Wow! Thank you for this info, I had not heard stories like these and did not realize the risk! My two most playful dogs (of the four that are with us) are always roughhousing but also very different in size. With a 8 kg dog and a 20+ one grabbing each other, the scenario's now playing in my head are awful :-((, brrrr.
Thank you, thank you...

Hi Karen,
Talking about collars and harnesses I'd just like to say that I, like you, keep my dogs naked in the house and garden, and make sure that my garden fencing is in good shape. When we go out for walks I put their collars on them (one wears a harness because she had been kept tied up outside with a collar so tight it left (still feelable after 4 years) a groove around her neck where her muscles couldn't develop. Thank God she was confiscated by the police and taken to the rescue kennels where I found her).
About things like cleaning out ears and looking into mouths etc. Again: the step by step approach. This is not so easy in dogs from the rescue kennels because they have probably had bad experiences, and are more diffident,but it's worth trying to gently put your finger inside each ear for just a second or two every day. When he's happy about that (hopefully) you can reduce it to ear-fiddling about twice a week. If, on the other hand, you get a puppy then I strongly advise you to just delicately wiggle your little finger in his ears (not too deep)for a few seconds every day, after a while you'll see that he quite enjoys it seeing as mother bitches lick the insides of their pups' ears as part of daily cleaning. As the dog grows and so do his ears you can clean them out by wrapping some gauze around your littlefinger. When he accepts this happily you can reduce this to twice then once a week, just to keep the habit going. Your vet will be very grateful! Same thing with looking at teeth, run your fingers over his teeth, up and down then leave it at that, just praise him, he'll be quite happy letting you do it every day or nearly after a few weeks.
I hope AMerica's dogs had a happy thanksgiving, weren't neglected or overfed on the wrong foods. I'm already nagging people here about new year's eve, because the custom is to set off fire works and dogs get terrified. Does this happen in the US too? Can we push for a law to make home fire works illegal ? Only local administrations should be allowed to set off fireworks, informing the local population first (so that people can gather to enjoy them) and at the same time explaining to people that their dogs will most probably be scared out of their wits, so don't leave them alone, and NEVER outside. A dog I knew shredded his belly by leaping over his 5 ft wire net fence. He was found next morning about 30 yards away, dead from blood loss, with parts of his intestines outside his body.

>>>KP's Response:

Thanks, Shirley!
I appreciate all your helpful advice, and I'm sure everyone else does too.
Yes, we have fireworks in the U.S. as well, but mostly around July 4 (our Independence Day). I really hate them now, after seeing how frightened animals (including wild animals) can become when they hear the unexpected and terrifying noises. I, too, would like to see them regulated.
KP

How can you justify microchip surgery on a dog? You are talking about cutting dogs and inserting a foreign object under their skin. How cruel can you be!

>>> KP's Response:

Hi Dave!
Thanks for your concern. If you get a chance to see the microchip procedure done, it's merely a quick injection of a tiny object into the place between the dog's shoulder blades. I watched while it was done to each of my six dogs, and I can assure you that not one of them flinched or yelped at all. It only took a split second, but it's very reassuring to know that they have permanent ID on them.
KP

How scary. I've never thought about this. I have two dogs. One is very old and I think he can be ok with the collar but the other one she is younger and payful. I think I'll remove their collars when we're at home. They're very safe and we have a fence they can't jump. Thanks, as always, for teaching me new ways to think about my beloved doggies.

Yikes! The dog's collars are coming off in the house! Working at home helps us keep an eye on them at all times, but an emergency situation can happen in a split second.

My cat is an indoor-only cat, but still wore a collar with ID tag. One day, she came out of the closet with a trail of wire hangers behind her, stuck in her collar. She had curled up on a box full of the old hangers. I was just glad I was home, and ever since she has been collar free, unless we go out of town, and then she wears a breakaway collar.

Great advice, KP!

I imagine comments of a respectful though challenging nature will nonetheless be omitted from your site, but hopefully you will defy my pessimistic assumptions...

That being said, I think that microchipping an animal (and even less invasive forms of "preventing escape") is barbaric. Just as animals are not here for human entertainment or consumption, they do not exist to have their gonads removed and their bodies implanted with tracking devices so that they might make better surrogate children for humans. Were I a dog, I think I might prefer a dangerous, shorter life, if it meant living like an adult (killing my own food, copulating, raising my own offspring and living outside). Just my thoughts...

>>>KP's Response:

Hi Joseph!
I understand what you mean, but unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. We humans have taken dogs out of their natural wild niche and domesticated them so that many, if not most, of them wouldn't fare very well if they were to "escape" or get lost somehow. It's our fault for messing up their natural lives so we're obligated to make things as comfortable for them as we can under the circumstances.

Inserting a microchip isn't painful to the dog, so I really don't think you can object too strongly to that for any practical reason. Spaying and neutering, of course, is surgery and isn't without a certain amount of discomfort. But dogs who are spayed or neutered are a heck of a lot more comfortable without all those sex hormones coursing through them and making them feel frustrated all the time. Plus, they totally avoid cancer of the reproductive organs, which is pretty common in intact dogs.
KP

KP-
How much did the microchipping cost? I am really interested in getting it for my two.

>>>KP's Response:

Hi M.D.!
I think it may vary quite a bit, so I would just call around to your local vets and ask them how much they charge.
KP

I've been collar free in the house ever since my dog got his collar caught on a blanket is his bed. His bed is a huge cardboard box filled with a comforter and another of his favorite knitted blankets. We brought the box home, thinking we would just keep it for a day or two so he could play in it...we cut some holes just his size, so it was "his" box and he loved it so much he sleeps in there most nights. When he didn't come out one morning when I called, I went to check on him, so tried to pull him out a little to see if he was okay...he wasn't. His collar was caught on the woven blanket and everytime he tried to faithfully come when I called he was choking himself. He's so tough, I he never made a peep. I would have never known he was in trouble. It's a 100% collar free house now, and that goes for our little doggy guests too. He wear tags and ID when he is outside or traveling. That's it. Very good article. They're so cute naked anyway :)

I have not thought about break away collars for dogs, only cats becuase I had a simular incident with my 18 year old feline companion. She was an indoor cat and one afternoon when I was working my home was broken into and robbed. when I got home a few hours later and discovered what had happened and seeing that the back door was left open, I thought that the robbers either took her as well or she got out. I was upset and shakened up and went to stay with a friend for the night. I was worried sick for my cat because I live in Colorado where there is a lot of wild preditors everywhere. I and my friend returned to my house the next afternoon to try to put the house back into order and the police was finally finished with what they where doing. upon arrival I started hearing faint moans and meows. I litterally ripped my house apart again looking for my cat thinking she had come home and might be injured, Instead I found her inside of my beds boxsprings; she had hidden in there and was able to get up in there through a hole in the dust cover. She had her collar caught on one of the springs and was slowly chocking. she had to remain standing the entire time to keep from hanging herself. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I would have spent the night home and gotten into bed. My companion Keylo had pasted away about four years ago and since then I have adopted a black Lab (Jake) which is a hurricane survivor and just recently 2 month ago another little kitty (Bailey). I don't have a collar on bailey because she is a indoors cat and I have her micro-chipped as well as Jake but Jake has a regular collar which I will change now. I do take him out with an harness so a break away collar will be very practicle for him even when I take him out to the dog park. Thank you so much for sharing. Daniel Farrell, Aurora Colorado.

I fully agree. I have to say, though, that I've been a bit remiss about this in my own home. Now that my puppy is getting MORE rembunctious with his play, I'll be sure to remove the collars and put them on just before we go out of the house.

I go one step further with this: there is only ONE tag on each dog's collar. It has their name and my phone number (techically it's two tags on one ring; the microchip ID and telephone number is the other tag). The rest of their tags are on a caribiner that I put on when we go out (license, rabies, additional identification tag). Tag are just as dangerous as collars when dogs are playing. Their teeth can get caught and break, and if the hook is loose but stays put, it can scratch or puncture flesh and other body parts. Not to mention that annoying jingling sound all the time!

My dogs don’t wear their collars when I’m gone either; I take off their collars but leave their harnesses on (I read this suggestion in Peta’s “Animal Times”). Both their collars and harnesses have matching sets of tags, and they are also microchipped and tattooed. After working in a shelter and seeing dogs and cats die simply for lack of collar and tags, a naked dog/cat just makes me sick. Millions of dogs and cats die every year in shelters and most are taken in as strays (no collars, tags, or microchips) however we only hear a few stories about dogs/cats who choke from wearing a collar. I think it’s safe to assume that collars and tags do MUCH more good than harm. I’m sure someone will write and tell me that harness are still somehow dangerous or that their dog doesn’t “like” to wear a harness. But dogs would like wearing it more than they would like losing you forever and dying in a shelter or living on a chain when someone “finds” them and they are naked. Not everyone knows to check a “stray” dog for a microchip so they need visible id.
No one EVER plans for their dogs or cats to get lost – it just happens accidentally – like when they slip out an open door or through a gate. Most animals are lost from home since that’s where they usually are. Please keep a harness and current tag on your dog at all times, and a breakaway collar and tag on your cat. My dogs were adopted from shelters and they do not want to go back!