Just the other day I felt compelled to repost a blog from several years ago. I’d been at the park and witnessed a dog choking and sputtering while on his walk. It is truly horrible to see and hear a dog being choked by their own leash and collar. But sadly many guardians are oblivious to what is actually happening to their dog’s neck.
I wish I could spread the word about collars and leashes to everyone who is even thinking about getting a dog. A dog’s neck is a sensitive area, there are a great deal of of things that can go wrong with collars. From nerve damage, thyroid problems, whiplash, trachea damage and more. All from being yanked around by their collar.
A few days ago when I was at the beach with my daughter and grandsons I witnessed a guardian yanking on their golden puppy’s neck. The dog was wearing a choke collar that was attached to an extension leash which is about the worst combination out there with the average dog owner. He was a big puppy and was pulling like crazy; and in turn she was pulling like crazy which was doing nothing but inflict damage to his neck. She just had no idea.
We’ve been hooking dogs up by a collar and leash for a very long time.
THE OLDEST DEPICTION OF WHAT SEEMS TO BE DOGS ON LEASHES COMES FROM THE REGION OF SHUWAYMIS IN MODERN-DAY NORTHEASTERN SAUDI ARABIA.
(Taken from ancient.eu)
This is a good article on the damage that can be done to a dog’s neck with a collar. http://www.k9rehab.ca/dogs-collar-neck/
I wish that there was a way to let everyone know about the damage that can be caused. Just today on our walk at the lake a woman walked by us as her black Labrador lunged out at Riggs and Elsa. He was friendly and over excited but was still lunging as he choked hard. As they continued their walk his throat was being crushed by his collar, I could hear it.
I know that many trainers swear by collars and the idea of using a harness is lost on them. But my gosh, so much damage can be caused by a collar attached to a leash in a humans hands. We need some change, it is time for change and we need to start considering what we are doing to our dogs by hooking a leash to to their collar.
Knowledge is power, I know that most people just don’t know that they are hurting their dog. So let’s spread the word, let’s tell everyone. I’d love to see photos and lots of them while you are out with your dog on a harness on my FB page. . Tag instagram photos with "#savingdognecks