puppy collar

[hps]

Hello everyone been on here for afew weeks now mostly just lurking. Getting our first GS tomorrow 9 week old female pup, I haven't had a dog in 20yrs. What kinda collar do you folks use for your puppies. I went to the pet store and was overwelmed by the amount of collars available to dog owners, not sure if im making this a bigger deal than it needs to be.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Your puppy will outgrow her first collar fairly quickly, so I wouldn't spend a lot of money on it, or a lot of time stressing over it. I like plain, lightweight adjustable nylon collars for puppies, the kind with the plastic quick release buckle.

If you're concerned that she might back out of her collar and end up loose on a walk, you can invest in an adjustable martingale style collar in addition to her flat collar. They're limited slip, so they'll tighten up if the puppy pulls, but not to the point of choking her (if adjusted correctly). They can be useful for vet visits and such. Or you could get a harness instead - I like the front hook Sense-ation harness, but there's also the Easy Walk.

[uclaman]

I am getting an 8 week GSD on August 8th so this is good info for me too.

Sorry for being a super noob...but could someone post a link to examples of these collars?

[Cassidy's Mom]

This is what I use for a puppy collar:



Depending on how big your puppy is when you get him/her, you may need two puppy collars before the final adult collar. With Dena and Keefer, who were bigger pups (18/19 pounds at 9 weeks old), their first collar lasted until 6 months old because they started with a larger puppy collar. Halo was smaller, she was only 14 pounds when I got her at 10 weeks old, so she needed an interim collar after her first puppy and before her final adult one.

This would be a martingale collar:



This is a Sense-ation harness: Softouch Concepts, Inc Homepage

And the Easy Walk: https://www.premier.com/store/Products.aspx?cid=1&pid=6

Both are front hook, which can help with pulling (not entirely eliminate it, but they're useful for training a puppy not to pull because you can get more rewardable behavior than on a flat collar), but the Easy Walk has a martingale type (limited slip) connection. One thing I like about the Sense-ation harness is that they ride higher on the dog's chest, so they're less restrictive. Some people have mentioned that the Easy Walk can slip down unless there's tension on the leash.