Flat collars are at once the SAFEST and the MOST DANGEROUS collars. These are the easiest for your hound to slip out of. For this reason, it is dangerous to attach a leash to a flat collar, as your Whippet might shake its skinny little head and you are left holding an empty collar and leash while your dog plays in traffic. But for this same reason, it is the safest collar to leave on the dog to hold identification tags. This is a very individual decision. ANY collar can potentially become tangled, choking it's wearer. But many people feel that the benefits of a "tag" collar outweigh its danger.
~Choke Collar This is at once the MOST DANGEROUS and the SAFEST collar to use on your hound. It slips over the head and with the leash attached to the "business" ring, it acts like a noose, tightening until either the dog or the leash relents. Because of the noose action, pressure is put directly on the dog's trachea. It is the most dangerous because if the dog becomes tangled while wearing a choke collar, he will hang to death like a western outlaw. It is the safest choice when a dog is on lead, because, fitted properly, a dog cannot escape a choke collar.     Martingale collars are choke collars and are thus just as deadly when a dog gets hung up, so a dog should never be left unattended in a martingale collar. They are, however, kinder to the dogs throat when the dog is on lead, because they tighten evenly around the neck, rather than the noose-like action just on the trachea.  For a martingale collar to fit properly, it should be adjusted so that the dee rings do NOT touch when the collar is at the top of the dog's neck and pulled tight. If the dee rings touch, the collar is no different than a flat collar and the dog can easily slip out.  These collars can be adjustable or made to measure. If the martingale piece (the un-trimmed part in the above photos) is too large, the collar can fall off when the dog puts its head down, so a non-adjustable martingale collar should be a little bit of a tight squeeze to get on.     A martingale lead is the martingale collar permanently attached to a leash. Again, it is imperative that when the collar is at its tightest, the dee rings not touch, or the choke action is lost and the dog can slip out. Some very talented Whippets can do a series of flips and wiggles and can slip a properly fitted martigale lead, but luckily they are quite rare.  The lead slips easily over the head, and has the more humane choking action, and cannot be left on the dog when the dog is unattended, because the lead is attached.     Neiman Barkus leads are the “out to dinner dress up”  variety of my martingale leads. The trims are imported from France and England and are really expensive. And wow, can you tell! Neiman Barkus leads are show stoppers. People will stop you and comment on your dog and the lead. I often get requests to make martingale collars from the Neiman Barkus trims. Because of the adjustability of the martingale collars, I have to use more trim to make them. So a martingale collar in these imported trims gets really expensive, and sometimes I just don’t have enough of the trim to do it, or some of the trims are too thick. But you’re welcome to ask, and if I can do it, I will!