A wolf collar (also known as it, roccale, italic=no or , es, carlanca, italic=no) is a type of

dog collar A dog collar is a piece of material put around the neck of a dog. A collar may be used for restraint, identification, fashion, or protection. Identification tags and medical information are often placed on dog collars. Collars are often used in ...

designed to protect

livestock guardian dog A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators. Livestock guardian dogs stay with the group of animals they protect as a full-time member of the flock or herd. Their ability to guard t ...

s from attack by

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

. Wolf collars are fitted with elongated spikes to stop wolves from attacking dogs on the neck. Such collars are used by shepherds in many countries including Italy, Spain and Turkey.

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

used such collars to protect their dogs from wolf attacks. In Latin the collar was called ''mellum'' or ''maelium'' or ''mellum'' or ''millus''.Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, mellum
/ref>

Use

A wolf collar is normally made out of metals such as

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

. The length of the spikes can be quite long, but styles differ in different places. The dogs that normally wore the collars were ones used to protect

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

from attack by wolves. The purpose of the collar is to protect the dog wearing it when it has to fight the wolves. The collar base protects the dog's throat and carotid arteries, while the spikes are intended to deter bites to the neck or even injure wolves trying to do so. There are some tales that suggest that dogs were only given them after they had killed their first wolf; however, these are normally considered to be inaccurate.

References

{{reflist

Sources

* Brenda M. Negri, Spiked Collars Give LGDs an Edge, Farm Show Magazin
Brenda M. Negri, Spiked Collars Give LGDs an Edge
* Goat Rancher Magazin
article
on Spiked Protective Collars by Brenda M. Negri Dog equipment Animal armour