Collared!

So, last Friday I posted about collarless dogs; today, I'm going to talk about collars. As I mentioned in the previous post, Elka has worn a collar since she came home to us.  Well, I've noticed lately that her collar, though leather and probably meant to last quite a good while longer, has seemed stiff and worn.  There isn't any cracking, though we did have to re-glue the liner (which is what precipitated the naked dog pictures).

Elka's very first collar and leash were bought at the Feed and Seed.  The collar was red nylon, adjustable, and had a metal buckle.  I picked red because I thought it would look nice against her black coat, and have pretty much stuck with that decision when making "fashion choices" for Elka. 

Her second collar (which I can't find any pictures of) was also red, purchased at a nameless variety store on Main Street that has since closed.  It was leather, or leather-like, and had studs on it that were round and almost looked like bottle caps, though without the fluted edges.  This collar was too big, and no matter how many holes we punched in it, we could never get it adjusted correctly.   We have a spare collar (also no pictures) that is blue nylon with a plastic buckle; that tends to be the "bathtime collar", so that I have a handle when Elka is in the tub.

One day while I was foolishly walking Elka on her too-big collar, she pulled backwards, though she normally pulled forwards, and pulled right out of the thing.  She had great fun running in a big crazy circle around me, which would have been all well and good, except that circle took her into the road and scared the heck out of me (no cars, thank God).  I stood in place and told her to sit until she sat (quickly, I might add), and we went immediately home.  That was when she spent a short amount of time wearing a choke chain, which I did not know how to use properly, and probably had on upside-down, as I heel her on my right, not my left.

Then, I finally found the red studded collar that I'd dreamed of, on this website: http://www.thepunkypup.com/.  I love Elka's collar, really I do.  I like the way it fastens, and I like the way there is a separate D ring on which I can put her tags.  I like the pyramid studs; so many collars I saw in my search were literally spiked, and the way Elka snuggles, she would have been putting holes in us.

So, I am on the hunt for another collar.  I may in fact just buy another one from the Punky Pup, as I like the style so much.  It amazes me just how expensive leather collars can be for a dog; it also amazes me how much junk is all over them.  I know, I'm one to talk, with my double row of pyramid studs, but some collars have crystals and conchos and all manner of thing nailed onto them, and it just looks to busy.  The studs are at least a uniform thing.  If I ever get into leatherworking, dog collars will certainly be something that I concentrate production on; at $100 or more a pop, some hand made and custom made collar people must be doing some good business.