Don't Let Your Dog Die A Preventable Death (KeepSafe Break-Away Dog Collar)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	KeepSafe Break-Away Dog Collar
Date:	30/10/09 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Eliminates the risk of accidental strangulation by collars

Disadvantages: Absolutely none

*What is the KeepSafe Break Away Dog Collar?*
This unique dog collar is produced by the Premier Pet company, who make and distribute a large variety of dog equipment including leads, collars, bedding, toys and training equipment. The KeepSafe Break Away Dog Collar has been designed to eliminate the risk of strangulation accidents in dogs.

*The product itself*
Since the beginning of September, Grace and Benson, my two beloved doggies have spent Fridays home alone. I've started a college course for one day a week at a college a reasonable distance away from my house, so the dogs are left around 6.30am in the morning, and I don't return home until nearly 7pm in the evenings. My fiancé obviously pops home to check on them and take them for a walk during his lunch break, but for the majority of the time of Fridays, the dogs are on their own (the poor neglected doggies eh?!).

I decided that whilst the weather is still reasonably mild, that they'd be a lot happier left out in the garden- that way they've got room to run about together, they can go to the loo as and when they need to and it is generally a lot more exciting for them outside than being stuck inside the house.

Now, they normally only wear collars whilst out on walks as I am not keen on them wearing collars in the house, however, I was also not keen on the idea of them being left in the garden for a large proportion of the day without collars on bearing means of identification should they manage to escape from the garden and get lost. This left with a small dilemma- the dogs often play very roughly together and I had visions of one of their bottom jaws become caught in the others collar, or even worse, one of them catching their collar on a tree or the fence post and being unable to free themselves, and without myself or my fiancé there to help them, and ultimately, quite simply strangling themselves.

This left me wondering if there were such collars available for dogs that are designed in the same way as cat collars that would release open if the animal got caught. I decided to try my luck and have a little search on the internet on the off chance of finding something- as lets face it- Grace and Benson would never fit into a cat collar unless they are now making tiger sized ones!

Anyway, I couldn't believe my luck when I stumbled across these KeepSafe Break Away Dog Collars, and my order was placed the moment the page had loaded!

The collars were originally designed by an American couple who sadly lost their puppy when it's collar became caught on the stair gate when he tried to jump it whilst home alone, and he was pretty much hung by his collar. After this sad tragedy, they invented these collars to help prevent any other dog meeting the same end as theirs, and hopefully stopping any other owner going through the heart ache they did. The idea took off massively and many companies are now producing them worldwide, including Premier which is who makes these particular ones.

The collars, at first glance, look like any other regular nylon dog collar- with a snap shut buckle fastening and a D-ring to attach leads and I.D tags to, but look a little closer and you will notice a unique addition in the form of a very special safety buckle.

When the collar is around the dogs neck and pressure is applied, such as if a dog was to get his collar caught on something, the safety buckle will simply pop open, allowing the collar to fall off the dog so he can release himself, completely eliminating the risk of fatal accidents that can occur when the dog literally strangles himself to death when collars become caught on gates or fence posts, when two dogs are playing together or when collar tags become stuck inbetween air vents or bars of dog crates. Once popped open however, the collar isn't broken- it can be refitted to your dog by pushing the safety buckle back together and it's ready for the next time your dog finds himself in danger.

Two D-rings are fitted to the collar- one either side of the safety buckle so the collar can be used alongside a lead like a regular collar- you simply need to pull the rings together and attach the lead to BOTH of them, so they effectively disable the safety buckle, and I.D tags can still be attached as well- although they should only be attached to ONE D-ring, to enable the collar to still pop open if the dog ever finds himself in danger.

*Packaging*
The collars come supplied in clear plastic packets with leaflets included that give full information about the product such as a little background information about the company, fitting instructions and extensive details on how the collar works and why they were invented.

*Price & Availability*
For some crazy reason, KeepSafe Break Away Dog Collars don't appear to be available in any offline pet stores, I have only seem them online. They come in a choice of two colours- either black or red, and a variety of sizes- petite, small, medium and large.

I purchased two brand new large collars for my dogs from eBay for £9.99 each.

*My opinion*
These collars are somewhat of an unusual purchase- they are something that you will probably never ever in your dogs lifetime need to make use of, but are such an item that IF they are ever needed and your dog does have an accident, you'll be so, so glad you purchased them as they really could quite literally save your dogs life one day seeing as collar strangulation accidents are sadly much more common than most people realise.

My main reason for buying them was, as I mentioned earlier, I wanted the dogs to wear collars bearing I.D tags whilst left alone in the garden all day on Fridays but I still wanted them to be safe from strangulation accidents should, god forbid, one of their jaws get caught in the others collar during play or one of their collars got caught on a fence post or branch of a tree- in all the years I've owned dogs, I've thankfully never had such a thing happen, but in my mind, it is better to be safe than sorry, so I was more than happy to shell out nearly £20 on these collars for them.

When they arrived, they looked like any other dog collar- they were simple and easy to fit to the dogs and the collars were easy to adjust to the correct size- once on the dogs, they looked very smart and functional, and appeared very durable and well made too.

I gave them a little test to determine just how effective the safety buckets were. With Grace's collar around her neck, I gave it a gentle tug to see if the safety buckle would release as promised- and sure enough, it did. The collar came away in my hand, leaving me with huge peace of mind knowing that when the dogs are left for the day on Fridays whilst I am at college, that they are in absolutely no risk of accidentally strangling themselves on their collars, which is devastatingly the way hundreds of dogs worldwide meet their death every year.

I attached their I.D tags, as directed, to one of the D-rings and although I did not intend to use the collars for walking the dogs, for the purpose of the review I tested using the collars with a lead and they were as safe as any other regular dog collar. With the clasp of the lead is attached to both of the D-rings, this practically makes the collar a complete, solid loop and the pressure is taken off the safety buckle either side by the D-rings, so no matter how much your dog pulls on the lead, the collars are also suitable for walking with as the safety buckle will not release when a lead is attached to both D-rings.

One thing I will make a point of saying however is that if your dog is to be wearing the collar whilst out on a walk, and they are off lead, and if for whatever reason you need to quickly restrain your dog by grabbing their collar you must make sure you get hold of them by wrapping your hand around the safety buckle otherwise the pressure of your dog pulling against the collar in your hand will make the safety buckle release and your dog break free.

The dogs have been wearing their special KeepSafe collars now every Friday since September- they still wear their regular leather collars for walks but their KeepSafe collars go on every Friday morning before I leave for college and I can leave them, knowing the collars will do as promised and break open should, god forbid, an accident ever occur.

Each evening I've came home with the collars still on the dogs, so in hindsight, they haven't been needed yet, and they may never will be, but for me, the peace of mind they offer makes them entirely worthwhile and more than justifies the relatively high price tag.

In my eyes, they are an absolutely essential item, and accidental strangulation is something more pet owners need to be aware off.

Spending £9.99 on a collar, when you can purchase one for £3, or running the risk of your dog strangling itself to death... you decide which you'd prefer.

Summary: Your dog could go it's entire life without a problem with regular collars but why risk it?