Product Review: FinelyTooled Carved Leather Dragonwing Collar

I spotted this gorgeous leather Dragonwing Collar by FinelyTooled on Etsy well over a year ago. I thought it was absolutely stunning, and when I had the means to get one for Brisbane I had to do it. This collar was custom made just for Briz, I chose the design, colors, and hardware. The seller does a number of feather, wing, fantasy, and nature-inspired designs, and makes dog gear, horse gear, and probably anything you can imagine.

Photo by Erin Koski

Look at how pretty this collar is! It's so nice, and every time he wears it we get comments. It's a very wide and very stiff collar, so it's more of a special occasion collar than everyday wear. I have a lot of trouble keeping hair on Brisbane's neck because everything including his tag collar rubs it off.

Back in my medieval reenactment days, I did a bit of custom leather work including carving. I always intended to make Brisbane a harness but stopped doing reenactment before I got around to it. I can prepare and stitch basic pieces, but detailed carving like this is far beyond my skills.

Not only did I get a kickass custom art piece for Brisbane to wear, I supported a talented artist rather than a faceless corporation. That's why I love Etsy.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros: Custom made just for Brisbane. Heavy, high-quality hardware. Absolutely stunning. Surprisingly low price for custom work.

Cons: Stiff leather tends to break in Brisbane's neck rather than being broken in. Would be totally awesome lined in felt or velvet, for which I would have had to pay much more.

Bottom Line: Clearly Sisci needs one too.

Product Review: Braid-a-Roo Custom Tag Collars

These braided kangaroo tag collars were custom made for us by Braid-a-Roo on Etsy. They are very light, and don't irritate delicate coats and skin. These collars should not break hair, and tend to disappear into the fur of larger dogs. As these are custom made, they can potentially be ordered in any size to fit any dog. The leather comes in 17 different colors, with one or two colors used per collar.

Photo by Erin Koski

A while back, I asked some of my fellow dog nerds for suggestions for tiny collars for Ru. A friend pointed me in the direction of Braid-a-Roo and mentioned that she liked them for both big and small dogs.

I never walk either of my dogs on a flat buckle collar, so the vast majority of their collars are worn purely to hold tags. These Braid-a-Roo collars are tag collars, meaning they aren't meant for attaching a leash. The slip over the head and are extra-light because they don't have a buckle. Super-simple, each collar is just a simple, fixed loop.

In order to properly fit my dogs for these non-adjustable tag collars, I had to measure two different things. First, I needed to measure the place on the neck where I wanted to collar to sit. I like these to hang a little lower than a regular buckle collar so I measured down at the bases of their necks. Next, I needed to be sure the collar would be able to slip over the dog's head. I used a flexible sewing tape measure to get the first measurement, and then just held it in a loop while I pulled it over their heads. I did also measure around their heads right over their ears to double-check that the collars would be relatively easy to get on and off.

Photo by Erin Koski

These are without a doubt my favorite collars right now. They look like tiny little strings but are strong enough to handle the occasional grab. The colors are bright, and the collars light enough for extended wear without irritating Brisbane's sensitive skin or rubbing the hair off Ru's neck. When Brisbane has hair, it doesn't even look like he is wearing a collar.

Pros: Custom-made so they are exactly the right size! Super light, super strong, super gentle on skin and coat. So many colors to choose from! Very fast turnaround! I think I received mine in the mail within a week of placing the order. True to size, they seemed a little big until I slipped them on the boys and found that they sat exactly where I had measured. Inexpensive! Less than $20 for a tiny one!

Cons: Invisible on a fluffy dog, so it can be hard to show them off unless you shave your dog.

Bottom Line: Finally, a way to keep identification on the boys without ending up with bald patches on the fronts of their necks! I can't recommend Braid-a-Roo enough, the proprietor responds to questions right away and was a dream to work with.

Product Review: Fraggle Rock Biothane Harness

Ru's new biothane harness was custom made for him by Fraggle Rock Designs, and it is beautiful. This material is nonporous, and will not absorb water, sand, or beach funk.

Photo by Erin Koski

Our Lupine beach gear is still going strong despite being a bit rusty, but I am getting tired of the piles of sand that fall off it after every trip. With hard floors throughout the house, the sand gets everywhere, and the only way to prevent it is to rinse the entire pile of leashes, collars, and harnesses. Of course, then I have to leave it all out to dry, and run it through the washing machine if it smells funny.

I wanted to replace our beach stuff with something that required less effort on my part. It needed to be totally non-absorbent, as well as sand-proof, tar-proof, and dead-sea-lion-proof.

Photo by Erin Koski

Does such a thing even exist? Yes, yes it does. Biothane is a totally kickass material that has been used for synthetic horse tack for years. It's a pretty awesome everything-proof substitute for leather, plus it comes in fun colors! 

Once I found the perfect material, all I had to do was order gear for my dogs, right? Wrong. Biothane has been used in horse tack for ages, but it's also popular for hunting dog collars. Guess who doesn't have purse dogs?

Photo by Erin Koski

I had no trouble at all finding biothane collars for dog-sized dogs, and multiple retailers carry biothane leashes as well. Biothane harnesses are a lot harder to find. Leather harnesses, and therefore synthetic alternatives, are popular for protection dog training. Nobody does Schutzhund with a toy breed. I managed to find one biothane harness in Brisbane-size but nothing even close to what I wanted for Ru.

I could have possibly found a biothane slip leash for Ru, but what I really wanted was an easy-off, easy-on Norway-style harness. There was nothing even close available on the market, but Fraggle Rock came to the rescue with a custom-made one-of-a-kind tiny biothane harness in purple, made just for Ru.

Pros: Easy to take off when everyone is ready to go charging down the beach. Easy to put back on when I'm rounding up sandy beasts. Rinses clean, and won't pick up sand or suspicious beach smells. Fits perfectly because it was made that way, I even added a little extra to the girth measurement so it fits over his beach outfits.

Cons: It's not pink. Seriously, that's all I can come up with.

Bottom Line: I need to order some more beach stuff from Fraggle Rock. A slip lead for Briz, a collar for his tags, a tag collar for Ru, a matching leash for Ru, maybe a long line...