Sick of seeing Paris Hilton carting her rhinestone-collar-wearing pooch around, we wondered where you can buy a good, solid macho dog collar. We asked a 35-year-old male owner of a 70-pound Rottweiler mix to go to three stores and separate the manly collars from the girls.
26.8%
THE BIG BOX: Target
2656 N. Elston Ave., $5.99
Manly: 11 out of 41 collars*
A variety of collars, from preppy stripes to studded leather to pink with flowers. Prices: Cheap (under $5) to moderate (about $20). Comments: “Fairly nice stuff but smallish selection. A little girly. I’m not much for daisies on my collars. If my dog was named Spike, I’d look elsewhere.”
38.6%
THE PET SUPERSTORE: Petco
3118 N. Ashland Ave., $10.99
Manly: 17 out of 44 collars*
Good selection, including solid colors, leather and zebra prints. Prices: Cheap to moderate. Comments: “Inexpensive and basic with a rainbow of colors. Most were neither frou-frou nor tough, but smack in the middle: androgynous.”
40.8%
THE BOUTIQUE: Sam & Willy’s
3405 N. Paulina St., $64
Manly: 51 out of 125 collars*
Enormous selection in plaid, sports logos, studs, rhinestones and more. Prices: Moderate to pricey (over $50). Comments: “It’s like the Jason Giambi of pet stores–on steroids. The girly collars are really girly and the manly collars are downright mean.”
* All counts unscientific
