Right age to buy a Chihuahua a collar? - Paw Talk

CaseyWhitcher · #1 07-31-2003, 01:01 PM

Hey all..

Ok I have a friend with a 7 week old Chihuahua, they want to know what the right age is to buy them a collar..

I'm just guessing here, but, I don't think that it would hurt it to have a collar now, I would just likely get one that it would grow into.

Anyone know any reasons why they should wait a while?

Thanks!

Jodi · #2 07-31-2003, 01:29 PM

I have a 5 month old Chihuahua and we bought him a collar right away at 6 weeks old. We had to get the smallest cat collar - the one with a bell on it - because Tito was so small and kept getting under our feet. It's a good way to keep track of those little guys.

I can't think of any reason to not get a collar.

CaseyWhitcher · #3 07-31-2003, 01:47 PM

Thanks, did he grow out of it pretty quickly? do you remember what size he was when you got it for him? and what size he is now?

Jodi · #4 07-31-2003, 01:56 PM

Well, not too quickly...but they only cost a few bucks so it's not bad when you have to replace it.

Tito was TINY when we got him. About 2 lbs. He's only 4 lbs now and I don't think he's going to get much bigger. Maybe 5 lbs max. His neck has grown some. I've only bought 2 collars since we had him.

Your friend can just go to a pet store and ask for the smallest cat collar. Depending on the size of the Chi, your friend may have to rig the collar to fit. Some Chi's have itsy bitsy skinny little necks!

CaseyWhitcher · #5 07-31-2003, 02:01 PM

Thanks Jodi,

This is actually for a potential customer of ours, so I want to make sure I give her the best advice possible. Our collars are pretty fancy so they are not the cheapest, We do carry them in as small as 6" though.

If we can't find one of ours that will work for her, I will probably reccomend she go to get a cat collar from a local pet store at first then.. sounds like a good idea.

Thanks

Linda Lee · #6 07-31-2003, 03:50 PM

I always buy my dogs a collar the first day I get them- 7 or 8 weeks old. With a name ,phone #,and address "tag" on them. My friend thought I was nuts . I think it's a good idea no matter what the breed and yes you have to replace them as they grow but to me that's fun! I have a fetish on collars and leashes,. Last year I sent a box of collars to a dog/cat shelter because I had so many!
Right now I love those biothane collars, they are water proof so they're great if your dog swims.

Deja · #7 08-02-2003, 06:36 PM

I was going to say the exact same thing as Linda Lee. I always put a collar on my pups the day I bring them home. I don't make a big deal out of it. I do it in a matter of fact way, and they have always adjusted to wearing them almost instantly.

I don't put the dog's name on the ID tag (makes it to easy for someone to get to know your friendly dog if they happen to get lost and found)....

I have a dog collar and leash fetish too! My friends think I am bonkers - lol!

Jack (my golden retriever) has a collar and leash fetish also - it's the funniest thing to see. He actually gets upset when I take his collar off to groom him! He loves his collars and sometimes will bring me one from the basket which I have to put on him - in addition to the one he is already wearing! It's too funny. If I tell him to go get his "favorite" or "fancy" leash he will walk right over to the hook it hangs on in the kitchen and nudge it with his nose.

I would love to learn about the Biothane collars? Linda- do you know of a web page where I might be able to see and order them? They sound great for my daily swimmer!

Deja
:daisy:

Linda Lee · #8 08-03-2003, 08:57 AM

I must not of saved the last site I ordered some nice collars from, they had many colors but were a bit pricey. But here is a site I've ordered from before:
http://www.mossrockendurance.com/mre...=11&prod_ID=37
They don't have too many choices but they make nice collars and the price was better(i think their prices went up)than the last site I bought from.
If you do a biothane collar search on google you'll get more popping up, some sites are hunting dog sites because they use biothane all the time.

Linda Lee · #9 08-03-2003, 09:10 AM

These tags are so nice if you your not familar with them! They look much better in person than pictured.
http://www.safe-t-pet.com/newtags.html

Deja · #10 08-05-2003, 01:44 AM

Thank you Linda! I am going to go check them out right now. If they are used for hunting dogs I bet I have a few catalogs right here at home that also have them. My husband hunts upland game birds and we're training our Brittany for the field.

(not something I'm into personally - but it's been a family activity for him since he was old enough to learn.... eew lol).

Deja

Crittercall · #11 08-05-2003, 10:12 AM

I agree with everybody else - put 'em in a collar as soon as you can. (And realize that this is advice from someone who doesn't have one collar on one dog!)

The big thing in KY was to have the rolled leather ones, with a brass plate. Really "horse-y" looking, but I did like them. Wallis is the only dog I have now that has one of those - don't know if Dexter still has his or not.

Dena, Daisy is the same way about a collar! It's almost like she feels naked if she isn't wearing it. To me that's just one more of the endearing qualities of a Golden. And Erin is the one in our group who goes nuts over getting different ones - flags, boat motifs, etc. I do have a collar and leash that are hand painted with snowmen on them . . . . .I promise, they were a gift!

Casey, even if it means sending the customer somewhere else for something I'd make sure she gets the collar. She can pick up a cat collar at WalMart for next to nothing then come back to you when she gets a bit bigger.

My niece has a mixed breed with a pointy, thin little head. A collar will absolutely NOT stay on him! He has to wear a harness.

CaseyWhitcher · #12 08-05-2003, 12:30 PM

thanks so much for all the advice guys, of course that's what I suggested to our customer is that they go pick up a cheapo collar for now so that their little one has soemthing on so that if they are under their feet they can hear them or god forbid they get lost that they can be returned..

hopefully this person will come back to us and buy one of our fancy collars when her little one gets older and will not grow out of it, but my wife and I started this company because we love dogs, not because we wanted to make money : ) so we are happy with the results.