Collars & Harnesses
Chihuahua Collars & Harnesses
Overview
Chihuahua collars can be quite adorable! Many owners love the idea of choosing ones of various colors...perhaps with rhinestones and other decorations....And this is fine.
HOWEVER, it is very important to understand when a collar should be used and when it should not. The health of your Chi depends on this. Here we will go over the best collars and harnesses to use to keep your puppy or dog not only safe but comfortable as well.
The Benefits of a Harness
The Chihuahua, along with some other toy sized dogs, are fragile. Even if your Chi seems to be "tough" for his or her size...Or if he has a huge personality....One must still remember that this is the smallest dog breed in the entire world.
What does this mean to an owner? It means that you must understand that this breed has smaller, thinner bones and cartilage than any other dog that you could own (and a thinner layer of fat and muscle to provide any protection)....And that means that they are prone to certain health issues.
One of the most common injuries that a Chihuahua receives is Collapsed Trachea. This is very serious...and it causes the dog pain and breathing difficulties.
The trachea (neck) of the Chi is made up of rings of cartridge (not bone) and these are fragile. All it takes is a bit too much pressure or stress to be put on the dog's neck....and the rings can be crushed or collapse inward. Once this happens recovery takes a very long time....and in some cases there will never be a full recovery.
The WAY that this most often happens is when an owner places a collar on the Chihuahua and then connects a leash to that.
Whether this is to keep the dog in place, to take him or her for a walk or for any other reason....When the other end of the leash is connected to something or is held in your hand, if the dog jumps or runs forward and the leash becomes taunt....this puts a LOT of pressure on the neck and the trachea can (and often is) damaged!
How can you avoid this? The #1 way to avoid this is to have your Chihuahua wear a harness whenever the dog is on leash. These can be obtained at any pet supply store, whether it is your local store that you can drive to or a pet supply store online (see below).
They are easy to put on, made of many different fabrics to choose from and come in many colors so that you can have 1, 2 or many to dress up your Chi when it is time for a walk.
With the harness, any pressure will be distributed over the chest, shoulders and back, NOT just on the neck. And this will keep your Chi happy and healthy.
Chihuahua Collars
Does the above information mean that your Chi cannot or should not wear a collar? No. You will want your Chi to wear a collar for identification purposes. Your dog's ID tag will fit on the collar and in addition, if he or she has any allergies (to certain foods or medication) it is a good idea to have this information on a medical ID tag as well.
Choosing the Proper Collar
When you are choosing a collar for your puppy or dog, their are 2 elements that you need to keep in mind:
1)
A VERY important element will be the weight of the collar in question.
This must come into play before you choose one based on appearance. Metal should be out of the question and even if you were to choose a metal one that was thin enough to not put too much weight on the neck, it would be too thin to hold a tag or to be sturdy enough to last.
Leather can be heavy, but it does depend on the thickness of the collar. One way to be able to have a genuine leather dog collar is to choose one that does not have a lot of heavy gemstones or other elements connected to it.
Nylon is a good choice, as it is lightweight and long lasting.
2)
The OTHER element to keep in mind is that you will want the sizing to be correct. Chihuahuas are famous for being able to wiggle around and OUT of a collar. Also, puppies grow rapidly.....You will want to check the size at least every week or so for growing pups and see if you need to loosen it a bit.
New
- Great Gifts to Give to a Chihuahua
- Don't just buy gifts for the sake of it, get your Chi some things that he could really use. See our awesome gift ideas that in some way help a Chihuahua, depending on his needs.