Martingales may be fancy of name, but are simple enough in purpose. Martingales are a type of dog collar designed for the leash-pullers and the escape artists! They're also commonly used for dogs with smaller heads, such as sighthounds, who can easily slip out of regular collars due to their neck-to-head-size ratio.
The martingale prevents dogs from slipping out of their collars by safely tightening as the dog pulls, and reverts back as the tension eases. Its unique design prevents the collar from becoming too tight, making it a preferred training collar that won’t harm your dog.
What does a Martingale look like?
Martingales can come in a variety of styles. They can be made fully out of fabric or webbing, or a combination of webbing and chain (as ours are). Some martingales have a buckle closure, some are non-buckled and just rely on length adjustment to put on and off. There's no right or wrong style; some of it simply comes down to a style preference or aesthetic choice! (cough, Wildhunde is the best choice, cough).
Using our own product as a reference, here is a quick overview of the "anatomy" of a martingale collar!
All martingales, regardless of style, will have some variation of this design and the fit guide below works for all.
How to Fit a Martingale
Martingales will only work when they are properly fitted! So it's important to know how to do so correctly. Here's how we do it:
- Measure your dog’s neck size and select the corresponding martingale size.
- Start with the collar on a loose setting so you can adjust to the correct size once it’s on your dog’s neck.
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Adjust the length of the collar so that it sits nicely on the neck with just enough room for two fingers to slide underneath the collar.
- Pull on the control ring to test the fit. The corresponding D-rings should juuust touch. They shouldn’t have a real gap or be overlapping.
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When fitted like this, the collar does not tighten further than the circumference of your dog’s neck – meaning that if they attempt to pull or escape, they remain secure and safe without harm!
And that's it! If you need further help or advice, we recommend discussing with a local trainer who can guide you with the best way to use a martingale for your dog.
