Martingale collar

Details:

The martingale collar has a limited ability to tighten. It’s made of two loops, an adjustable and a control loop. They are separated with metal slides. The control loop closes when the leash is pulled and a dog can’t wiggle out of the collar. When pulling stops, the collar loosens on the dog’s neck.

It’s primarily designed for sighthound breeds as they have very narrow heads and can easily slip out of a regular collar. It is suitable for all dogs with narrow heads, timid dogs, and those who easily wiggle out of their collars. The purpose of a martingale collar is to offer control and safety, so a dog doesn’t become unexpectedly unleashed, which could occur if he slips out of the collar. It is not suitable for dogs that pull on a leash. It’s also not intended for the correction of unwanted behavior, especially not for eliminating leash pulling.

Correct collar fitting

Martingale collar doesn’t contain plastic parts and can’t be unfastened. You should loosen the collar, so it can easily slip over the dog’s head. Then it should be placed in the middle of the neck and tightened with a slider until a good close fit is achieved. The collar should fit closely to the dog’s neck and you should be able to put two or three fingers under the collar. It is very important that the two slides that hold the control loop are not touching each other. Only then control loop will close properly and the collar will tighten when necessary. The control loop should never hang freely away from the neck when the leash is loose. The size adjustment process should be repeated every time the collar is used.

When the control loop is closed without any pulling the collar is too loose. When the slides of the control loop are close to each other or are even touching, the collar will no longer tighten in case of an emergency. Such a collar is useless as it can be pulled over the dog’s head.

Use

Due to its tightening effect martingale collar should be used on dogs only under the owner’s supervision. A dog may get stuck on a variety of objects and there is a possibility that he will not be able to get out of this situation alone when the collar tightens.

Identification tags should rather be used on collars without a tightening effect, so a dog can constantly wear them. If you want to place an id tag on a martingale collar anyway, be sure not to attach it onto the D-ring for leash attachment, place it rather on one of the slides.

Martingale collar is suitable for sighthounds and dogs that can easily sneak out of the collar. It’s made of two separate loops, a control, and an adjustable loop. When a leash is pulled the control loop decreases the collar size so that it cannot slip over the dog’s head.

Options

Martingale collars are available in widths:

2,5 cm
It can be made for a neck circumference of 20 cm or more. This collar width is made with the thinnest and lightest hardware, that’s why it’s a common choice for small Italian greyhounds. In some cases, 2,5 cm wide martingales are made with a 2 mm narrower control loop (adjustable loop remains 2,5 cm wide) to ensure the most suitable tightening and loosening.

3,8 cm
It can be made for a neck circumference of 23 cm or more. This collar width is made with medium-thick hardware, that’s why it’s a common choice for bigger Italian greyhounds, Whippets, and some small Galgos and Greyhounds.

5 cm
It can be made for a neck circumference of 30 cm or more. This collar width is made of thick, heavy-duty hardware, that’s why it’s a common choice for large sighthound breeds such as Galgos, Greyhounds, Borzois …

Metal fittings that we use for collars in widths 2,5 cm, 3,8 cm, and 5 cm.

How to choose the right width

Designs

You can choose from a large variety of colors and patterns that are published in our catalog. Unfortunately, due to the different fabric properties, not all designs can be used on all widths of collars, the options and details are explained in the description of each design.

Collar designs catalog