What is a Martingale Collar?

A martingale collar is primarily designed for sighthounds but can be worn by all breeds. It is designed to help prevent the dog from backing out, or slipping its collar. Using a martingale is also a very effective way to help control a leash puller. Also known as a humane choke collar or limited choke, it consists of two loops. A larger loop that has a slide to give the collar adjustability and two slides at the end through which a smaller loop is fed. The second loop is known as the control loop onto which the dee ring is securely sewn. See diagram below. Unlike the buckle collar, the martingale is slips over the dogs head and is adjusted once around the dogs neck.

Is it safe to leave a martingale collar on my dog unattended?

All collars can be potentially unsafe and a martingale style collar carries a slightly greater risk of injury if left on 24/7. However, you should evaluate whether the risk of choking or getting a collar caught is greater than the risk that you may need to grab a collar quickly as a hound makes a dart for an open doorway. Around the Hounds does not endorse either policy but we do stress that a martingale left on all the time MUST be adjusted so that it cannot choke the dog when the smaller loop is tightened. Remove all collars when crating your dog.

By no means should a dog ever be tied out by a martingale collar.

Tag placement recommendations

Due to the slight risk of tags getting caught and causing a choke situation, we highly recommend that all tags be secured on the slide and NOT the dee ring

What is a Buckle Collar?

The most common type of dog collar is the traditional buckle collar. Built to be adjustable, these collars wrap around the dogs neck and have a acetal or all metal side release buckle closure.
A D-ring is securely sewn close to the buckle end and is used to attach the tags and leash.

What types of buckle closures do you use?

For all our 1” collars we use the ultra-strong, highly stylized curved Wienerlock® Dog buckle. DO NOT USE THIS BUCKLE WHERE THE ANIMAL COLLAR IS ATTACHED TO A FIXED POSITION RESTRAINT COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS A "TIE OUT".

ALL METAL SIDE-RELEASE – Up grade to the all metal side-release when you must have the best in style, strength, and durability. These buckles are made of zinc diecast, a stainless steel pin and spring. The all-metal construction makes these buckles suitable for use in sub-zero temperatures and stronger than any plastic buckle on the market (in most cases, twice the tensile strength of plastic buckles). The 1" buckle has a tensile strength of about 500 lbs.

For all our 1.5” collars we use the Stealth® Side Squeeze® Compact and beefed-up, with the anti-break feature