Inspired by, and borrowing the graphic from, an earlier post from @LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone
this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2026
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There's a cadre of crazies in this thread. I don't think they're open to rational thought, lol. Just a bunch of collar/harness extremists who think they know what's best for all dogs in every situation.
I don't think they're necessarily "extremists". Different cultures, different countries, different legislations, and different dogs create varied opinions on the topic of collars and harnesses.
Here in Montreal, IIRC dogs above 40 lbs must be in a harness and wear a collar at all times when out in public, and must be held on a leash no longer than 6ft outside of designated area. They must wear their license, be microchipped and be neutered unless you get a special permission.
Having a border collie, if I left his harness on at all times, his fur would get matted and he would get infections as he loves to get wet in summer, so I take it off when indoors. He's also not a flight risk, but I still leave his collar on most of the time because he spends a lot of time free in the backyard.
Another dog may have short hair so matting may not be an issue, or could be a flight risk, yet another dog may live in the countryside and have nowhere to go but home. Some countries have easy access to microchip scanning at a vet, some countries require you to go to their SPCA equivalent to get the microchip scanned, and some countries don't even require microchipping.
TL;DR opinions vary based on experience and situations, and no one is right or wrong. See my pinned post, but I encourage conversation.
I believe I've been misunderstood. I don't think they're extremists in a political sense or anything. I think their stance on the harness discussion is on the extreme end of things. Many of the arguments were "Your dog must wear a collar or harness 24/7 or you are an irresponsible owner", and they left no room for alternative views. That falls under the definition of extremism in my books.
I agree 100% with that practice. In my opinion the only time dogs should ever be off their leash in public is when they are in designated off-leash areas. When I have my dog in off-leash areas I leave his harness (with contact info) on too. We weren't talking about dogs outside though. It was mainly about dogs whether dogs should be required to wear their collar/harness inside the home.
Anybody who said they took their dogs collar/harness off would face the wrath of the "you're an irresponsible owner" crowd. No counter arguments would be considered either. One user made the outlandish argument that an apartment dog could escape into a common hallway, get into the fire stairs through a propped-open door, go down 5 stories, open the emergency exit via a crash bar, and get outside. To me that is an absurd scenario to use for an argument, and definitely something that only a person with extreme views on the topic would stand behind.
Fair enough, I agree, they saw things as very black and white.
Yep. My dog doesn’t need a collar, no other reason. But she has a harness because it’s the leash law. She doesn’t run off, she doesn’t leave the yard… why put a collar on her that does nothing more than become an ornamental with personal info. I value my privacy, trained my dog to be better… tell me why she needs a collar?! I just want to say, “You know what, your dog runs away because she doesn’t have freedom!” Hah
Anyway, glad I’m not alone in my version of crazy. Hah