Our Leather Dog Collars - The Details
The leather that we use 3-4mm thick in black, tan, chocolate or red. Each leather holds different properties, outlined below to help you find the perfect match for your pooch.
Black leather- really long lasting, supple & strong.
Tan leather - will age beautifully as worn & the colour will deepen with time.
Chocolate Brown leather - strong & beautifully rich in colour – looks amazing on brindle dogs.
Red leather - bright and fun, may not last as long as the natural veg tanned colours.
Red leather is a strange and tricky thing – we have tried many different leathers over the years – some deepen to a brown, others run like crazy. So we have created our own red leather and have it specially made for us. At it’s core is a natural skin that we have surface dyed on the top and underside to our own pantone reference. This reduces colour change, but primarily it is to stop the red from running into your dogs fur.
There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to why red leather will run into some dogs fur and not others. We have tested & researched endlessly and can only conclude that it must be down to the oils in certain dogs coats causing the leather to run. For this reason we have created a one sided red leather especially for white furred dogs. It is red on the top and left natural underneath, further reducing the risk of run. If you have a white dog – please choose the red leather for white fur and we will use this special one sided red leather for you.
Leather in any colour is a natural product and some colour transference can happen on initial wearing. In a similar way to a new pair of dark denim jeans that turn your hands and legs blue on first wearing, it should soon stop.
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Fittings: Our buckles, dee rings and studs are all made in solid brass. The silver finish versions are nickle plated solid brass. The stud backs are also hypoallergenic brass.
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Studs: Our studs are exclusively hand made for us by Menorcan artisans. Each stud is individually punched out of sheets of solid brass. The rivet backs are then welded on, one by one, by hand. This creates the strongest bond possible. We use brass because it is best for the environment, very strong and the stud will not break or shear off like other, cheaper, composite metals. The silver colour studs are nickel plated solid brass. All of our studs are attached to the collars by us in our workshops in Suffolk or Brighton. The studs have brass backs for a hypoallergenic finish against the dogs neck. Due to the nature, mischief and fun loving curiosity of dogs (diving through hedges, rolling in muddy puddles…), occasionally we will be contacted to say a dog has lost a stud from their collar (in all of our 22 years of product testing this has never happened to one of our dogs collars despite much, MUCH mischief). If this does happen please contact us and we can replace the stud for you.
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Sizes: We use neck size rather than overall collar length for our measurements, as this creates a more accurate fit for your dog. Please see our page on How To Measure Your Dog for more details.
If you don’t have a fabric tape measure, you can either measure your dog’s existing collar to the point at which the collar is done up, or use a piece of ribbon to gauge your dog’s neck size and then measure the ribbon.
Below you can see all of the sizes and dimensions of our collars and we also give you a rough guide for breeds. However... we will often see 3 dogs of the same breed wearing 3 different size collars. I have 2 labradors – Beetle wears a size 4, Buzz wears a size 5.
Size Chart:
Size 0: 3 studs. Neck Size: 19-24cm/7.5-9.5”. Collar Width: 12mm at buckle, 18mm at collar. Good for puppies and tiny breeds - eg Chihuahuas.
Size 1: 4 studs. Neck Size: 23-30cm/9-10.5”. Collar Width: 12mm at buckle, 18mm at collar. Good for Little Jacks, Mini Poodles, Mini Daxies, Yorkies.
Size 2: 4 studs. Neck Size: 25-35cm/11-13”. Collar Width: 20mm. Good for Boarder Terriers, Caverpoos, Jack Russells, Dachshunds.
Size 3: 5 studs. Neck Size: 31-42cm/12-15”. Collar Width: 23mm. Good for Schnauzers; Cockerpoos, Cocker Spaniels.
Size 4: 6 studs. Neck Size: 40-51cm/15-18”. Collar Width: 25mm. Good for Working Labradors (23kg-ish - skinny), Springer Spaniels, Labradoodles.
Size 5: 6 studs. Neck Size: 46-56cm/18-21”. Collar Width: 30mm. Good for Traditional Labradors (30kg - chunky), Golden Retrievers, Standard Poodles, Ridgebacks.
Size 6: 7 studs. Neck Size: 56-66cm/22-26”. Collar Width: 30mm. Good for Bull Dogs, Great Danes.
Please ensure you measure correctly for your dog’s collar as it will be hand made to order for you by our team of artisans.
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Care:
Before leaving our workshop you collar will be treated with Neatsfoot oil to protect against water, weather and wear. This leather dog collar has been hand crafted for you and we suggest you look after it as you would a new pair of leather shoes – it may not last as long if you don't. Ideally remove the collar before swimming, or rinse off salt water and re-moisturise with saddle soap or Neatsfoot oil every now and then. However this being said, lots of our customers are in and out of the sea and their collars last for years without any rinsing or saddle soaping! But please do be aware that a wet collar will stretch and become worn out faster if a dog is allowed to pull against it when waterlogged.
If your dog is big on swimming, perhaps one of our Biothane collars may be a better fit for your dog as it is 100% waterproof.
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Not only are our collars beautifully hand made with love, they are also guaranteed for 6 months from date of purchase against breakage or loss of studs.
Our collars tend to last for many years, often a lifetime. If you look after the collar it will last longer. I take off my dogs leather collars when they swim as water makes leather stretch and weaken. In fact the way that you mould leather is to wet it and then repeatedly push and pull it over a form, so please try not to let your dog pull on a wet collar as it will destroy it very fast. The more you look after your collar, the longer it will last.
We make collar care kits to help you do this, however if the collar is in need of some added TLC we also offer a collar service for £20 (inc postage back to you) where we will replace all rivets, any missing studs and clean and treat the leather.
