# Flat collar Vs. Fur Saver



## ArmyGSD (Apr 27, 2009)

What is the benefit to each, and the downside to them?

I am planing on getting Zeus a specialized Leather collar from this link Collar mania 
And I also noticed a lot of GSD's having Fursaver collars on.

What would be the benefit of each collar?

Thanks for the heads up.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

IMHO, anything other than a flat collar is a training device and should be used when training and when extra control is needed, with the ultimate goal being that the dog will be perfectly obedient on just a flat collar or no collar and leash at all.

A lot of people use the Fursaver instead of a flat collar, keeping the leash clipped to both rings at the same time, so that the collar does not function as a choke. Used that way, it's a strong collar that won't break, even on the strongest dog. Used with the lead clipped to one ring, it's a choke, though not a very effective one, for training purposes.

Any training collar has its up and downsides. With your young pup, you don't need training collars yet - those can come when he gets older - and it's best to stick with a flat nylon collar since they're cheap and little pups grow out of them so quickly.


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

What does IMHO mean? I have seen it on this forum before and I have no idea. Also what does DH mean. I am thinking short cuts for saying something but I don't know.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

This is text speak;

IMHO - In my humble opinion
DH - Dear Husband

I won't go on, google text speak.


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

Thanks for that, I will google.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

The Fur Saver does exactly what it says - it keep the dogs fur from being damaged by a collar. It is designed so that the dogs fur does not get caught between the links (possible in regular choke chains) and it does not flatten the fur like a 'flat' collar.

All that being said - the dog should NOT be wearing a collar 24/7 so it really doesn't matter (my personally opinion) which one they wear when they DO wear one.


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## acurajane (May 21, 2008)

Historian said it. 

I will add on that I use the fur savor on my lab and yes I can use it with just using both rings but if I need it as a choke then I have that option. Also my girl doesn't have the big ring on her nect from a flat collar. Another thing, flat nylon collars stretch and fade and the fur saver stays the same. I can't say enough about it.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I use a Fursaver as Nikon's main collar, mainly because I can use it so many ways. When we are actively training, often we quickly switch from something on lead to something off and it's real easy to just snap a leash on any link the the collar than fumble for a D-ring.


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## bergwanderkennels (Mar 26, 2009)

> Quote: DH - Dear Husband


O.k not what I was thinking it ment the husband part yes but the D part no! Opps









This is the collar I now use with my dogs as it can be worn from puppy hood and if needed for an adult adjusted so it sits up high behind the dogs ears for extra control. 
Link Chain with Carabiner and Ring scroll down to the last one.

http://www.international.sporthund.de/products/collarsfursavers/index.html


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

My dogs run naked at home. I have no use for any collar there. When I go out, I use two collars:

The first, (each of them have their own), is a leather collar lined with deer skin made by Weaver leather. The inside is very soft. The collar seems very comfortable, and still very strong. This is where the tags are.

The second is generally a martingale, or if that isn't readily available a choke chain. This is what I hook the leash to. 

My thing is that a dog without a collar in my neighborhood will be shot. So when we go out the front door (to get to my car and go anywhere) they have to be wearing their collar and tags. But a dog can slip a collar. There you are in a busy parking lot and your pup is running helter skelter through cars, you cannot call him because there are cars everywhere, and the tags are there on the collar on the leash in your hand. Nope, with adult dogs, I can just fix the leash to the collar, with pups and under trained dogs, or nervous dogs, I like a martingale. 

A martingale IS NOT a training collar. It has no mechanism for offering ANY correction to the dog. It is similar to a prong if the prong section was nylon and had no prongs. It should NEVER be used to choke a dog -- would be impossible unless you hung the dog up with it and the dog's weight caused it to strangle. This is because it has to be big enough to go over the skull which is wider then the neck in most cases. So at the widest it can fit over the head, then the neck there is a little slack and if the dog is frantically trying to get away from a backfiring vehicle, the tension on the prong part makes the noose too small to slide the head through but it doesn't choke the dog.


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## bergwanderkennels (Mar 26, 2009)

" It is similar to a prong if the prong section was nylon and had no prongs. "

The martingale style also comes in a chain.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have some that are nylon and some leather for what would be the prong section. On all of mine there is that little bit of chain that allows the collar to be large enough to get over the head and then small enough not to go over the head.


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## bergwanderkennels (Mar 26, 2009)

For my dogs with longish hair I prefer to use anything fur saver as I find that most other stuff rubs fur... 

Hella's my GSD collar is a fur saver martingale style and
Uly my boxer has a double strand chain martingale which is really more like jewelery for his neck But you cannot see the double strands too well in the pic.


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