Why won’t my dog let me take his collar off?

If your dog won’t let you take its collar off, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do to get your dog to let you take it off.

So, why won’t my dog let me take its collar off? Common reasons why dogs don’t let you take their collars off are being intimidated, pain, not being sure what you are doing, or wanting to go for a walk still.

There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog has been doing it and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason and there is a number of things you can do about it.

Reasons why your dog won’t let you take its collar off

Below are a number of possible reasons why your dog has been doing it and what would make each of them more likely to be the main reason.

Intimidation

The cause might be that it gets intimidated when you are trying to take its collar off. If you approach it quickly, from the front, it could be seen as a threatening move by your dog especially if you have not had your dog for long. Instead, it would help to try to do it calmly and gently.

It wants to go for a walk

Another possible cause is that it has associated having the collar on with going for a walk. The reason why it doesn’t want its collar taken off might be that it still wants to go for a walk. This would be more likely if it does let you take its collar off immediately after you walk it.

It hurts

The cause might also be that it hurts it when you take its collar off. This would be more likely if it starts crying when you do it. It would also be more likely if it has been scratching at its neck a lot. In this case, it would help to try replacing the collar and possibly to get help from a vet especially if the behavior persists.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

If it does let you take its collar off sometimes

If your dog does let you take its collar off sometimes, it would also help to consider what is different when it does let you take its collar off. For example, if it does let you take its collar off immediately after getting a walk, it would be more likely that it does not let you do it when it wants to go for a walk still.

What else happened when your dog stopped letting you take its collar off

If your dog did let you take its collar off, in the past, it would also help to consider what else happened when it first stopped letting you do it. If it stopped doing it suddenly, it might be because it got an injury, it started feeling threatened or because it started getting less exercise.

What to do about your dog not letting you take its collar off

Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.

Be slow and gentle

Since it might be doing it because of the way you have been trying to take its collar off, it would help to try to take its collar off more slowly and gently, so that it is less intimidated.

Get help

If your dog has been showing signs of being injured, it could also help to take it to a vet. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular dog and to deal with any injuries.

Change its collar to one that’s easier to take off

It could also help to change its collar to one that you can take off easily. If you’re currently using one that is difficult to remove, you could try switching to one that you can just unclip quickly such as this one.