According to a study by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), approximately 26% of dogs experience collar-related injuries during their lifetime, with incidents ranging from minor abrasions to fatal strangulation (1). These accidents often occur when a collar gets caught on objects such as fences, crates or furniture, leading to panic and potential injury. Safety breakaway dog collars have been developed to mitigate these dangers. These collars feature a specialised ‘breakaway’ buckle that is designed to pop open when a certain amount of pressure is applied.  When the buckle pops open, the collar will fall off, thus protecting the dogs from possible injury or strangulation.

However, despite the significant safety benefits of breakaway collars – they do have some downsides. So how do you know if this type of collar is the right choice for your dog? In this blog article, we’ll help you decide by exploring the advantages and disadvantages of both safety breakaway collars and traditional collars.

The purpose of dog collars

Before we explore the specifics of each type of collar, let's consider the purpose of dog collars. There are many reasons why people choose to use dog collars:

• Identification: Collars can hold identification tags with contact information, making it easier for your dog to be returned to you if they get lost.
• Restraint: Collars provide a mechanism to be able to quickly grab your dog if needed.
• Visibility: Collars made from bright colours or reflective materials can enhance your dog's visibility during low-light conditions, reducing the risk of accidents.
• Medical information: Some collars can carry medical tags, indicating if your dog has allergies, medical conditions, or special dietary needs.
• Fashion: We love our dogs, and we love to make them look amazing. Collars provide a fun way to add some extra bling and beauty to your dog.

Now let’s examine the different features, advantages and disadvantages of safety breakaway collars vs. traditional dog collars.

Safety breakaway dog collars

Safety breakaway dog collars are specifically designed to keep your dog safe when they are alone or unsupervised. They feature a specialised safety breakaway mechanism that causes the collar to pop open and fall off when sufficient force or pressure is applied.  

Advantages

• Accident prevention: The safety breakaway feature significantly reduces the risk of strangulation or injury if the collar becomes caught on an object or another dog.
• Can still be used for safe leash walking: Depending on the design of the safety breakaway collar, most feature two D-rings to attach a lead to that essentially bypass the breakaway buckle. This means you can still safely walk your dog on the lead using a breakaway collar.
• Fashionable: If you find a good brand (such as Led & Collared®), safety breakaway collars can still look great!

Disadvantages

• Identification challenges: If the safety breakaway collar comes off, your dog’s identification tags (or printing) will come off with it. This presents a safety issue as your dog may not be easily identifiable if lost. Although micro-chipping your dog goes a long way to mitigate this risk.
• Not suitable for restraint: As the breakaway safety collar is designed to pop off with sufficient force or pressure, it is not suitable as a tool to restrain your dog. This can present a safety right (to dog and human) in situations where restraint is important e.g. pulling your dog away from a potential fight, stopping your dog from eating something he shouldn’t etc.  
• Less longevity: Breakaway safety collars are much more likely to be lost (as this is what they are designed to do). This obviously means you’re going to be buying more collars, more frequently.

Traditional dog collars

There are three ‘core’ traditional dog collar styles. These are the quick release, flat and martingale styles. While these styles all have different features – they all have one feature in common: that they’re designed to stay on, regardless of force or pressure applied!

Advantages

• Easy identification: As traditional dog collars are unlikely to pop off when pressure is applied, they are much more likely to act as a reliable mechanism into which you can attach identification tags and/or print identifying information directly onto the collar. Having this information easily accessible and visible will increase the chances of your dog being returned safely home if lost.
• Suitable for restraint: Traditional dog collars are designed to withstand force and pressure, thus making them suitable for restraining your dog when necessary.
• Greater longevity: There’s little risk of a traditional dog collar popping off! This means you’ll likely have the collar for a longer period (which will save you money in the long run).
• Fashionable: When it comes to the traditional dog collar – there is a myriad of styles, materials and brands to choose from!

Disadvantages

The only real issue with traditional dog collars is the lack of a safety breakaway mechanism, which puts an unsupervised dog at risk of choking, injury or strangulation.

We’d also like to note that there are other possible dangers associated with all dog collars (safety breakaway included) when they’re used for walking a dog who pulls hard and insistently on their leash. These dangers include neck and back injury; thyroid injury; hypothyroidism; vagus nerve injury; ear and eye issues; and paw licking and foreleg lameness (2). To avoid these risks – our top recommendation is to train your dog not to pull on the lead! Otherwise, another mitigation is to use a harness for walking rather than a collar.

Important features to look for when choosing a safety breakaway dog collar

When selecting a breakaway safety collar, we recommend choosing a collar that has the following important features:

• Size adjustable: Unless custom made to size, you should choose a collar that is size adjustable.
• Breakaway buckle bypass: Choose a collar that features double ‘breakaway buckle bypass’ D-rings so that it can be used for safe leash walking.
• Identification: Choose a collar that provides a mechanism to safely attach identification tags OR that has identification information printed directly onto the collar. Tags should NOT be attached to the double ‘breakaway buckle bypass’ D-rings.
• Durable material: Choose a collar that is made from durable and comfortable materials, such as BioThane® or leather.

Our Led & Collared Safety Breakaway Dog Collar has all these features!

Choosing the right collar for your dog

The choice between a traditional dog collar and a safety breakaway dog collar ultimately depends on your dog’s behaviour and living environment. Here are some considerations to help you decide:

• Alone time: If your dog spends a large proportion of his/her time home alone (without human company) AND you have a safe and well-fenced property, a breakaway collar may be the safest option.
• Behaviour and multi-dog households: If you have more than one dog and they engage in robust high-energy play, breakaway safety collars may be the safest option.
• Age: Puppies are likely to chew everything made available to them – including their collar! This means a breakaway collar might not be the best choice for a puppy if the chewing/choking hazard outweighs the collar related risks.
• Risk assessment: Consider which risk is greater for your dog: the risk of getting caught or snagged on an object or another dog (when you’re not around) vs. other risks associated with being without a collar – such as the risk of being lost without any form of identification or inability to restrain a dog in an emergency situation.

Each dog and dog/human relationship is unique – so different collar choices will suit different dogs. And remember that there’s also the option of only using a collar when you take your dog out and leaving them ‘collar free’ at home.

At Led & Collared®, we offer the Safety Breakaway Dog Collar. This is a customised BioThane® collar that comes in a range of colour and hardware options. We also offer the option to personalise the collar by adding your dog’s name and your number directly to the collar (this avoiding the need for tags).

References

• American Veterinary Medical Association. (n.d.). Dog collar injuries. Retrieved from AVMA.
• Dr Peter Dobias, DVM: https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/dog-throat-injury-from-leash

Author: Lorna Brennan, Managing Director of Led & Collared®, June 2024