[QUOTE=Bicoastal;8226059]
Not to the OP, whose emergency bath situation I understand, just in general I giggle at owners who wash the dog but not the collar. The collar is often handled and close to the human yet no ones seems to notice the rank odors of never-washed nylon or cloth collars. There are some STANKY collars out there.[/QUOTE]
His old nylon one was in the wash actually which is why he was wearing the new cheap one. Sigh.
[QUOTE=Bicoastal;8226059]
Particularly hunting dog owners, what is a neoprene collar? I’m used to the plastic or vinyl waterproof ones. I imagine neoprene stays wet forever, which would escalate a hot spot situation.[/QUOTE]
No, that’s what I have. I guess it’s not neoprene…but I was imagining that was what the OP had used…or something like it. Flexible, plasticy material…not neoprene. 
What a cute dog!
Oh, and WTH was going on there for a while with the kinda over-egged reactions to OP’s every coment? I’m reading it thinking “Seriously? We’re overreacting to product reviews now?” Come on, people, save your ammo!
[QUOTE=SouthernYankee;8225948]
I’m not trying to start an argument but you put the collar on Friday, gave him a bath on Saturday and realized he had an issue on Sunday.
That’s 2 days. That’s 2 days of his skin festering. I have a hard time understanding how you can not see an issue when you can smell the issue. But then again I visually go over the dogs, cats, horses, and cows every single day. If a calf coughs I know about it. If the horses have a tick I know about it. And if the dogs have an issue with their collars I know about it. Call me OCD.[/QUOTE]
That is not OCD. That’s just condescending. I’m OCD - and you know if you don’t know you don’t know and in this case OP didn’t know… why snark the OP when she is clearly taking good care of her dog…
OP if I were you I’d switch to leather. I had a GSD that had the same thing happen to him with nylon… nylon is abrasive on soft skin, which is probably the cause of the hotspot coupled with the long fur, I bet most people wouldn’t have caught it right away either. The good thing is you knew something was wrong, looked for it, and solved the issue with a vet.
Not to mention, my bigger beef with nylon collars is that they get stinky, very fast… like horribly horribly stinky… and they also do not break - have known a dog or two of acquaintances who have died because they’ve jumped a fence and got caught and hung themselves… always a breakable and loose collar for my preference.
Apparently, neoprene contains latex, which some animals are allergic to. I’ve had a few horses in my life be allergic to neoprene, and it’s nasty when you discover it. They break out and swell up. Usually the swelling comes first followed by weeping sores (like a hot spot). Unless you figure out it’s a neoprene allergy it can look pretty scary. Sensitive horses will react after just a few minutes of contact with neoprene, and will react worse if it’s hot and/or they are sweaty.
Sorry this happened to your dog, OP, and thanks for posting about your experience. Some here are convinced they know everything about dogs and everyone else is a neglectful idiot.
A latex allergy makes sense, but having long haired breeds skin problems can certainly develop when moisture is trapped against the skin. I will admit that one of my dogs once got a nasty hot spot from hair that stayed wet where I didn’t realize a mat was, and I didn’t notice for a couple of days.
Collars do carry some risks. I think you can’t beat a loose fitting leather collar with tags. When I find a dog, I prefer to be able to call someone right away as having a strange dog can be an inconvenience or an impossibility. Some people don’t stop to help dogs without collars because they aren’t able to put them up while they wait for Animal Control to open or to find their owners. My dogs are microchipped as well, but tags are the easiest way to be reunited with a lost pet. If the dog hasn’t had this issue before, then once it clears up I personally would put him back in a collar he hasn’t had an issue before, like leather or perhaps something like hemp. A harness might be worse because of the armpits and the fact that it touches more skin. I also appreciate the warning. I wouldn’t have thought of this issue with neoprene, but when I do think about it I can see how it could cause issues by holding water to the skin.
Is neoprene the same thing as biothane? I have a biothane collar on my dog and noticed today some rough scaly skin around her neck. Take the collar off and all around her neck is thick, flaky skin with tiny bumps. Have collar off now, clipped the area and washed it.
She has a vet appt for Thursday this week anyhow for check up. But could it be the biothane collar?
I just saw this and FYI I always take all collars off all the time expect when walking dogs or working with them. Most of my clients do the same thing as well.
The OP is from July 2015.
[QUOTE=Calamber;8467488]
The OP is from July 2015.[/QUOTE]
Sorry, I am terrible about doing a search before starting a new thread and then accidentally posting on older threads!
It is just a little funny to read these Lazarus threads sometimes. Time lapse sequence.
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