Do dogs like their collars taken off? Expert Advice

Do dogs like it when you take their collars off?

Every dog is different, which means each one reacts differently to wearing a collar. Experts say their response depends on a variety of factors:

What happens after you remove the collar. There may be a flurry of excitement when you remove your pup’s collar if something desirable — such as playtime with other dogs — follows immediately after its removal. Likewise, they may resist having his collar removed if something undesirable happens, such as going into his crate before you leave the house.

How the collar fits. If your dog’s collar is too tight, it may have irritated the skin and be a painful area for you to touch. If it’s too big, it might get caught on objects easily, which can create panic and anxiety.

Skin and neck sensitivities. If your dog has skin allergies, the collar may be aggravating them. Additionally, if your dog has an injury on their neck — like a cut or muscle strain — they may not appreciate having anyone touch their neck.

Why do dogs get weird when you take off their collar?

If the collar is too tight, or if your dog has a cut, bite, muscle strain or other injury to his neck, the area will be tender to the touch. The act of removing his collar may cause the dog physical discomfort, causing him to react excitedly.

Why do dogs get anxious when their collars get taken off

There are many reasons why your dog might get anxious when you take their collar off. Three of these reasons are:

Due to negative association

Because they are injured

Because they hate having their neck touched

We have talked about positive association earlier in this post, but what is negative association?

An example of a negative association is when your dog connects your actions of taking off their collars with an activity that they dislike doing or experiencing that takes place after you take their collar off.

Let us say you rarely take off your dog’s collar and that you mostly do it before you bath them; let us also assume that your dog hates bathing.

Your dog has now associated something that they hate ( bathing) with your act of taking off their collar. This could be one of the reasons why your dog gets anxious and starts acting weird when you take their collar off.

If that is the case, you should try switching this negative association with a positive association by giving them treats after you take your dog’s collar off.

If your dog has a scratch on their neck or any other form of injury on their neck, then the act of taking their collars off could be painful for them.

A collar that is too tight could injure your dog as well, so you should try to figure out what is the cause of these scratches and injuries that are on your dog’s neck. Of course, take your dog to the Vet so they could get their injuries treated.

If you can’t find any scratches or injuries on them and you are sure that your dog’s collar fits them perfectly, then stop putting their collar on for a few days and try just to touch their necks.

If they still get angry when you do that, then they are probably getting anxious whenever you touch their neck.

How to teach your dog to enjoy wearing a collar | My dog HATES being touched

Dogs react differently when it comes to the moment where their collars are taken off. Some get very excited, while others tend to freak out. But what caused these responses, and how could one cause have different outcomes associated with it?

There are many reasons why a dog could get excited the moment their collar gets taken off. It could be because of positive association, or because the collar was too tight on them, or your dog could be just reflecting and mimicking your own excitement.

To learn more about why your dog gets excited when you take their collars off, or why get anxious and freak out, then continue reading this blog post.