The Whippet and Italian Greyhound: Finding a Collar That Actually Stays On
There is a specific frustration known only to people with certain breeds — the moment you realize that the collar you have just fitted, measured, and adjusted, is now around your dog's ankles. The Whippet and Italian Greyhound are, among many other things, escape artists of the first order. Not through any malicious intent, but simply by virtue of a neck that tapers so elegantly from skull to shoulder that most collars, however well fitted, have a way of sliding forward and off with very little encouragement. If you share your life with one of these dogs, you have either already solved this problem or you are still looking. This guide explains why it happens and what actually works.
Two breeds, one shared challenge
The Whippet and the Italian Greyhound are distinct breeds with distinct characters — the Whippet, a medium-sized sight hound of considerable English elegance; the Italian Greyhound, its smaller and rather more ancient cousin, refined over millennia into one of the most delicate and beautiful dogs in existence. What they share, beyond a family resemblance and a mutual passion for a warm sofa, is a body that presents a specific and well-documented challenge when it comes to collars.
Both breeds are built for speed. The deep chest, the tucked abdomen, the long legs — and most relevantly, the narrow, tapering neck. A sight hound's neck is broader at the base and narrows significantly toward the head, with a skull that is often barely wider than the neck itself. This is the precise inverse of what most collars are designed to accommodate. A standard flat collar sized to sit snugly at the mid-neck will often slip forward over the head with no more effort than a gentle shake or a moment of backward movement. For dogs that can reach considerable speed when motivated, this is not a theoretical concern.
Why standard collars don't solve this
The instinct of most people encountering this problem for the first time is to tighten the collar. This is understandable, but it trades one problem for another: a collar tight enough to stay on a Whippet or Italian Greyhound's neck will often be tight enough to cause discomfort at rest, and may put pressure on the trachea during any forward movement. A sight hound's neck is not only narrow but long, and the structures within it — trachea, oesophagus — sit close to the surface.
The solution that sight hound enthusiasts have arrived at over generations is not a tighter collar, but a wider one — specifically, a collar that is broader at its midpoint than at its fastening ends. This shape, worn at the mid-neck, cannot slip forward over the head because it widens precisely where the neck is at its narrowest. It is a design that has been used on Greyhounds and their relatives for centuries, and it works not through force but through geometry.
The Mario collar: designed for exactly this
The Mario greyhound collar was designed specifically for dogs with this anatomy. Handcrafted in Italy from the softest Nappa leather — chosen for its suppleness against a neck that carries very little protective coat — the Mario features an ergonomic shape that widens at the centre and narrows at the buckle ends. This means it sits securely at the mid-neck without needing to be fastened tightly, and the padded interior distributes contact gently and evenly rather than concentrating it at a single point.
It is available in five colours, sized precisely to neck circumference. Because the Mario's fit depends on the width profile of the collar rather than on tension alone, measurement is straightforward: the neck circumference at its midpoint is the single figure that matters, and the collar does the rest.
For daily walks, it pairs naturally with the Mario leather leash — a 200 cm adjustable Italian Nappa leash with satin-finish gold hardware that can be held by hand or worn crossbody. For those who prefer a coordinating set across the full walking collection, the Mario collar also pairs beautifully with the Ferdinando braided leash — both share the same Nappa leather construction and the same considered proportion.
Whippet or Italian Greyhound: does the distinction matter for sizing?
It does, and it is worth being precise. The Italian Greyhound is a considerably smaller dog than the Whippet — typically 3 to 5 kg against the Whippet's 7 to 14 kg — and the neck circumferences reflect this meaningfully. An Italian Greyhound will generally require the smaller end of the Mario's size range; a Whippet will fall in the middle to upper range depending on the individual dog.
In both cases, measure at the mid-neck rather than at the base, since the taper means the two measurements can differ noticeably. If your dog falls between sizes, the smaller size is usually the safer choice for a sight hound collar — a slightly snugger fit at the centre is preferable to one that has room to slide.
On harnesses for sight hounds
A harness can be a useful complement to the collar for longer walks or more active outings, and many people with Whippets and Italian Greyhounds use both. The same anatomical considerations apply: the chest is deep and the body tapers dramatically at the waist, which means a generic harness sized by weight will rarely fit well. Look for a harness with independent chest and neck adjustment, and check that the fit is snug without restricting the long, reaching stride that both breeds rely on.
The Mario step-on harness — a lightweight Nappa leather step-in design available in four colours — was built for exactly this body type, with sizing based on chest circumference rather than weight.
A note on what these breeds deserve
Both the Whippet and the Italian Greyhound have a particular quality to them — a sleekness of line, a refinement of proportion — that a well-made collar in soft Italian leather simply complements without effort. The Mario's ergonomic shape and supple Nappa leather sit against the sight hound's neck the way good materials always do against a clean silhouette: quietly, and exactly right.
Explore the full walking collection — collars, leashes, harnesses, and coordinating accessories — at duepuntootto.com.
