Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Jacqui

We will soon be going on holiday and taking our darling maltese Bobby with us .This will mean him having to wear a collar and lead for extended periods for safety sake .In the past even if he has worn a collar for a short while his neck hair gets very knotty and tangled and I am dreading the state it will get in over two weeks .Does anyone have a suggestion that would help? Would a harness be better or would it be even worse ? Any ideas welcome. Thanks Jacqui and Bobby :)

DISCUSSION:

Hello, Jacquie and Baby Bobby. I would be interested, too, if anyone knows of a collar that doesn't cause matting. I put a small, rolled nylon, break-away safety collar on Jazz sometimes, which someone recommended to me, but it still causes matts in a big hurry. So, for walks, I use a leather slip lead, (this is the kind that doesn't require a collar, you just slip the loop over the head and adjust the sliding clip-it's made by Resco), and he doesn't matt from this. But, I would still like a non-matting collar, so that he can have his I.D. tag on when we're not in the house. Have wonderful fun on your trip, Jacquie!
-Marsha O & Jazz

My suggestion would be first not to use any type of neck collar maltese are very delicate a harness is the best way to go no choking the neck or pulling which can really hurt the dog. After you walk ur dog u must remove the harness, never leave it on for long periods, also get a metal comb and comb out around back and neck area after each use. Good luck.
-JENNY & GENE

I recently visited my first dog show and approached a maltese owner about the same problem. Lily had knotted after five minutes of wearing a collar. She lent me one of her training leads to try out. I loved it and immediately purchased one at the show. You can purchase one from Brown Kennel Supply, Inc. They're on the Web. (I've never seen these leads in the stores) It's called MINILEAD W/ BRAIDED, PLSTC. NECKPIECE. The cost is $5.10 and they come in a variety of colors. They work best if you part the hair around the neck,then place the collar in the part. Another thing I learned from watching the handlers is always keep the leash straight above the dogs head w/ very little slack. This keeps the collar from sliding around side to side and causing mats. I hope this helps, it's worked beautifully for Lily. Enjoy your vacation!!!
-Cindy

Jacqui, My experience has been that the harness works best. Not only because of the tugging at their neck and then matting but with the harness my girl always just seemed more comfortable and with a puppy cut there was absolutely NO MATTING. I always left it on - she didn't mind at all, as a matter of fact after a bath she would look for it to be put back on.:-) Have a Wonderful Holiday!
-Robin