Martingale Collar Instructions

A dog's collar might slip off if it's not tightly secure around its neck, but you also don't want it to be so tight that the dog can't breath. That's why a martingale collar might come in handy. A martingale collar is a special dog collar that keeps the dog comfortable and secure at the same time. The martingale collar fits snugly and painlessly around the animal's neck, avoiding losing the collar over the dog's head while walking it. Here's how it works.

The martingale collar is made up of two loops--the larger of the two is what goes around the dogs neck (loosely adjusted), and the smaller of the two is what is attached to the leash. First, strap the bigger loop loosely around the dog's neck. Then clip the leash to the D ring on the smaller loop.

To avoid your dog escaping, the martingale collar gets tighter the more pressure is put on the leash. This way, when the leash has slack on it, the dog has a comfortable amount of slack on the collar. But when the dog gets out ahead of you and tightens the leash, the collar will tighten as well. Pain free security for your dog.

Because of the added parts on the martingale collar, it naturally has more risks involved when keeping it on the dog all the time. Because the loop around the dog's neck tightens when the smaller loop is pulled, never leave the martingale on while the dog is alone at home or in a crate or kennel (the close quarters increases the chance of the collar catching on the side or latch of the crate). If the smaller loop was caught on something, the dog could choke. The smartest idea is to only put the martingale collar on the dog before going outside, according to CollarGirl.com.