Setting aside for a moment that I think the only good use for a choke chain is to hang up ribbons or hanging basket flowers, I want to talk about a terrifying trend I’m seeing. I suppose it’s something I’ve seen before but the last two doggie events I went to I saw tons of dogs with this and it really irks me.

PLEASE, do not ever put dangling ID tags on the “live” ring on a choke collar. IF you do, please don’t ever leave the collar on your dog while he is playing at a park or unattended, even for a moment.

Listen, ALL collars that have dangling tags have the potential to be dangerous but choke chains with tags on the live ring are a completely different cup of tea.

The ‘live’ ring on a choke chain is the ring that allows the collar to be tightened indefinitely. It is the ring that would be attached to the leash when in use. In the cartoon to the left, the ‘live’ ring with tags on is dangling down on the dog running around.

What makes this so incredibly dangerous is that the dog has a giant anchor on it’s collar that can easily start dangling and get caught on something (they can get caught even when the tags aren’t dangling at all). Once the tags get caught, the dogs often go into panic mode and pull back and spin, twist, twirl. When the dog does this, the collar will tighten indefinitely and it won’t be long until the dog asphyxiates. I don’t even like tags on the ‘live’ ring of a martingale collar but these at least give the dogs a chance since they don’t choke indefinitely but I’d still never leave them on while unattended.

There are so many dangers present when ID tags are on the live ring of a choke collar and if anything goes wrong while no one is around to help, the end is often tragic. It’s well documented that tags can easily get caught on things like heat vents, recliner levers, rocking chairs, crates (while in or out of it), fencing, bars on a railing, a playmate’s collar, etc. The last thing you want to come home to is your favorite pet strangled because his tags got caught on something in the home. Choke chains (particularly poorly fitted ones) have the ability to dangle quite extensively and the more it dangles, the easier it is to get caught on something.

What concerns me is that I’ve seen photos with dogs that belong to trainers wearing tags on the live ring while the dog is playing with other dogs, napping in a crate, or playing in fenced yard. Look, this is incredibly unsafe. Regardless of who you see doing it, it’s not worth the life of your pet. Having the “it won’t happen to me” perspective is really not ideal because the reality is, it can happen to anyone and in this situation, your dog could pay the ultimate price.

If you haven’t been convinced of the benefits of using force free training methods and still use choke chains, please do not put tags on the live ring of a choke collar and especially do not leave the tags on the live ring unattended. Have Fido wear a normal flat collar with the tags on that collar while playing or being active. For my dogs, I prefer them be without any collar while left unattended but if you do not feel comfortable having a naked dog in the house when you leave, I would highly, HIGHLY suggest using “CollarTags” by Boomerang Tags. CollarTags do not dangle at all and do not have the same risk of being caught on objects. If you are going to leave a collar/tags on your dog while unattended, these are far safer options than any style of dangling ID tags.

Please, if a friend or family member is using a choke chain to attach tags to, please let them know how this is potentially dangerous for Fido. Too many dogs die of this totally preventable situation every year.