How to Measure Your Dog for a Collar (The Right Way)

The short answer

Wrap a soft tape measure around the base of your dog's neck, where a collar would naturally sit. Slide two fingers flat between the tape and the fur. Read the number in centimeters. That is your collar size.

Most people get this wrong in one of three ways: they measure too high (up near the jaw), too tight (no fingers underneath), or too loose (a whole hand). All three send back collars that fitted on paper and failed in life. The fix is boring and exact, which is why it works.

What you need before you start

Three things, none of them complicated.

• A soft tape measure. The fabric kind tailors use. A rigid metal builder's tape will not curve around a neck without lying to you.
• Two fingers. Yours, laid flat. This is the universal sizing rule and it works because the average human index-and-middle stack adds 1.5 to 2 cm of slack, exactly what a collar needs.
• A calm dog. Right after a walk works well. Right before dinner does not.

If you do not own a soft tape, a piece of string and a ruler does the job. Wrap the string, mark it with your thumb, lay it flat, measure in cm. We have customers who have been doing it this way for ten years.

Where the collar actually sits

This is the part nine owners in ten get wrong. A collar does not sit where the head meets the neck (too high, too narrow, slips off). It sits at the base of the neck, where the neck meets the shoulders. Run your hand down from the jaw, you will feel the neck thicken just before it joins the body. That thicker spot is the measuring point.

Why it matters: dogs have a tapered neck. A measurement taken near the ears can be 4 to 6 cm smaller than one taken at the base. A collar sized to the smaller number will ride up, choke under load, and slip over the head when the dog backs up. We have shipped enough replacements to know.

The two-finger rule, properly explained

Wrap the tape around the base of the neck. Pull it snug, not tight, snug, the way a watch sits on a wrist. Now slide two fingers, flat and stacked, between the tape and the fur. The tape should not have to stretch to accommodate them; it should already have that room.

If you can fit two fingers comfortably: correct.
If you can only fit one, or have to force them in: too tight. Loosen by 1 cm, remeasure.
If you can fit three, or your whole flat hand: too loose. Tighten by 2 cm, remeasure.

Read the number where the tape meets itself. Write it down in centimeters. That is your dog's neck size.

The three common measuring mistakes

Mistake 1: measuring too tight

The tape is pulled hard against the fur, fingers cannot fit underneath, the number looks lean and confident on the form. Then the collar arrives and the dog cannot swallow comfortably. Pulling too tight typically removes 2 to 3 cm of real-world fit. Always check with the two fingers before you commit to a number.

Mistake 2: measuring too loose

The opposite problem. The tape sits on top of the fur, a whole hand fits underneath, the number is generous. The collar arrives, looks fine in the box, and slips off the first time the dog reverses out of a harness moment at the door. Loose measuring is the leading cause of "my dog backed out of the collar" emails we receive.

Mistake 3: measuring the fur, not the neck

For long-coated breeds (Samoyeds, Australian Shepherds, Newfoundlands, Pomeranians), the fur can add 3 to 5 cm of phantom neck. Press the tape gently into the coat until you feel real resistance from the neck itself. You are sizing the dog, not the floof.

Translating cm to Squffy collar size

Squffy collars are adjustable across a wide range, from 21.5 cm to 79 cm in total, but each size covers a specific band of necks comfortably. Use this chart as your guide.

Verdict: if your measurement falls in the overlap between two sizes (say 38 cm, the top of S and the bottom of M), pick the larger size. The adjustment range will tighten down comfortably, and you have growing room if your dog is under three years old. The reverse, sizing down and hoping to extend, never ends well.

What if my dog is between sizes?

Between sizes happens often, especially with mixed breeds and adolescent dogs. Three rules from our studio:

• Puppies under 12 months: always size up. Necks gain 1 to 3 cm a month during the growth phase. Our Puppy line is built with extra adjustment for exactly this reason.
• Adult dogs at a stable weight: size for the centre of your range. A 42 cm neck takes a Medium and sits at the loose end of its adjustment, comfortable, secure, room for a winter coat.
• Power breeds and pullers: if you are choosing the Tactical line, measure twice. The Tactical buckle is rated to 360 kg, but that number only means anything if the collar is sitting at the right tension on the neck.

From our studio

The most common sizing question we receive, easily a third of WhatsApp messages, is "I measured 45 cm, do I get the M or the L?" Our answer is almost always the same: go with the size where 45 sits comfortably in the middle of the range, not at the very edge. For 45 cm that is a Medium (36 to 50). It gives you 5 cm of tightening room and 5 cm of loosening room. A collar at the very end of its adjustment is technically the right size and practically the wrong choice.

We also see, roughly once a week, a customer who measured their dog months ago and is reordering. Dogs change. A Labrador that was 48 cm at eighteen months is often 52 cm at three years. Remeasure before every new collar. It takes ninety seconds.

When to ask before you order

We do not know what works for every dog from a measurement alone. If your dog has a particularly broad jaw relative to the neck (Bulldogs, Pugs, some Boxers), if there is a tracheal sensitivity your vet has flagged, or if you are sizing for a deep-chested breed where harnesses might be the better default, message us before ordering. We would rather spend ten minutes on WhatsApp than ship a collar that does not fit. Usually a reply within a day, from one of us.