The Best Dog Collar!

I overhead Mom tell Dad she may be going to Houston in a few weeks. She really seems to like Texas! I don't know if she is going to be able to take me but I hope so. It's been a while since we have been on a trip. I'll keep listening and if so, I'll tell you all about our trip when we get back!

Meanwhile, I'm going to continue with my recommendations for the best of the best items on my packing list. That way, when it's time for you to travel with your Mom and Dad, you'll know what to have them pack for you.

Last post, I shared with you my favorite leash. But a leash is useless without a collar! But before I recommend MY particular favorite collar, I want to share some tips. There are so many different types of collars to choose from that it can sometimes be overwhelming.

1. Make sure the collar is right for you. If you are a big dog, you need a big collar. Smaller dogs can wear smaller, lighter collars. Puppies should wear soft nylon collars so you don't get hurt. A buckle collar is best, especially for puppies, because they are least likely to come undone and fall off and they are easily adjusted if necessary. Choke chains and pinch chains should NEVER be used for your everyday collar. You should only wear them when you are training your human! In fact, Mom has never put a choke chain on me. There are other types of training collars that are much easier on my neck. Choke chains put pressure on my neck and that is scary so I don't always behave as well just because I'm scared. My training collar doesn't hurt me and so I can focus more on showing Mom my newest trick instead of trying to figure out how to get away from the choke chain.

2. Once you have the correct collar, make sure Mom or Dad know how to put it on correctly. It needs to be snug so you can't lose it, but not so tight you have difficulty breathing or swallowing. Mom always puts two fingers between my collar and my neck. She says if she can do that, then the collar is just right. And since there is always some collar left over after she has put it on, she cuts the end of it off so I can't reach it. I wish she wouldn't do that. I have a nice leather collar and the end of it would have been great to chew on. But she said I could possibly chew it off and choke on it so she cut it off and threw it in the trash. Darn! Guess I'll have to settle for one of those "greenies."

I also have a red nylon collar which is my favorite and it is the one I am going to recommend for most dogs. The red color looks good with my black and white fur. And the nylon is soft and doesn't fray so it always looks good - not old and worn. It is a buckle collar, like all of my collars. Mom bought it at Petco, but I think it might be made by my friend, Aspen the Yorkie. Mom says no, but the collar is called the Petmate by Aspen Pet Single Ply Nylon Dog Collar, so I think she might be wrong. Aspen, did you know you have a dog collar named after you? Mom paid $5.00 for my collar but she checked online and said that Petco is having a sale and you can get a collar just like mine for $3.99. What a deal! You can't have the red one because it's mine. But they have lots of other colors to choose from. If you want to tell your Mom or Dad where to get it, tell them to go to http://www.petco.com/.

By the way, Mom told our friend PopArtDiva, that it was time for her to do my PopArt rendering. So keep checking back, because once it's ready, we'll be posting it here and launching my Squidoo lens. Mom helped me build it and it's cool! And we are working on some other projects together as well - all of which will have my PopArt picture from PopArtDiva. It's all very exciting. Stay tuned!

And here are my recommendations so far - 5 bones for both of them!

Leash: The Best Leash (www.bestleash.com)

Collar: Petmate by Aspen Single Ply Nylon Dog Collar from Petco (www.petco.com)