The last time
my sister was visiting, she complained that our pooches sound like the 'Ghosts of Christmas Past'. They are so laden with dog tags that they clank and jangle wherever they go. Sure we like to be minimalists, but it seems like our pooches
are requiring more and more tags just to be in the city.
We've never wanted to change up the dogs' collars, even for special occasions, just because it is so daunting to imagine switching all these tags. Enter:
The Rubit.
We didn't know these even existed until we spotted them on
American Dog Shopper's blog.
The Rubit is like a carabiner for dogs so you can easily clip all the tags together and take them off and switch as necessary. It costs around $8. We thought the large would be too big, but it's actually kind of small and perfect for our growing collection of tags.
This has now opened us up to the fantastic world of
special occasion dog collars, not to mention, a quieter household. We started taking off their charms when we come home so the sounds are not as jarring. Though it is a bit more jarring that the dogs have suddenly become ninjas:
Since we can't hear them jangling anymore, it seems like they are always sneaking up on us.
As we've started doing this, we were also curious about wearing collars around the house.We tried this before, but I always thought our dogs looked a bit naked. Or at least like they belonged on an episode of Jersey Shore:
Plus, I've always been nervous about removing their collars for a freak incident like our building suddenly burning down, or the pooches suddenly learning to use doorknobs and running out on the street on their own--you know, stuff normal people worry about... But I've also heard a couple of reasons to remove collars in the home. Do most people keep collars on? Or remove them at home?
P.S. Given our conversation yesterday, we will be using the donations for Shy/Khloe to help save another pitbull in her honor! Stay tuned for more information on that special pitbull, and for final raffle results.
45 comments:
I hate taking their collars off..they look so naked and they're extra sneaky! We keep their collars on all the time because I have the same fears as you.
I completly agree. I discovered the rubit a few months ago and fell in LOVE. I switch my dogs collars about once a month, so it comes in handy.
I always leave my dog's collar on for the same reasons. She looks naked without it, and I NEVER want her to be without her tags. I also like to hear where she is in the house.
I'm totally paranoid about them being without their collars. I get their necks super dry right after bath time just so i can put their collars right back on. Our dogs have a lot of tags on their collars (my
Husband even put my Engagement ring on one of our dogs
Collars to propose).... We have wood floors
So i think even without the tags I'd hear them coming...
I'm gonna check out this rubit thing though because our dog tags info seems to rub off.
So glad to hear that another pit bull will get some
Help.
Calhoun always wears his collar. The others seem to rip theirs off while playing in the yard. Apparently they like being naked. We also recently had bath day and the leather collars get a good bath as well. It takes a while for them to dry and I just never put them back on. All of our dogs are chipped and VERY well known in the neighborhood so I don't worry too much about running away.
Mamma Heartbeat
I always have collars on all of our dogs. I'm paranoid too about some freak scenario occurring where their tags would be the only way they would get home. And even though all the dogs are microchipped, random people in the neighborhood can't check for that themselves (or they may not know to do it) so that could keep the dogs from getting back home. I figure better safe than sorry.
I'm the same - collars all the time, just in case!
We use the small rubit too and it is just about the best think since my doggie stroller! You can probably tell how much me and Bobo switch our collars. BOL Just about every day. Love the Blue Rubit. Very fashionable!
My pitbull (Sharona)gets her skin irritated by her collar (i've tried it looser and I've tried different materials but she always ends up with raw spots on her neck) and so in the house I take it off. Obviously she always has a collar or harness on when we are out and about. To avoid the "naked" look in the house she always wears a bandana (it also comes in handy when she needs redirection). I do get paranoid about her not having tags on all the time though.
I've been using Carabiners (http://www.lazerdesigns.com/help/whatis.html) for ages. Because my dog wears service dog gear, I'm never sure which harness I'm going to use. Then there is collar selection depending on what we are doing and where we are going.
It is so nice to be able to unclip and reclip their tags.
Let us know how the Rubits do long-term - we've considered getting them ourselves but the ones we've seen (maybe not the same brand) don't seem super secure. Meanwhile what I've done is put all the tags (rabies tag, ID tag, microchip tag, and their Together Tag from the Red Cross) on one single split ring so that when I want to change their collars, I just need to change one ring.
Oh yeah - the only time that we take collars off is for baths and then at night. It's almost like when I take the collars off they know it's bedtime and they mellow out and get settled.
SO glad to hear that the funds raised for Shy will be used to rescue and rehab another needy pittie in her honor. I was thinking last night how neat it would be to do it on a yearly basis - it would be a way to keep Shy's memory alive and to do some real good in her honor. Please pass along our continued good thoughts and sympathies to Heather and to Shy/Khloe's family. We know they must still be reeling over this.
That is such a good idea. What size did you all order for Mr. B and Miss M? I'm thinking I may order some for mine. Charlee goes to doggie daycare often and now they even have a tag for him that he has to wear there! He sounds like a locksmith with all his tags.
Loving the facebook page!
Our pugs are "naked" in the house. But that's mostly because we use harnesses for walking, and they're a bit bulky to be worn all the time. We own collars for them, but they're never worn - puggies have delicate airways and I'm just too paranoid about the collars getting accidentally caught on something. They are chipped, just in case.
Collars come off at home when the dogs start to wrestle -- I've heard horror stories of teeth getting caught in the metal loop that holds the tags.
I try to remember to take collars off at night, so the jingling doesn't keep me awake at night.
We need to get some Rubits, keep putting it off for some reason. We love the naked dog look at our house :)
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
I wish I had known about the Rubit before today! I'm an admitted collar-holic. While I don't have multiple copies of the licenses (those are on the leashes), I've invested in a set of ID tags with phone numbers for every collar we have...it gets kind of pricey after a while!
Collars inside our house come off at various, unpredictable times (part of our training when dealing with Toni's agoraphobia). The only guaranteed time they go on is first thing in the morning, and they're always off for bedtime, whether they were taken off at dinner or just before bed.
By the way, your dog collar post inspired me to begin documenting our collar collection for a future post.
we never take collars off. but, we live in a house, not an apartment with a second entrance other than our own door. in a single family house, there is just the one door between your dog and the great wilderness.
i have thought about getting the rubit and putting all of the "other" tags on it, like his rabies vaccine tag, his registration, etc, and just leaving his classic name and phone number tag on all the time in the house. that way there is no jingling, but Chick is still identifiable just in case.
I am sooooo convinced of Ms. Rikki's desirability that she is NEVER without collar and tags anymore...partially stems from an incident at my dad's on July 4th--very panicked 24 hours.
I like to take Corbin's collar off when he's in the house, while Adam prefers to keep it on him bc he looks naked without it -lol. But it always comes off before he goes into his crate and if we leave the house for any reason. He's microchipped, so that puts me a little more at ease with him darting out the door for any reason. And we always keep his collars and leashes accessible incase of a fire or any sort of emergency.
Corbin's blog has been neglected, and I'm just learning about poor Shy... it brought tears to my eyes to learn of her passing. I hope you find comfort in the help that was provided to her and the extremely large population of people who got to "know" her through you and your blog. She was a lucky girl, loved by many and treated like royalty in her last few weeks.
-Corbin's mom, Jenn
What an interesting topic. I found it very interesting to read all the comments. Although my last dog rarely wore a collar in the house, the two I have now are quite different. I worry that if heaven forbid, the house caught fire, or say we had a car accident... they would be hard to catch without collars. So they have them on always, and now that I'm so used to it - yes, they do look naked on bath day!
Oh - I love the idea of doing something annually for another dog in Shy's honor!!
PS - I'm so glad the funds raised are going to help another special needs dog!
I think my dogs look naked without their collars too!
I ended up putting a plastic key guard thing around Mickey's tags so they didn't jangle so much. It didn't bother us too much, but I figured the constant jangling probably got on his nerves so close to his ears.
That little clip looks really handy.
I leave Kirby's collar on him all the time. He's a smart little guy that could possibly figure out how to unlock the door and go chase the neighbor's cat!
I just read about Shy...so sorry to hear about her passing away. What a special dog she was to have touched so many people.
Kirby's Mom
What an interesting question you've posed! Cali and I have our collars on all the time but Phoenix is like our sister Ginger and her neck gets SO irritated with the collar that she doesn't wear it when we're home. (She belongs on Jersey Shore!) Mom might feel differently if we were in the city though!
Wags,
Zona
We're nudists here. Er, at least the pups are ;)
I've never been one to keep their collars on, but I think they look far cuter with fun collars on. It also gives me an added excuse to buy or make them pretty collars.
Damn, now that you've brought up building / running away issues, I might reconsider the nude policy. You know, like any "normal" person would...
I have the exact same fears, but... we take the boys' collars off as soon as they get in the door. Years ago, we had a trainer tell us a horror story about two dogs who were playing while their owner wasn't home, and one dog accidentally strangled another. Then, several months after that, we heard a similar story from a dog walker about one dog's teeth getting stuck in another dog's collar. Recently, someone told us a third similar story. They no longer wear collars in the house because I'm too freaked out since they play so much! That being said, Lucas did get out of our back gate once without his collar on. I flipped out. He came back. But, thankfully, they're all chipped, too!
I leave the collar on except for at bath time. I've only got three tags on right now, and the jingle is minimal even at night.
With my family's dog, we've always taken the collar off while camping. The dogs run free in the bush so we didn't want them getting caught on anything.
I've noticed that Milo will perk up to any jingle sounds (like keys) while we're out on the town. He now associates the sound with other dogs!
We use a similar tag changer. It's so handy!
Depending on the collar we use (buckle vs quick release or martingale) we've been taking off Darwin's collar when we come inside. At first I thought she looked naked, but actually really like it now. Plus it's nice to be able to sleep and not be woken up whenever Darwin shakes or scratches, jingling the 4 or 5 tags she has on.
Whoooo, doggies! My momma goes round and round abouts this for the same reasons you said. But usually they take our collars off when they're not home cuz mom is too worried abouts us getting tangled up in something (or each other) and then not being able to get free. We both have chips so at least we have some sort of ID in a worst-case situation. (But the kittehs always wear theirs since they have those safety breakaway collars.)
Wiggles & Wags,
mayzie
I'm afraid to take Charlie's collar off also, though I still do occasionally.
We say collars and IDs should be on at all times. Not worth taking a chance that the unexpected might happen and somebody gets out of the home. Too many dogs sitting in shelters that obviously came from homes without collars and IDs. But microchips in addition are equally as important.
My two don't have collars anymore. We don't have collars on inside for two reasons
1) I have read to many horror stories about dogs being choked by their collars; and
2) Being a long haired breed, if they wear something around their necks for too long they matt or their fur breaks/rubs off around the neck.
We have harnesses for walks and both pups are microchipped for id purposes.
Both dogs are microchipped so if for some reason they are running around the neighbourhood naked they can still be identified by a vet. Barbie also has extensive ear tattoos, being a greyhound, so she can be identified by those.
Both my dogs wear their collars inside the majority of the time though. Bender doesn't like to be naked and Barbie has a light, thin collar she got for her canine good citizen that is great for around the house. It also means the dogs are easy to catch if a visitor comes and they get too excited!
Stella wears hers all the time too except for a short time last summer when she had fleas and would start a scratching marathon at six in the morning. I did get her an extra collar that we use to walk in case she were to break it somehow, then she'd still be wearing her tags.
With the Greyhounds, we tend to take collars off when we can. It helps to avoid bald neck syndrome.
We've been using Rubits for a while now, and before that just used tiny snaps for tags. If you want to make them quieter, you can always rubber band the tags together, too!
Interesting as usual. Good point, and I am glad you found that clip, great idea for the tags and ID
Benny & Lily
I tend to keep collars on. Though after January's attack on Charlie, he went collarless for a few months while he healed up. I also take them off when they go swimming. And sometimes I forget to put them back on after grooming. I don't mind the nekked look, it's au natural!
Such adorable photos of Miss M and Mr. B. Probably is a bit disconcerting to have them sneaking up on ya though ;)
Mom lets me keep my jewelry on most of the time. I only have two tags so I don't jingle too much ;) She does take them off though when it's time to sneak out the back door for a squirrel chase. It's my stealth mode heh heh. Only way I can tree them. Otherwise they hear me coming and escape over the fence before I can have my fun :)
Waggin at ya,
Roo
I'm thinking about buying a rubit because Darwin has so many tags. He doesn't wear a collar in our place and I'm having second thoughts of having him wear it more often. My first pug had a collar on all the time and he developed a bald spot in the collar area.
You intrigued me with this The Rubit 'cause I hate all the crazy tags that you need, all the noise, and that you can't switch collars like a fashionista switches purses ... it is on my list to order one today!
The new Rubits look great guys!! I'm glad the large worked out...they really are smaller than you think they will be from the website photos...maybe that's just me...I hope you get used to the ninjas. I'm ashamed to admit that I let the dogs run around outside without collars (and around the house alot)...Lilly never wears one unless we are going out. The martingale collars have left a shorn ring around Cassie's neck that I just hate...it ruins her beautiful naked coat! I take it off at night and around the house and backyard a lot just to give her neck a breather! Happily she doesn't bolt out the door without permission, but I guess it doesn't hurt to be careful! But I do like naked dogs!
What a cool invention! And we, um, like the nekkid look :)
The Road Dogs
I keep the tag with their name and my info on their collars, then keep all their city-tags on their leashes.
I always keep their collars on all the time because I have the same fears as you. In fact, dogs look beautiful in accessories.
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