or trigger hook) is to attach to your dogs existing collar (not the collar piece on the head collar).
You adjust the nose piece by using the '2 O rings' to slide the material up and down, thus making the nose piece as tight as it needs to be.
You adjust the neck piece like any collar.
