Safety Collar

In the initial stages of training, the dog is taught spirit, not control. This means that, if it breaks loose suddenly during agitation, the handler may not be able to control it by voice, even if there is time to give commands before the dog reaches the decoy.

Agitation collars are seldom broken. However, among groups of novice trainers they are frequently slipped, meaning that the dogs spin and, in so doing, back their heads out of their heavy leather collars. This is especially a problem with smaller‑headed breeds like Doberman Pinschers and Belgian Malinois. This cannot be prevented by tightening the agitation collar without defeating its purpose: With the collar cinched down tight upon its throat the dog cannot strain with all of its power against the leash without choking itself. Therefore, in normal practice the agitation collar should be left relatively loose so that it rides down around the massive muscles of the animal’s neck. Insurance against the dog slipping the collar is provided by the trainer’s skill in handling and also by a safety collar.

The best type of collar for this purpose is a thin nylon choker collar (really just a cord connecting two steel rings) sized much too large for the dog so that it encircles its neck leaving six or eight inches to spare. The safety collar is placed lower on the dog’s neck than the agitation collar, and the live ring is snapped into the leash along with the D ring of the agitation collar. Very often, even if the animal manages to slip its leather collar, the safety collar will stay on and draw tight as it backs out of the leather one.