If you’ve never ordered a custom dog collar before, sizing can feel a little nerve-wracking. What if it doesn’t fit? What if I measure wrong? What if it arrives and it’s too tight?
I hear this a lot. And I want to reassure you – measuring your dog for a collar is genuinely simple. It takes about two minutes, requires nothing fancy, and when you do it right, the collar fits perfectly every single time.
In four and a half years of making custom Biothane® collars, I’ve had exactly one collar come back as too big — and the customer told me upfront that they’d measured wrong. It was going on a growing puppy, so it all worked out. But it’s a good reminder: because custom collars are made specifically for your dog, they can’t be returned due to incorrect measurements. So it’s worth taking two minutes to do this properly.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What You’ll Need
A soft measuring tape (the kind used for sewing) or a piece of string and a ruler. That’s it. Do not use a metal tape measure. Do not measure an existing collar. More on that in a minute.
How to Measure
Wrap the soft tape measure or string snugly around your dog’s neck, right where the collar will sit. You want it snug but comfortable… not tight, not loose. Slide two fingers underneath. If two fingers fit comfortably behind the tape, you’ve got the right tension.
That number is your dog’s neck measurement. Write it down. That’s what you give me when you order.
One thing that trips people up: measure how you want the collar to fit, not how you think collars are supposed to fit. Some dogs wear their collar high on the neck, some lower. Wherever yours sits naturally is where you should measure.
How I Use That Measurement
Here’s something I don’t think enough collar makers explain clearly, and I think it makes a real difference in helping you feel confident about your order.
The measurement you give me becomes the inner circumference of the collar on the middle hole. I space holes ¾” apart across a 3″ total range, with the middle hole set to your exact measurement. That means you have room to go a little looser or a little snugger depending on the day, the season, or how your dog is feeling – but the fit you measured for is always right there in the middle.
This is why measuring carefully matters. The collar is built around that number. Get it right and you’ll never think about fit again.
The One Thing You Should Never Do
Do not measure an existing collar and give me that number.
I hear this one a lot and I completely understand the logic…the collar fits, so why not just measure it? Here’s why it doesn’t work, and it’s more nuanced than most people realize.
It’s not just the width of a collar that affects fit. It’s the thickness of the material too. When you lay a collar flat and measure from hole to the middle of the buckle, that number is not the same as what that collar measures when it’s actually buckled around your dog’s neck. The material has to travel around a curve (your dog’s neck) and the thickness of that material affects how much circumference it takes up in the process.
I use super heavy Biothane®. It’s thick, substantial, and it’s part of why my collars hold up so beautifully. But that thickness means the math really matters. A measurement taken from a flat collar (especially one made from a different material or a different thickness) can be off by enough to affect fit in a way that matters.
Always measure your dog’s actual neck. Every single time, for every collar, even if you’ve ordered before. Two minutes with a soft tape measure is the only way to guarantee a perfect fit.
A Quick Summary
- ✅ Use a soft measuring tape or string
- ✅ Measure where the collar will actually sit on your dog’s neck
- ✅ Snug but comfortable — two fingers should fit behind the tape
- ✅ Give me that exact number — it becomes the middle hole
- ❌ Don’t measure an existing collar
- ❌ Don’t guess
Still Not Sure?
If you measure and you’re still second-guessing yourself, just message me before you order. I’d rather answer a sizing question than have you stressed about it. You can reach me through the contact page.
When you’re ready to order, you can explore the full collar collection here — or head straight to the Custom Collar Design Studio to design your own and see exactly what it’ll look like before it goes into production.
— Jenni 🐾