Review: Taylored Tack Custom Dog Collar

One of the challenges I have had with Artemis from day one has been her extreme sensitivity to anything around her neck and touching her. I started trying to introduce a collar right away, and no matter what I did, she's never really comfortably accepted it. I tried all the methods -- short periods of time with it on, followed by relief periods...leaving it on non-stop for her to "get over it"...one day on, one day off...

And I tried numerous materials. Her first was a nylon breakaway puppy collar -- her sharp little claws started fraying the nylon within a couple days. Plain leather -- she "distressed" it quite admirably. Double layer, decorated leather -- no go, what with it having a "rougher" edge. Choke chain held together with a breakaway clip -- I was too worried she would snag it on something to leave it on her long-term, so this one worked as an ID tag necklace for walking. Beta biothane -- this one worked the best out of all of them. She still scratched at her neck, but not quite as much. It was also super-easy to punch extra holes in it as she grew.

Beta biothane is the same material all my horse tack is made from -- a urethane-coated polyester that is super flexible and durable, feels almost like leather, and can be dunked in water to clean. It stays flexible, doesn't crack, and won't get smelly.

When I went to Atlanta, GA earlier this month for work to run our trade show vendor booth, one of the other vendors was Taylored Tack, an East Coast-based custom beta/biothane tack maker. I'd long drooled over Amanda Taylor's designs and the couple pieces of tack I'd seen from friends had me admiring the detail and fine workmanship.

She also had a number of dog collars listed on her website that had me curious, but nothing that was exactly what I was looking for. So during a lull in trade show attendance, I wandered over to Amanda's booth and asked about custom dog collars, and whether it would be possible to use a soft vinyl waffle padding, the same material used to created padded breastcollars for horses, to pad a dog collar.

Fortunately for me, Amanda knew exactly what I had in mind, and in no time at all, I had a custom collar ordered. Black padding, purple beta biothane, topped with the "purple maze" decorative overlay.

I'd been given an approximately two-week time estimate...so imagine my shock when I checked my mail a week after convention and there was a padded envelope from Taylored Tack sitting in my mailbox!

The collar is beautiful and even better than I was hoping. My only concern with the padding was that it would be too wide and look somewhat ridiculous on a smaller dog, but Amanda was able to trim it down so that it is just barely wider than the beta biothane collar base.

The collar itself is 13", and I still have several holes left on the adjustment to accommodate the still-potentially-growing puppy.

I love the workmanship on this collar: All edges are smooth and/or rounded, there are no rough seams to rub, and the hardware is stainless steel, so it won't rust. The padding is also nice for dissipating pressure for those moments when I have to grab the collar and drag the naughty puppy away from something. :)

And the best part is it seems to have taken care of a lot of the neck scratching. She still scratches at it maybe once a day, but I don't know how much of that is true irritation, or just ingrained habit.

Amanda has a whole line of dog collars on her page: Taylored Tack Dog Collars, and if you don't see what you're looking for, she can probably make it. And Amanda herself is an absolutely delightful person, the kind that makes you glad to place an order and do business with her.

So if you're looking for something for your pooch that's unique-looking and with fine workmanship, check out Taylored Tack!