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    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

I'm looking for.....

Rugers-Kris

Well-Known Member
Thanks, Ruth! I was looking through here, earlier. A couple really good links. I need to measure the other two parts of his neck tonight and then get an order in for a rolled collar and a martingale. Also, in this thread I saw the chairs turned into food dishes......I have a bench that would be awesome and am now considering a "project" as Ruger really wants higher bowls but I can't find any. :)
 

Marrowshard

Well-Known Member
It's not rolled, but I really like the look of these ID-only collars from Karma. Since Oscar's not a long-hair he could probably get away with the flat-leather look. I just really like how clean and simple they are ... no buckles, no extra rings, but still strong enough to be the dog version of the "oh sh!t" bar in a car.

~Marrow
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
Those are nice, if Apollo didn't have that ruff I'd be tempted. As it is I'm thinking his next one will be an extra fine/narrow one custom from Schaaf, cause when he was blowing his coat last spring even the regular rolled leather was making him matt......
 

seeknoxrun

Well-Known Member
I just ordered some rolled collars and leads from Schaaf - can't wait to get them on the pups. I'll try to remember to take pictures of them modeling their new accessories. :)

Walt was super nice, and spoke with me in person about what I was looking for. I considered the skinnier rolled collar option with a skinnier leash (for a more comfortable grip), but was concerned that a good yank from either of the dogs would snap it. He assured me that I would "lose my grip before those suckers would snap." In the end, I decided on the standard rolled collar, with the 3/4 inch lead. His products are on the expensive side, but I was so impressed just in speaking with him that, assuming his products stand up to his promise, I'm going to be a customer for as long as he's making them.
 

seeknoxrun

Well-Known Member
Our leashes and collars came today! I would post pictures, but my lazy bum is already in bed and I don't see it getting out of bed anytime soon. :) Tomorrow, definitely.

As for first impressions - I LOVE them. And Walt wasn't kidding; I have no doubt these things will last a very long time (probably beyond the lifetimes of both my dogs), and it would take a lot more than my dogs's most crazed and determined pulling to do any damage to them. Very sturdy, very well made. They're a little stiff, but any leather product has to go through a breaking in process. So far, I'm definitely happy with my splurge (and really, for the quality it really wasn't that expensive - for 2 rolled leather collars, two traffic leads, and two 6 ft leads, I paid about $150).

Ruth, you mentioned you were frustrated with your boy's hair matting and hoping the super fine rolled collar wouldn't mat it so much. The rolled part is very smooth and polished indeed - I can't imagine that doing any matting at all, especially in the super fine. But depending on the size and type of the buckle, you might run into some problems. I ordered the standard rolled collar with 1" buckle, and it's quite large and I could see longer hair getting tangled and matted around it. Walt might be able to work with you on securing a different buckle? I don't know if he has that ability or not, but I think it's definitely worth looking into.
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
Good! Pictures tomorrow then ;). And I'd consider that a good deal for good quality leather work!

The rolled leather he has now is the standard size you see all over, with I think a 1" buckle, but it wasn't just the buckle area that matted, which surprised me. I think I recall they had smaller buckle sizes though for the superfine ones though. I will definetly doble check though!
 

Mickey48

Well-Known Member
Those are nice, if Apollo didn't have that ruff I'd be tempted. As it is I'm thinking his next one will be an extra fine/narrow one custom from Schaaf, cause when he was blowing his coat last spring even the regular rolled leather was making him matt......
As a former Newfoundland owner I can tell you there's only one way to prevent matting: Brush your dog's coat once a week and if there are tiny tangled spots which wont loosen by brushing, get a scisors and cut them out, because they act like the snowball effect (You roll a snowball down a mountain and in the valley below a village gets buried under an avalange).
We always had a "movie day", means we watched a movie on TV or on tape, to our right a plastic sack, in front of us the dog and to our left a small table with the brush and the scissors.
Our girl wore a 2" double ply nylon collar with a heavy belt-like buckle her whole life, from year one until two weeks before her twelfth birthday, and we never had a problem with matted collars
You can spin that fur in the plastic sack to wonderful warmkeeping wool (google has some easy DIY manuals about that).
We still have some gloves and socks from her and they're the warmest we ever had.
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
As a former Newfoundland owner I can tell you there's only one way to prevent matting: Brush your dog's coat once a week and if there are tiny tangled spots which wont loosen by brushing, get a scisors and cut them out, because they act like the snowball effect (You roll a snowball down a mountain and in the valley below a village gets buried under an avalange).
We always had a "movie day", means we watched a movie on TV or on tape, to our right a plastic sack, in front of us the dog and to our left a small table with the brush and the scissors.
Our girl wore a 2" double ply nylon collar with a heavy belt-like buckle her whole life, from year one until two weeks before her twelfth birthday, and we never had a problem with matted collars
You can spin that fur in the plastic sack to wonderful warmkeeping wool (google has some easy DIY manuals about that).
We still have some gloves and socks from her and they're the warmest we ever had.

When he's blowing his coat we brush for an hour, or more, DAILY. Didn't make a difference, an hour after putting the collar back on him I could feel matts starting again. Thankfully its only a once a year event, but if I can avoid it for next year I'd be thrilled.
 
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Mickey48

Well-Known Member
When he's blowing his coat we brush for an hour, or more, DAILY. Didn't make a difference, an hour after putting the collar back on him I could feel matts starting again. Thankfully its only a once a year event, but if I can avoid it for next year I'd be thrilled.
Alas, daily two hour sessions are normal during shedding season, 1 hour is the normal period of time in everyday life (That's why we are the favorite customers of our local video rental stores).
Try to knead in some dematting dry shampoo/powder/spray into the worst parts after the brushing.
 
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ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
Try to knead in some dematting dry shampoo/powder/spray into the worst parts after the brushing.

Not a big movie person lol. I may have to do that too, especially for his tail and britches, but I couldn't believe how quickly the rolled leather was matting his neck. I ended up leaving it off him most of the spring because of it.
 

seeknoxrun

Well-Known Member
As promised (and two days late - sorry!), pictures of our new Schaaf collars and leads. I got everything (2 collars, 2 traffic leads, 2 6' leads) in chocolate brown, but he has a range of collars available from very light tan to black. Like I said, everything is great quality, very well made, and will definitely last for many, many years. Everything can be sized and custom made to give you exactly what you're looking for. They even took into consideration that my two are still growing and gave us a few extra notches on the collars.

Standard Rolled Collar, 1" buckle.
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Walking lead, 6' long and 3/4" wide. Needs some breaking in, but comfortable to hold and not too much leash.
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Traffic lead, (I think) 18" long, 3/4" wide. LOVE this traffic lead - I've been looking for one I liked for several months now, and I'm so glad I didn't settle and just buy one on a whim.
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seeknoxrun

Well-Known Member
Knox wearing his new collar.
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Roux wearing her new collar - sorry it's partially covered by her bandanna.
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Anddddd, just because she's cute. :)
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Mickey48

Well-Known Member
Not a big movie person lol. I may have to do that too, especially for his tail and britches, but I couldn't believe how quickly the rolled leather was matting his neck. I ended up leaving it off him most of the spring because of it.
You could also hear radio, an audible book or play or place a book/kindle next to the scissors and the brush, or leave anything off and only brush, cut and kneat until it's done.
There are so many varieties, be creative and figure out what works best for you.
He needs his collar, especially in springtime, lots of females get in heat then and the tempation to "make a short visit to say hello" is sometimes stronger than the terretorial instinct.
It can spare your furry lovesick Romeo some nights in "dog prison".
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
Yah, trust me, I wasn't happy leaving his collar off. Its not a matter of time spent, its that with in the space of an hour of putting it on him, his neck was matting again. I could, and did, take it back off, and brush his ruff out again, and another hour later it would be matting again.
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
Got Apollo's new tag collar and 3ft leather lead and a 12" traffic lead today, from Schaaf. Took less than a week, and was $82.50 including shipping. The first two are his "standard" rolled leather collar next to the new one for size comparison.
 

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