# Dog/goat collars



## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

hey all,
I'm doing some online shopping and came across the American Apparel store and found they have a range for dogs :roll: and they are having a sale on their collars/leashes for only $6 each 
Just a sidenote, I'm a sucker for brand-names 

I just wanted to know what you think of them so here's the links
collar
leash

those are just the black ones but they come in beige and grey as well.
I am prepared to hear about goats hanging themselves up on them lol but I don't think it's a concern in my situation (backyard)
Do you think the style is okay/ideal for goats? I'm not sure on sizes either. 
I figured they were a good deal anyway because they look to be good quality and designer collars/leashes in pet shops are $20-30+ just for one!


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

The price is great , but my question is always about safety .
If a goat gets hung up on something, will the color break ?
I'm always afraid of them getting hung up and the worst...
Sorry if I wasn't any help


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## Wallaby (Sep 11, 2012)

I have collars on my goats - they're out in a 6+acre pasture that they could escape if they really wanted to (they don't, but they really could) so I keep collars on them to make sure they had ID if they ever get lost. I do make sure to remove their collars every night when I pen them up for the night - I figure that in the pasture, they have a bit more freedom to avoid hangable things and each other and that they don't really have that option while penned.
And I make sure to have the collars pretty tight. Not cutting into skin tight but "no more than 1 finger between neck+collar" tight. That way, I feel like it's less likely to get caught on something.
I also made sure to buy the type with a plastic clip (like the ones you linked to) because I figure that if 100 pounds where to hang from that, it would most likely break or at least loosen up. 
I would never use the buckle type because I'm pretty sure nothing about that would break in an emergency.

That collar is super cute, btw! Your goats will be stylish. 
I just bought mine at the dollar store because I'm cheap, but I really like those AA ones! haha

If you're planning to get tags for the collars (I have tags on mine - with the name of each goat, my phone number, and their address), I suggest looking on Ebay. I found a guy who does laser etching (aka, the info will NEVER wear off), and offered a bunch of cute tag options (he even had stars!), for under $3/tag! If I remember correctly, shipping was even free!


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## crocee (Jul 25, 2008)

Trickyroo said:


> The price is great , but my question is always about safety .
> If a goat gets hung up on something, will the color break ?
> I'm always afraid of them getting hung up and the worst...
> Sorry if I wasn't any help


Those are safety collars so they will break loose. Its a good price I suppose, the same thing is half here.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I've heard plastic chain collars are the ones to go with for goats. they will break when the goat gets hung up on something.


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Thanks guys. 

Are they safety collars? I couldn't tell. 
I don't think there's anything for them to be hung up on but I can double check for dangers and stuff

Wallaby- ooohhh yes I want to get them ID collars incase they somehow get away. I'll try find that guy, he sounds good, thanks. :3


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## crocee (Jul 25, 2008)

The ones with the plastic slide clips are safety collars that pull loose under pressure. The ones with buckles are not safety collars and will not pull loose no matter what you do.


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## DaisyMayFarm (Jan 19, 2013)

Woodhavenfarm said:


> I've heard plastic chain collars are the ones to go with for goats. they will break when the goat gets hung up on something.


Where do you get them? I'd love to get some for my girls


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## Ninja Goats (Sep 6, 2011)

My goats all wear orange reflective collars. No one has had a problem so far.

The new goat had a black collar, but now he matches everyone else.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

DaisyMayFarm said:


> Where do you get them? I'd love to get some for my girls


You can check "Mr. Chains" i think they had all types of colors and styles in the plastic chain kind and they had the attachment links as well.

Got my hot pink colors there for my girls , lolol.

Alot of the goat supply places have them too , but not in so many styles and colors .


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I have collars on mine 24/7. I know some don't view it as safe but it's what I do. I like the car buckle collars. I'm in the process of finding ones that go with the names. Cupcake has a car buckle collar with cupcakes on it and Princess has one that has a tiara and says princess on it. lol


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

For the id tags i found a sight where it tells you how you can make your own using a certain type of plastic.
That way if they pull them off, they chew them, get them dirty, or anything goats can manage to do *roles eyes* you can just replace it instead of having to go pay $12 to buy a new one or spend all your time trying to find it.
Just an ideal.
And you can style it any way you want


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## mjgh06 (Sep 4, 2012)

crocee said:


> Those are safety collars so they will break loose. Its a good price I suppose, the same thing is half here.


You said half price here ..but where is the link???

Here's a link for goat safety collars for $3. http://hoeggerfarmyard.com/xcart/Collars-and-Leads/


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## crocee (Jul 25, 2008)

I was talking locally. Those collars didn't have anything special about them except the place they were being bought.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Dont fool yourself into thinking "it cant happen to me" regarding goats hanging themselves by their collars. 

The doe I lost to her collar was in a small pen in my backyard, she was a friendly boer doe with a single kid so I was milking out the other side. 

I also had a close call with a 2 mth old kid last year, I had put the 'safety' collars on them as I was loading them into the car for a show, they were following me out the gate and one did a little happy jump and her collar got stuck on the gate, she was hanging by it and even though it was a very small puppy collar with the plastic clip - it did not break. 

I know plenty of people who leave collars on their goats 24/7 even the ones with the metal buckle and never have any problems. 

But from someone who has experienced the worst that can happen - I NEVER leave a collar on my goats unless they are tied up and I am supervising them. 

My goats are friendly so I can put the collars on them when needed. And the not so friendly ones will come to a bucket of food so I can then grab them or corner them in a small catch pen to then get the collar on.


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Wow 

Thanks for the advice. 
I'll probably just end up buying cheap collars for when I want to lead them but I've been deterred from leaving them on all the time


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I still buy my girls fancy pretty collars and leads but they only get to show them off when they go for a walk


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

They have to show it off somehow!

Woolworths had this nice brand of collar on sale because they were Christmas themed, so mum bought the dog and cat matching collars, then I went back and found one that was goat sized! So I'm looking forward to making them look festive lol


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I'm with Keren, I know many people put collars on their goats, but I myself am way too leary about that. Our goats have horns and get into enough trouble with those sometimes!

We have had dog collars that we've used, the kind with the little plastic snap always break <we have boer percentages>, so we only buy the kind that fasten like a belt.
We use collars when we are doing feet, etc. or the nylon adjustable halter lead that has a snap on the end, those are really handy


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Im so sorry for your loss Keren 
I am also grateful you shared this horrible event so everybody is aware of why"could" happen. 
I never left a collar on a animal when it was in a crate because of the chance of getting it caught somehow . The first thing a animal will do is twist. Unfortunately that is the last thing they do.
Collars with ID tags are worse. It's very easy for them to get caught somewhere.... 
Just not worth it IMO.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Thanks Tricky and Hoosier. I know some people have no problems but the experience was horrible and I never want to go through it again so why take the risk?

My goats are identified by either ear tags or tattoos, and will soon be microchipped. so I have no worries about identification if they get lost. 

My very first pet goat was a wether I had in the backyard for 4 yrs with the dog before I got into goats fully, he wore a collar and ID tag the entire time. Same with my next two babies who I grew up into harness goats. All three of these were my pride and job but particularly the first guy (he is still with us, love my old boy) and it gives me chills now to think of how lucky I was that he never got hung up.


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

I lost a sweet, sweet doe named Twix after she was strangled by her collar. My boer wether, who has small horns, got them hooked under the collar. It wasn't a safety collar. They must've been playing and it happened. 

So in the ten minute span between me loving on them, then going inside to rustle up some goat treats, I came out to a dead Twix. 

NO MORE COLLARS here. Unless a goat is being actively led by me. Maybe I'll use a safety collar someday, but for now, I'm pretty against collars. 

The hardest thing was telling Twix's breeder what happened. She told me that it happened to her too. A boer doe was climbing a tree and got hung by the collar when she snagged a branch...


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

OMG , Im so sorry Stacykins  How horrible , oh my !!!

Yeah , im not doing collars. I do use the plastic chains with one of those this zip ties , just in case.
But you just never know. I am re vamping their collars , using different zip ties . I do like to have some sort of control when going in and out of the paddock. I really need to be a little bit more demanding of having them step back when I come in , instead of crowding me and trying to over power me to get past . Anybody have any ideas ?
I will not hit or strike them , thats out of the question. If their life or another life depending on it , then yeah , whatever it takes , but I do want to have them get back when I come into their barn or paddock.
I was thinking of using a spray bottle , but once they know you dont have that bottle , they will be back to their own shenanigans , lolol
I could be wrong though . Anybody have any ideas ?
I dont mean to change the subject or hyjack this thread , but I thought maybe it does have something to do with some of the reasons we use collars .


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I'm so sorry for the loses, wow, scares me even more!

Laura - I totally understand, we have does that will crowd you - if you give an inch they will take a mile.
Ours are boer percentages and have horns, and as they get older with those big horns...if I have my hands full and they are crowding me like that I tap their butts with my foot to move them. If they are being very naughty I will loudly and firmly tell them a word in spanish that means "MOVE IT!" and if I stomp my foot at the same time then they know they better back off LOL Or I'll make a loud noise at them that also signals to them to back off. 
Much better than having a horn up your butt lol


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Trickyroo said:


> OMG , Im so sorry Stacykins  How horrible , oh my !!!
> 
> Yeah , im not doing collars. I do use the plastic chains with one of those this zip ties , just in case.
> But you just never know. I am re vamping their collars , using different zip ties . I do like to have some sort of control when going in and out of the paddock. I really need to be a little bit more demanding of having them step back when I come in , instead of crowding me and trying to over power me to get past . Anybody have any ideas ?
> ...


I have the same problem. I'm thinking of trying a squirt bottle.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I was thinking of maybe going in a can of coins and shaking it ?
Would that work or would they think its grain , lolol


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Trickyroo said:


> I was thinking of maybe going in a can of coins and shaking it ?
> Would that work or would they think its grain , lolol


I think coins make a loud sound and might scare them... For a few minute and then they'll get over it and be a nuisance again haha


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

I use metal choke dog chain. Big enough to sit on the very bottom (base) of the neck. Surprisingly it doesn't fall off, but in the event that she/he were to get caught they are loose enough that they would be able to slide right off. Happens all the time. Little turds twist when I lead them and they pop right off. They also have metal ID tags with name, sire, and birthdate.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Yeah,I would be careful with the plastic clips on dog collars that say they are quick release . Try are only quick releases that allow a person to get them off quickly if needed by just squeezing the sides instead of trying to undo a buckle .

I had a instance where two of my dogs were wrestling and one got their top two canines stuck in the other dogs ring on his collar.
If it wasn't for the quick clip release , she would have broke her neck !!

So, just a FYI ,the quick release snaps on collars are not the type that will break off if the animal gets hung up. You have to physically squeeze
the sides of the clip for it to release.
JMO , not a safe collar for goats.


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