Best Chew Proof (Indestructible) Dog Collars Buyer’s Guide
Collars can feel uncomfortable on your dog’s neck. But they are a necessity. They serve several functions including restraining, offering protection, attaching identification info or simply for fashion. Whatever function we attach to dog collars, it is important that they are comfortable. Uncomfortable colors can make your dog want to chew his/her way out of it. Sometimes, dogs will even give a hand to fellow canines by chewing each other’s collar.
While discomfort is a major reason dogs chew collars, anxiety, boredom, and lack of attention can also lead your canine to want out of a collar. In these or other cases, chew-proof or indestructible collars become a necessity.
Qualifying a dog collar as chew-proof or indestructible does not necessarily mean your dog will never manage to chew it. It means that these collars will give your dog a harder time and take him/her longer to destroy it. The collar is more resistible to chewing and lasts longer compared too other easily chewable collars.
For your shopping guide, comfort should be a primary quality when choosing a chew-proof collar. But this feature should be coupled with durability. Read on to understand the details of these two indispensable characteristics of chew-proof dog collars.
Comfort
When it comes to dog collars, comfort encompasses two key characteristics: be the right fit and right material.
Right Fit
This means that your dog’s collar should not feel too tight or too loose on his/her neck. Tight collars can block your dog’s breathing and blood flow and threaten his/her life.
Loose collars will keep moving on the neck and can cause injuries from the edge, especially when your dog pulls consistently.
Most manufacturers will offer you a variety of sizes from which to choose. It’s always advisable to measure your dog’s neck size before making an order. Avoid standard collars since they can be a problem with dogs who have smaller heads than their necks like the Whippet and the Greyhound. Manufacturers also enhance the comfort of dog collars by making them adjustable. See as an example the Pitbull Dog Collar with its multiple rivet holes.
Right Material
The core factor when it comes to material and comfort is how the collar feels on your dog’s neck. This can mean using material that feels soft on your pal’s neck as in the case of Mile High Life (our budget pick) or including a soft-padded lining as in the case of Yunlep Adjustable Tactical Dog Collar (our top pick).
Right material may also imply the density of a double-layer collar to prevent it from digging into the dog’s skin (see the FDC Dog Tactical Collars). A 2019 study found that double-layer nylon/polyester collars reduced the mean pressure exacted on dogs’ neck when compared to single-layer collars.
Safe Design
Your dog’s collar design should provide safety. A collar that is not adjustable may be risky for your dog. It might become too tight on his/her neck when pulled, which may be life-threatening. Adjustable collars will allow you to make the right fit on your dog’s neck. The recommended allowance is usually space where two of your fingers can fit with ease.
Some collars also adjust automatically. A good example is the martingale collars. These are made with a larger loop that fits the head and a smaller one that fits the neck. When your dog pulls, the larger loop tightens to prevent your dog from getting out of the collar but not so much as to choke him/her. The AKC considers Martingale collars to be safe on all dog breeds and sizes but recommends consistent supervision while your dog is wearing it. See the earlier reviewed Metal Plates Martingale Dog Collar as an example.
Durability
Durability is ensured using study material and hardware. High-quality military nylon, leather, and Thermoplastic Polyurethane are examples of sturdy dog collar material. Metal collars are also sturdy and chew-proof, even though some dog owners may be wary about using them.
But metal is the recommended material for collar hardware. Buckles and rings made from chrome-plated steel do not only last longer than plastic but are hard to chew and withstand your dog’s pulling. An often recommended metal for dog collar hardware is from ITW since it is endowed with the strength of military equipment.
