Great Dane collar: Slip collar, pinch collar, choke chain, training collar, shock collar, buckle collar, clip collar or maybe not a collar at all – maybe you want a Great Dane harness. So many options! How do you choose!?
We’ve used a lot of collars and I hope you will find our experiences helpful.
The Right Collar for YOUR dog.
You know that every Dane is different – different temperaments, different emotions, different needs, which means you’ll have to determine which is the best Great Dane collar for your pup.
Different types of dog collars are needed as your Dane grows and goes through the stages of obedience training, learning to take the daily walk or simply stay in their yard.
The Early Years
When you first bring you little bundle home any puppy collar will do. (Even a cat collar would work, but that would be just wrong.) It doesn’t take long for them to grow out of that little strap that I can now wear as a bracelet. At this point the collar really doesn’t need to do much beyond look cute and offer a place to attach a lightweight lead to begin the process of leash training.
This is where the right collar will depend greatly on the needs of your dog. Every well-behaved and highly trained show dog is presented with a simple slip collar.
Slip Collar
A Slip Collar can be made of leather, nylon rope or chain. The ones made of chain are commonly know as a “Choke Chain.” This is a good choice for a Great Dane. Due to their size and strength the choke chain (or slip chain) gives you leverage to effectively train and communicate with your gentle giant. Chain or nylon rope are best for training. The leather ones look nice but often don’t release smoothly enough for training.
The Right Size
With a slip collar it’s vital that you get the right size. If your collar is too large a crafty Dane will drop their head and let the chain drop right off. (I’ve had this happen and it’s rather embarrassing) If it’s too small it can be ineffective and may even hurt your pup.
To determine the right size measure high on your dogs neck. (Danes have a long neck that gets narrower near the head.) Now add 3” to that measurement – this is your target size. Chains normally come in 2” increments so try to find one close to that size. If your target size isn’t found go the next size up. Don’t go less than 3” plus your dogs neck size.
Lucy wears a 24″ chain when we go for a walk.
The Right Type
If your dog is large, strong, or just strong-willed you may need to use a pronged chain. We had one Dane, ironically named “Angel” that was both strong and strong-willed. She required a pronged chain for training.
Many people consider the pronged collar or “pinch collar” to be cruel or inhumane, however if used properly it can be a life saver for training a strong-willed pup how have a safer more fulfilling life long-term. If your dog pulls hard on the leash when you’re on a walk you should consider a pronged chain.
We had a Great Dane named Angel. Angel was appropriately named, she was an angel – very affectionate and snugly, but she was STRONG! We used a pinch collar with Angel until she learned how to behave on a leash. It wasn’t long using the pinch collar that taking her for a walk became less of a wrestling match and we were able to go back to a at regular slip chain. But the pinch collar served us well.
Flat Collar
The flat collar is the typical strap type collar most people think of as a standard “dog collar.” But even here there are several varieties to consider.
First let me tell you what type of flat collar NOT to buy for your Great Dane
Snap Buckle
We had two brindle Danes, sisters from the same litter. As they got bigger I bought them a couple beautiful nylon web collars with a gorgeous brown fabric pattern that looked great against their brown and black coat. The problem was the plastic snap buckle.
I thought the snap buckle design looked cool. It would be easy to remove for their comfort when they were in the house. So I brought them home fitted them to Abbey and Angel. (You might remember Angel from the previous paragraph about pronged collars and can see where this is going) I trained them to come and sit when I announced the command, “collar” before we’d go out for a walk. Everything seemed perfect.
These two dogs even though they were sisters couldn’t have been more different in personality. Abby was gentle quiet while Angel was strong and aggressive (not in a bad way). Angel had a tendency to pull against the leash and did I mention she was strong!
Angel could pull hard enough to pop the plastic snap buckle which she did on several occasions at the most inopportune moments. So even though I loved the look and convenience of the snap buckle. I couldn’t use this collar on Angel. It probably would’ve been fine on Abby but after my experience with Angel I just didn’t trust the collar any more.
Belt Buckle
This is the type collar we landed on. We use a typical heavy nylon web collar. The belt buckle design is strong, adjustable, and secure.
If you see a collar as a fashion statement you can find flat collars in 2” or even 3” widths. These can look very regal on the long neck of a large Great Dane.
Martingale
This collar is sort of a cross between a slip collar and a flat collar. The idea behind this design is to keep the collar secure as it will tighten slightly under pressure, but it doesn’t contract enough to be used as a training tool.
We’ve never used a martingale but when Abby was young she could drop her head and pull away from me and slip out of her “belt buckle” collar. Now this may be due to us not fitting it properly but I’m thinking a Martingale collar might help in this situation. I need to try one of these.
Harness
A harness is not a first choice for a Great Dane especially if your dog already has a tendency to pull on the leash. A harness will actually encourage a Dane to pull. We’ve all experienced “the lean.” If a Dane leans on you and you lean back they will lean harder. A harness puts pressure on the shoulders which makes them want to lean into it more.
If you want to control your dog you need to control the head, so a neck collar will serve you better than a harness.
What About Dog Tags?
A problem with a slip collar, slip chain or harness is there’s no place to attached your “dog tags.” (Most towns require pet to be vaccinated for rabies and display a tag as proof of vaccination.) For this reason, Lucy always wears a flat belt buckle collar to which we attach her tags, we then add a slip chain for walks.
Take the Lead
No matter which collar you choose it’s important that your Great Dane is properly trained from a very young age. We start our Danes on Puppy Class at 2 to 4 months old. For their safety and the safety of others it’s important that they learn to respond to your basic commands early.
A big dog is a big responsibility. Going through puppy training will also help you understand your dogs basic temperament and what type of treats or correction they respond to best.
Knowing your dog will help you choose what’s best for them.
What’s been your experience with collars on your Great Dane? What’s worked best for you or what’s not worked at all? We’d like to know!
Though I have not owned or even walked a Great Dane, I’ve always found them to be beautiful dogs, and who knows may end up with one someday. I do know some great dane owners who will find this post as interesting as I have, and I’ll pass it along. I think if I owned a Great Dane I would definitely go with a slip collar due to their tremendous size. Out of the three options I think I like the leather slip collar the best. It looks pretty durable and sleek too. Great post, I’ll pass it along!
For walking the slip collar is definitely the best. The leather do ones look the best – we use a regular chain slip collar for Lucy. Please do share this with your friends that own Great Danes. I’d love to hear their thoughts.
Hi! I was wondering … do you recommend a slip collar or flat collar?
My daughter has a male Great Dane, that’s pretty well-behaved and I’m not sure what type of collar to get for him. I know she’s been thinking about getting him a slip collar, but I’m not 100% certain that it would be the right one for him.
That’s a really good question – thanks for asking.
We actually use both for Lucy. She has a flat collar that she wears all the time. (She needs to have something to hold here tags.) It’s like her “dress” collar -she feels and looks naked without it.
Then when it’s time for a walk we simply drop the slip-chain over her head, attach the leash and we’re ready to go. No need to take off the flat collar.
A slip collar isn’t great for daily, all-day wear. If they drop their head it can slip right off and as I mentioned earlier, there’s no where to attache her tags. The slip collar work best when it’s paired with a leash to add enough pressure on the collar to keep it tight.
Hope that helps – let me know how it goes!
I like your site. This is great for people who really want to make the best decision for their pets. Do you only do dogs or does your site have any recommendations for cats or other kinds of pets. If it is on their I must have just missed it. What about other products besides collars?
Mario,
Thanks for stopping by Lucy’s site. This site is all about Great Danes – specifically the experience we’ve gained during the 5 years she’s been part of our family, as well as the years we spent with 2 previous Great Danes.
So we will be focusing primarily on Great Danes. We will be adding experiences with other things like toys and food in future posts. Come back again to see what’s new!
I just got a great Dane (puppy) and I am looking for the right collar for my little man! I see that you laid down some choices in here and I really don’t know which one to buy.
Which one would you choose for a puppy? I don’t want him to look too aggressive. Also, do you know of any place that I could buy it online?
Oh what fun! A new Great Dane puppy – I’ll be honest, I’m a little jealous right now.
As far as a collar for your puppy, start him out with a small light-weight buckle flat collar check Amazon for “puppy collars for large breed” when they’re this size a clip buckle is convenient – I like the ones from Blueberry.
But you’ll want to get a slip collar to use when you start training and I hope you enroll in a puppy class as soon as you can. It’s so important for dogs, especially big dogs to be well trained, for their own safety and the safety of others. Look for a soft nylon rope slip collar at first, then as he gets bigger (and that won’t take very long) you can graduate up to a slip-chain.
Keep me posted on his progress. I’d love to see pictures if you’re willing to share. You could email me at dave@danestuff.com. I could even add his pictures to the Photo page under Lucy’s Friends.
All the best to you and your new puppy – remember, we’re in this together.