One of the first things new greyhound owners learn about their pup is that their heads are much more narrow than their necks, which means they require a special kind of collar called a martingale. The martingale collar is designed to keep the greyhound completely secure and comfortable at the same time. A traditional collar would need to be kept tight around the smallest part of the greyhound's head, which definitely would be uncomfortable for the dog. A martingale collar has two loops, instead of the traditional collar's one loop, and the large loop is meant to fit loosely (but still snug!) around the neck. There is a ring on the small loop where the leash is clipped- as the dog pulls forward or the walker pulls back on the leash, the small loop is pulled tighter, which causes the large loop to fit more snugly around the neck. Once the tension on the small loop is released, the collar loosens again- perfect for those pups with narrow heads because they won't be able to slip their collar!
When we picked up our first greyhound, Ana, we went to the adoption coordinator's house where, in addition to filling out the paperwork, meeting our new family member for the first time, and standing around in awe looking at all the fresh-off-the-track beauties, we were able to peruse their "shop" of greyhound necessities. We picked out a basic martingale and matching leash in a solid color that would go with everything. We told ourselves that we would pick up a "pretty" patterned martingale in a few weeks. Three years and another greyhound later, neither of our two have fancy collars. I've gone to a lot of greyhound picnics and events where vendors sell them, but they always have been either too ornate, or let's face it, too expensive (some vendors will charge up to $75 for a collar!). Enter Etsy and The Mod Dog!
Here's an example of a basic martingale:
Another fabulous find for our Featured Friday segment, The Mod Dog creates custom collars and leashes for your pet! You can choose the style of the collar (buckle or martingale), the webbing color (which is the main collar material), the pattern (which is attached to the webbing), and the hardware! Each collar is custom created for your pup, so it will take between 1 to 2 weeks after your order is placed for the collar to arrive. I've found quite a number of "favorites" on the shop, and they look like they would be well worth the wait!
I haven't purchased one (well, two!) for my hounds yet, but I already have the two picked out that I want to get them. It's a trend in our greyhound group to color-coordinate our dogs with a signature color. Ana's signature color is purple, and Blue's is, well, blue. They also have secondary signature colors, just because we like variation, and Ana's is pink, and Blue's is red (we like him to wear blue and red together because they are Superman colors!). So the fancy martingales we want need to coordinate with their primary and secondary signature colors. Here are the ones we love for our two:
The Crimson and Clover Martingale Collar - only $20!!
The Polka, Polka Makes Me Happy Martingale Collar - only $19!!
(but we'd want to make it either 1 1/2" or 2" wide)
And, because we at Greyhound Threads love shops that work with rescue groups, we are excited to share with our readers that a percentage of every sale at The Mod Dog is donated to a local Georgia rescue group (mainly the Atlanta Weimaraner Club Rescue).
So, where can you find more information on The Mod Dog and purchase collars and leashes? Here's the scoop:
- You can shop The Mod Dog on Etsy
- You can "like" The Mod Dog on Facebook
- You can "follow" The Mod Dog Blog (we love the blog and the alliteration!)
- And you can stay in touch through The Mod Dog twitter updates
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