So how were your first moments, slapping that new collar of your on? What did you feel? How did you feel? What did you say? What did your friends/parents/other people say? What did you with it on?
Yeah, questions like that
Here's mine: I felt basically what I expected from a nylon collar, a almost non-noticable feeling on my neck. I basically felt it there and nothing really special occured. Yet again, it was my first time wearing a collar
then i slept with it on
. It's still in the confines of my room and house (when no one is around) and I'm still working on getting out there
. Gonna plan to bring it to school or something...
Since it was nylon, it had a buckle on it, which was probably the most noticible part i felt. When it get's hot and sweaty, it's more noticable. It was soft and comfortable. I remember it feeling good in the morning after wearing it to sleep
I mean, your sense of touch is more sensitive in the morning because ur body is like waking up n stuff. I mean I wake up at 6a.m then sleep because I'm suppose to wake up at 8 a.m., so the first thing I do when I do wake up (now) is check if my collar is on my neck (for some reason now). then I continue to sleep. But still, it feels different in the morning.
It also has a metal D-Ring on the front which is beside the buckle and it makes this nice noise when it hit's the plastic buckle. FOr some reason, I like the sound of it.
I got a black version of this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Majestic-Pet-14-20-Adjustable-Collar-in-Multiple-Colors-Fits-Most-40-120-lbs-Dogs/15220666 btw
And here's a guide to buying a collar:
How to Buy a Collar without looking like a Derp You can pretty much get collars anywhere. It depends on what you want, if you want an inexpensive snap-on nylon collar, you can get those for like $3 at Wal-Mart, there is where no one will bother you. In Wal-Mart, there's a very limited options, all you get is usually nylon snap-on collars and maybe one leather one with studded jems that is too large for your neck (but perfect if you have a fursuit/head).
In general, I would recommend getting a leather collar with buckles, you can get whatever colour you want with whatever on it, studs, spikes, D-Rings, etc. Or a nylon collar with buckles, if you don't want to kill the leather collar with your sweat in the summer. You can go to pet stuff sites all over the interwebs and fine something you like, or make a custom one from CollarFactory or other people.
Now after you have a general idea of what you want, you should probably measure your neck, let's say your neck size is 16 inches, in general you would want to buy a collar that will fit a 16-inch neck, but collar makers of all kinds mix up the sizes all the time. 16-inches on the label can mean that the tightest this collar can be is 16-inches or the middle hole is 16-inches or the least tight is 16-inches, so just remember to check before you actually buy it, and check the refund/return policy, all it really takes is you to try it on for a few seconds to see if it fits.
The best case senario is that the tightest or the second tightest hole is where it's comfy, where it's the perfect fit and will last you forever, your neck probably won't grow or get larger any time soon and you can always adjust the collar. My most recent collar purchase is a black, leather collar with two D-Rings (one on the center and one near the buckle), it's 16-inches and it fit's fine on the tightest hole but I wear it on the second tightest because it feels better, and I can move it around my neck easier. This collar will probably last me forever.
Now how to actually buy it, just go to any pet shop store, the large ones won't bother you unless you are in front of the collar section for like half an hour, or at the counter when you pay. The smaller shops probably have nothing else to do so they will ask you if they can help you, just say you know what you are looking for and they will pretty much leave you alone. Now you have reached the collar section, and you see a ton of collars ranging from many colours, sizes and so on. Just take your time and remember your criteria: Neck size, leather or nylon, bucked or whatever, thickness, wideness, features, etc. Feel free to pick up the collar and feel the material and ALWAYS inspect the entire collar, if something is broken, missing, etc., get the newer one, etc.
For thickness, it really doesn't matter, a thick one (one that is ticker than a few coins) doesn't really change anything, it's just stiffer (at first). For the wideness, most leather ones are smaller than an inch, my latest collar isn't even an inch, it's like 1.8cm. A wider one would just cover your neck more and keep more of the heat (like a scarf).
Now for features, since it's a dog collar, it will have at least one D-Ring, this is used to put on tags, and of course, leashes
, if the collar has two it's fine, it's most likely one on the center of the collar and one near the buckle. My latest collar has two, no problem really. These collars won't have any more than 2 but will have at least one (unless it's a fashion one). You can go get yourself a leash if you want, I have one.
Any other feature is up to you such as bells, studded stuff, spikes, lights, jewels, etc., get whatever you want. You can get tags and other stuff too.
Pretty much after you've chosen your collar (you can get two if you want), just go and pay for it. If the cashier asks you about your dog, just say it's a husky or something, just don't stand there mumbling what your own dogs breed is. Also, don't say a small dog like a weiner dog, it would look like you are buying a collar that's huge. After than, bam, you have your collar, now go home or to a washroom or something and actually try it on to see if it's well fitting. If yes, congrats! You now have a collar! If not, lol whoops, go exchange for a smaller/larger one.
In terms of tightness, it just depends on how you like it, I like it tight-ish on my neck, others like it to look you can just take it off my lifting it off your neck through your head. Just don't make it too tight, if you can put two fingers through the collar (between your neck and the collar) easily without any problems, it's probably fine.
And there you have it, a guide on buying a collar without looking like a total derp made in like minutes!
I hope this helps you!
Any questions? Feel free to ask them!
Le List of Collars I have to date:
- Black Nylon snap-on collar from Wal-Mart [16 inches, 1 D-Ring]
- Blue Nylon snap-on collar from Wal-Mart (yes, another one) [16 inches, 1 D-Ring]
- Blue Leather Collar [16.5-19.5 inches, 1 D-Ring on the center of the collar]
- Black Spikey Leather Collar [14-16 inches, 1 D-Ring near the buckle and a lotta spikes and studs!]
- Black Leather Collar with White Stitching [14-16 inches, 2 D-Rings, one on the center of the collar and one near the buckle, white stitching looks pretty awesome!]
I feel like getting a new collar every season because it seems like I've done that so far.
And I've been sleeping wearing a collar for like a year now, yeah!
