What is a Martingale Collar?

By Chris Bucci, Pet Care Specialist, Wisconsin Pet Care LLC

When I first brought home my newly adopted three year old dog, little did I know that the collar she wore wasn't correct. After she pulled out of her collar several times and my neighbors saw me chasing my dog down the block I realized that it was time to find a new collar. The humane society, where I volunteer as a dog walker, started using martingale collars on their dogs. After seeing how well these worked on their dogs I realized that this was the solution for my great escape dog. A martingale collar is great for dogs that can slip out of their collar. An example of this is when the dog pulls one way and you are going the other, the dog pulls until the collar pops off. The martingale collar makes it almost impossible for the dog to slip out of it collar. The collar only tightens when the dog pulls on the leash, this prevents the dog from backing out of the collar. Once the dog stops pulling the collar sits loosely around the dog's neck. The collar should be properly fitted to make it work correctly. The Martingale collar is easy to use and can be found at many dog supply stores and online.

What a difference a week makes..........

On June 26th, we welcomed another dog to our pack, and rescued Rocket. Rocket's story was unique in the respect that he had lived with his foster mother for quite some time, and she had rescued him from a breeder who was stricken with cancer. Rocket was a breeding dog. I came to find he was the sire for many a litter. Lucky pups.
Its only been a short month, but in this short expanse of time, Rocket has settled in, become part of our pack and is enjoying his new life. Why wouldn't he? He has the best food-we feed raw-a combination of The Honest Kitchen, actual raw meat combined with organs, heart, bone, vitamins and minerals. But the feather in the cap are two other standard poodles, Jackson and Dixie. Yes, they all speak the same language.
The first week was tense for everyone. Jackson, our alpha dog wanted no part of him. He made it very clear. Poor Rocket could barely move a muscle without a growl coming out of him. Dixie completely avoided him, and Jessie Mae, our 14 year old yellow lab couldn't have cared less who was in the house as long as she got her belly rubs, her big, soft papasan cushion and food.
Slowly, things started to change. Jackson realized that Rocket posed no threats; he wasn't going to take his food, he wasn't going to take his girl, and he wasn't going to be ignored by Mom and Dad.
Rocket started to get some confidence about week 3. He engaged Dixie in a delightful romp in our fenced in HUGE yard and upon seeing it for the first time, brought tears to my eyes. Here was a dog who was confined to a crate, actually acting like a dog. It felt to me like he had wings-his legs took him as fast as they could and he romped with wreck less abandon. I cried. I felt so good in what we had done-helped rescue a great animal from a life of living in a crate.
We are into our fourth week. Jackson and Rocket are inseparable. They look over each others shoulders when they leave the back door-run nose to nose in play, and beat up on Dixie. They also wear each other out on their daily beach run.
Yes, there is more sand in our home, there is more expense of vetting, food and of course grooming. But I can't imagine money more wisely spent than helping this delightful boy find happiness and love.