The Greatest Canine Collars of 2024

A good dog collar is the most essential gear for your four-legged BFF. It allows you to control and restrain, command and correct, and keep your pup safe and sound, near at hand. It can also mean the difference between a cozy evening at home with your pup and a stressful night spent searching for a dog that has gone a walkabout. The best collars keep your dog safe and more.

Whether taking your evening walk through the city streets, hiking your fave mountain trail, or training an unruly puppy to walk like a good boy, the collar you choose has definite ramifications.

Collars do various jobs, some better than others, and knowing exactly how you need your collar to perform can help you make the right choice. We know figuring out which one is right for your needs can be daunting. Our lead tester, Kristi Pahr, and her 4 dogs put a variety of collars through the ringer to determine which stand out from the rest.

Scroll through our recommendations below and take a quick peek at our comparison chart to see which of our top collars checks your boxes. Also, comb through our buyer’s guide and FAQ so you’ll know how to choose the best collar for your pup.

The Best Dog Collars of 2024

Dog Collar Comparison Chart

How We Tested Dog Collars

Our lead tester for this piece, Kristi Pahr, currently has four dogs and cannot remember a time that her life wasn’t shared with at least one four-legged BFF. She understands that the perfect dog collar should blend form and function and that not every collar is right for every dog.

Her dogs, Spanky, a 13-year-old boxer; Ruby and Jade, three-year-old littermate German shepherd mixes; and Mr. Pibbles, an 11-month-old foundling pit bull, put these collars through their paces over two months with varying degrees of cooperation and training (looking at you, Pibbles). During that time, Kristi noted all the good, bad, and ugly, paying close attention to overall durability and security. GearJunkie Editor Chris Kassar’s pup, Nala, also stepped in for some testing. We took these collars on big hiking, running, and wandering adventures in the mountains to see how they performed.

After months of running, walking, swimming, frolicking, and cavorting, we are sure these collars are the best of a flooded market and will update our guide as new awesome collars are released. If your dog is a runner or you need more control, be sure to consult our guide to the Best Dog GPS Trackers. Or, if your pup needs a solid rest after all your adventures, check out our guide to The Best Dog Beds.

Buyer’s Guide: How To Choose the Best Dog Collar

All dogs are different, which seems obvious, but a collar perfect for a 150-pound Mastiff may not work for a working dog. While that delicate collar with the beautiful pattern looks tempting, it might not be the best choice for a young labrador who insists on pulling against his leash.

Given the myriad products and features available, choosing the perfect collar can seem daunting, but it boils down to a few simple considerations: fit, function, form—and price, of course.

Measure for the Right Fit

Just because your last collar was large doesn’t necessarily mean your new collar will be large. Much like clothing sizes, different manufacturers size collars differently. What may be a large in one brand could be a medium in another, so careful measurement is essential.

To measure your dog’s neck, use a soft tape measure, not the Stanley tape measure in your toolbag, but the fabric tape measure in your sewing kit. Measure around the thickest part of your dog’s neck, usually closest to the shoulders, and place two fingers perpendicular to your dog’s neck under the tape measure to ensure the collar is not too tight. Compare this measurement to the sizing chart on the manufacturer’s website to get a collar that isn’t too big or small.

If you don’t have a soft measuring tape, use a piece of yard or twine, measure your dog’s neck the same way described above, and then measure the yarn with your rigid tape measure.

How Will You Use It?

A collar that works for easy-going city walks isn’t the collar you need for a tromp through the woods or a splash in the river. When collar shopping, consider your lifestyle and also think about your dog’s anatomy. For example, sight hounds and some brachycephalic breeds, whose necks are wider than their heads, will benefit from the Ruffwear Web Reaction Martingale Dog Collar With Buckle which tightens so it won’t slip over their heads.

Materials

A collar’s material matters. Nylon collars hold water and dirt and can become stinky if not washed often. Dogs that spend a lot of time in the water, whether swimming for the sheer joy of it or retrieving ducks in hunting season, will need a waterproof collar like the Wild One Waterproof Dog Collar.

Coon hunters, rural residents, and night owls will appreciate the highly reflective material on the Orvis Personalized Reflective Collar, which is available in safety orange for deer season, to help them keep track of their dogs in low-light situations.

Security

Nothing is worse than a broken collar and a missing dog. Strong, durable materials keep your pup safe and close to you, and you need to be able to count on a collar to stay in one piece. Collars with welded or one-piece leash attachments, like the Ruffwear Crag Reflective Collar and the Wolfgang Man & Beast Overland Dog Collar, provide an extra layer of safety by keeping the leash and collar firmly and consistently attached to one another, even when your dog pulls or darts after that pesky squirrel.

If your dog does disappear into the night, the no-fade embroidery on the GoTags Personalized Dog Collar will hopefully ensure a swift return.

Visibility

Coon hunters, rural residents, and night owls will appreciate the highly reflective material on the Orvis Personalized Reflective Collar, which is available in safety orange for deer season, to help them keep track of their dogs in low-light situations.

Dog owners not prone to midnight walks in the country can still benefit from the reflective threads woven into the Ruffwear collars to give a subtle glint in the dark.

Price

There’s no need to bust your budget when you buy a collar. Most collars cost between $15 and $30, but you can definitely spend more. Our budget pick, the Wolfgang Man & Beast Overland Dog Collar costs less than twenty bucks and offers no compromise on style and reliability.

The Herzog Silicone Collar, double the price of the Wolfgang Man & Beast Overland Dog Collar, is the most expensive on our list at $42 and provides a chic modern design for those with an eye for elevated aesthetics.

FAQ