[kidkhmer]

Can I ask how confident you all are with those plastic clips that many collars have on them ? Similar to the ones they use on backpacks etc etc. Have you ever had them break or slip undone ? I love nylon collars but I am always a bit paranoid those male/female clips are going to split or break under pressure at a bad moment as opposed to buckle style collars. Any comments or feedback ?

 

[Whiteshepherds]

I've had two break and the dog wasn't really pulling, so I don't trust them at all.

 

[Kaidsmom]

I will never use a plastic clip on a collar. I had a 70 lb female pit hit the end of a lead on a collar with a plastic buckle and it snapped like a Popsicle stick....tell me a 60 something lb or more GSD could not do just the same. (and it was not a cheap collar by any means.)

 

[selzer]

I use them for young puppies. Actually, some of my martingales have them. And they have been holding out for my youngsters.

I use buckle collars on my adults and a martingale that slips over the head for them.

 

[Lin]

I don't trust them at all, but I do wonder about the metal clip ones. They are supposed to hold.

 

[Uniballer]

Plastic buckles break.

[RANT]I think it is negligent on the part of the collar manufacturers to use plastic buckles. The primary purpose of the collar is to prevent the dog from escaping when you have him on leash, and the manufacturers and distributors provide the collar as though it is fit for this purpose, but it is not adequate. But I don't know if you could win a product liability lawsuit over this matter. Nor would I feel much better if I sued the manufacturer after my dog was hit by a car due to the collar breaking and the manufacturer was told by the court to refund my $7.95.[/RANT]

 

[Cluemanti]

Never had one break but I'm sure with enough force they would. Had the dogs chew one up once but not break on its own.

 

[kiya]

No plastic clips for my dogs. Only leather collars with metal buckles for my dogs. I do like nylon leashes but not nylon collars.

 

[Navah]

I use them all the time. In my area its really hard to buy any collar that isn’t really tacky with a belt buckle type buckle. So we have forever been using plastic. My dog that I use it with is only 45, maybe 50 lbs max. He does pull a lot on walks but it has never snapped and we have had the same collar for about 2 years. We did buy a new one because his was getting so dirty at daycare and that one snapped on the first day but only because a Rottie was biting into it. He now has a cheesy belt buckle one for daycare lol. But we still, for two years have been using a plastic one and it’s holding strong. However, he’s small so that may be why.

 

[Caledon]

I never trusted them either. Plastic dries out and can freeze and easily snap.

I did see on good design that had the plastic snap then two D rings on either side of it for attaching it to a leash.

 

[Rerun]

We only use the EK brand collars on ours for those that have snaps (Dante, Akira, Audrey), or ones with metal buckles. The cheap plastic clips break. I've used these collars for YEARS on shepherds and they are very very heavy duty snaps.

ex: EK Ekcessories Medium Mutt Adjustable Dog Collars at PETCO We use the large size on adult shepherds, even small adults like Audrey although the mediums are technically long enough. I prefer the bigger snap.

Either way, we don't walk our dogs on their flat collars - they are strictly there for ID purposes.

I don't really care for the buckle collars because the end always ends up looking ratty and doesn't lay flat. If you get it two inches shorter, it's too short to poke back through the tab and stay there, and if it's two inches longer it sticks out too much and looks unkempt. I like the snap collars because you can adjust to the micro-inch, but I will only use the EK ones because I don't trust the cheap ones.

 

[Navah]

I don't really care for the buckle collars because the end always ends up looking ratty and doesn't lay flat. If you get it two inches shorter, it's too short to poke back through the tab and stay there, and if it's two inches longer it sticks out too much and looks unkempt. I like the snap collars because you can adjust to the micro-inch, but I will only use the EK ones because I don't trust the cheap ones.

There would be difference in quality for different companies. Our snap buckle is pretty tough, it’s been through quite a lot from the puppy chewing it, me stepping on it, resisting my dog pulling almost every day, etc. Like i said, it’s been with us for two years and it still looks brand new and i still hear a loud SNAP when i close it.

There are really cheap ones out there that I’m sure would break on one pull i guess like everything you have to research what you buy.

 

[Rerun]

When I said buckle I was referring to the belt buckle style.

Buckle vs snap.

A buckle doesn't make a snapping sound, and no it's not a quality issue. When you buckle a collar and the leftover is sticking out, it eventually sticks out and looks crappy (to me). Seen here:

Get it in the next size down, two inches shorter, and it won't stay in the loop after the buckle is in place.

I prefer the snap collars because the ends snap together and it makes a nice clean circle. You are agreeing with me, you just don't realize it.

 

[Navah]

I totally agree with you. My Bruno has a belt buckle collar for daycare and the end is all ratty, frayed and I hate to say it... smelly LOL I try and wash it buy hey... its daycare... the smell is still there after a wash.

I’m not sure if you were referring to me, lol but I am totally for snap collars. I have never had a bad experience with them. I think it’s all in the quality you buy and if it’s for your dog, some dogs need different collars then others.

 

[Rerun]

I totally agree with you. My Bruno has a belt buckle collar for daycare and the end is all ratty, frayed and I hate to say it... smelly LOL I try and wash it buy hey... its daycare... the smell is still there after a wash.

I’m not sure if you were referring to me, lol but I am totally for snap collars. I have never had a bad experience with them. I think it’s all in the quality you buy and if it’s for your dog, some dogs need different collars then others.

I agree. Most people buy the cheap ones and don't even realize it. The EK collars we buy are very heavy duty and not inexpensive. We just bought Dante one after we got him and the puppy size was $15. I trust the snaps on the EK brand more than the belt buckle collars.

 

[ShenzisMom]

I use the belt buckle style with Shenzi. I love it because I can make it tighter or shorter depending on if we are going for a w-a-l-k vs. lounging in the house, and I dont have to spend 5 minutes doing it. I also dont trust the plastic snaps. Shenzi is 60 pounds and still in training. She hasnt had an episode in a long time(she was severely reactive to people/animals when we got her) however I still would not like to chance her regressing and have the collar come undone.

Same reason I have her prong attached to a choke/flat collar when walking.

 

[Chris Wild]

We use them with puppies since they grow so fast adjustable collars make sense. I don't trust the plastic buckles for anything but smaller pups. The metal ones aren't likely to break, but due to the way they work there is still the possibility of it snapping open.

For older pups and adults, if using a flat collar it's always a regular leather buckle collar. Though they usually only wear their leather collars with ID tags when we're out and about and since we keep their leather collars very loose we don't generally attach the leash to those collars. They're just for ID purposes. Leash is typically attached to fur saver, martingale or pinch.

 

[Miikkas mom]

Gosh, we've used the plastic snap-in style forever...never have had any problems with them.

 

[Jax08]

I never liked them. I think they are ugly and they rubbed the hair off our Boxers so we've always used buckle collars.

 

[Stosh]

Our last shepherd broke two plastic buckles on nylon collars, once while playing with her friend- not sure how she broke the other one, I just found it out in the pasture. Stosh has a long coat so he wears a rolled leather collar with a metal buckle.