Emma's New Collar

Emma is only 10 weeks old in this photograph. She likes to be wherever I am, even if it is in the restroom. I put this soft place for her to wait, though I don't think she will fit in it very much longer.

Emma has a new dog collar. It is 16” long and she wears it on the first hole. She will surely grow into it, past the last hole, and will need a larger one in a few weeks. Her collar is rolled leather. That shape is supposed to last a very long time and not wear the hair beneath it. I learned that tip from Barbara Raynsford, a former Doberman Pincer breeder/show participant, and now owns and operates Heritage Grooming in Gilbert, Arizona.

Emma’s collar will have a tag, which allows anyone who finds her to get in touch with us. Both Petco and Petsmart have the machine to make beautiful tags. The tag will only hold her name and our last name on the top line, our telephone number on the second line, and the state we live in on the last line.. She will have a dog license from the county, as soon as she is old enough to have the rabies shot , and a tag to alert anyone that she has a chip for identification. She has a microchip in her back for further identification, just in case she looses her collar.

Fitting the collar was easy. When it was buckled, I made certain there was plenty of room for two of my fingers to slip easily between the collar and her neck. Because she is a growing puppy, I will test her collar using the two-finger rule every day as I pet her. When the fit becomes snug, not tight, I will let it out a notch until there are no more holes. Then is the time to go to the next collar. If the collar becomes wet, I will remove it so that it does not shrink around her neck.