It's no exaggeration when we say our Anti-Escape Martingale Collar saved our dogs life time and time again. We're going to tell you how it did exactly that.
Back in 2021 we the cutest most timid 5 month old unwanted sighthound puppy named Colin. We brought him back to his new home and soon saw the extent of his nervousness. After renaming him Angus-Colin we started working with a behaviourist to help him feel more confident about living with us in the big city.
Prepped with the knowledge to start training, we started building up his confidence around a main trigger which was walking outside of our flat and on the main road. Over the time we was out training we noticed Angus wasn't comfortable and neither were we. He would back up to get out of his collar / harness and this made us nervous. One time whilst caught off guard an ambulance set off its sirens on a busy street whilst we were walking and Angus nearly escaped his collar to bolt, this collar was supposed to be an Anti-Escape Martingale Collar, at this moment if Angus had of got out of his collar on this particular location he most certainly would not be here today. For context and reference, one of Manchesters busiest inner city roads. This made us nervous and so we re-evaluated the situation and looked at our foundations.
We questioned the dog gear we currently had for Angus, turns out we didn't have the confidence in it that we needed. The martingale collar, harness and lead combination he had just wasn't working for any of us. The harness was restricting which was stressing him out more and we didn't have the control needed to quickly navigate him when he was presented with a trigger. The martingale he had at the time from another business just didn't fit as we needed it to, so it was difficult for us to trust it was going to be the solution to our problem, and when training Angus we knew he would feed from our feelings, if we're not confident, how can we expect Angus to be?
We couldn't let it happen again, and with our Anti-Escape Martingale Collar it didn't
After researching more and learning how the martingale collar functions we found the flaw in the current gear and designed a bespoke version of this tool specifically for our dog and his needs made from an old belt strap we had to hand in our flat. Our training after removing the harness and having confidence in the collar he had on that he was safe no matter what, allowed us to focus on the task at hand which was building his confidence. He was no longer restricted which was helping his confidence. Paired with our training of positive association and exposure to his triggers we managed to work through pretty much all of his triggers, all with the confidence of being able to focus on training Angus over being worried he would be able to escape, all thanks to our Anti-Escape Martingale Collar.
We only needed the Anti-Escape Martingale Collar to prevent Angus from backing out and escaping the collar from his triggers as he's never pulled, most of the time we spent trying to get him to walk. After years of hard work and training our once nervous sighthound Angus-Colin is now one of the most confident sighthounds we've come across, especially when you think where he started. He can now happily exist anywhere we are, the confidence we have in him is second to none and we have been able to build such a strong and meaningful bond through trust and training to allow our special boy to live the best life he can which is what is most important to us.
It's safe to say if we had not taken the time to look through the flaws in our gear, at some point the collar and harness we had would have failed us. Maybe not physically by breaking, but by not allowing us to put in the hard work needed to help our boy gain the confidence he deserved to have. It's scary to think of what could have been as our lives would be completely different without our sighthound Angus-Colin and to think our Anti-Escape Martingale Collar has played a big part in his continuous confidence building is a great feeling.
More recently we have been able to apply our own Anti-Escape Martingale Collar design to our newest rescue Arthur, a Cyprus Lurcher (Greyhound x Beagle x Pointer) as he too is nervous after moving across the world to live with us in our Manchester home. He has a strong drive and due to his Beagle/Pointer nature is a lot more head strong on the lead. We have used out Anti-Escape Martingale Collar to not only keep him safe in new and uncertain scenarios but to also as a training tool with pulling. Our Anti-Escape Martingale Collar can also be used paired with training to achieve loose lead walking in breeds who tend to pull on the lead. So for rescue dogs a Anti-Escape Martingale Collar is a really useful collar and tool to have whilst they settle in their new surroundings.
From this moment on we have used the design we tailored to fit Angus to fit over 1000 dogs with perfectly fitted Anti-Escape Martingale Collars to assist in their journeys by giving them the confidence to take their dog out on adventures, whether that's a walk to the park, mountains or training round a city. Our Anti-Escape Martingale Collars aren't only for sighthounds, having knowledge in the working HPR breeds mostly German Shorthaired Pointers we was able to adapt this design to suit other breeds and for their owners to use them in their own way for both nervous and training tools.
At Dog Forbid, we have managed to turn our own experiences with our nervous sighthound into a solution used by all dog breeds. Our Anti-Escape Martingale Collar has been designed with confidence in mind to create the perfect balance between fit and performance. It's different to other Anti-Escape Martingale Collars on the market due to our specific design which the blueprint is unique to us, giving you and your dog the confidence to take on any trail together.