Which of your collars have the option to add a handle?

Handles on collars are a popular option provided by many manufacturers. We want to share our stance on handles and explain why they are offered on some but not on other collars.

We do not add handles to our collars designed for LEO use: 1.75″ Soft Collar, 1.5″ Rigid Collar, 2″ Rigid Collar, or 3″ Rigid Collar

A handle itself is not bad, however we view them from the context in which they are designed to be used. A majority of our collars are made specifically for law enforcement and our LEO specific collars are designed to be used for K9s performing Apprehension duties (where the K9 controls a suspect by biting and holding). Non-compliant suspects (often on illicit substances tend not to feel pain) can try and control the dog or pull the dog off the bite manually. Our goal in excluding handles is to avoid giving the suspect something easy to grab onto.

From a practical standpoint, any properly fitted collar can be viewed as one large handle and the entire body of the collar can be grabbed to positively control the dog. This also removes the issue that, if the collar shifts, you have to use fine motor skills to relocate and set the handle. On a properly fitted collar you can grab anywhere and hold.

An add handle option is available on the: 1.5” Summit Collar and Rigid Modular Collar

We include a handle option on the Adventure Series collars because they are designed for pets or working K9s performing detection work only, not bite work.

Our Modular Rigid Collar is designed specifically for Military and Special Operations use. We wanted to provide a platform for those end users to be able to modify their collar in the field to suit their ever changing needs as their mission demands. Their use of K9s is often different from that of Police K9s. They are doing so with vastly different rules of engagement than LEOs and we want to give them purpose-built options based on their varying needs and unique applications. The Modular design allows for the handle to be added or removed as needed, along with the fact that the modular configuration allows the handler to install the handle “flat” if desired to prevent it from creating a snagging hazard.

We understand that both our civilian and non-apprehension working dog customers may use our collars intended for LEOs, however the main purpose behind the design of those collars is why you will find a handle on certain collars and not others.