Wolf collar

A wolf collar (also known as Italian: roccale or vreccale, Spanish: carlanca) is a type of dog collar designed to protect livestock guardian dogs from attack by wolves. 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[1] and Turkey.

A roccale or vreccale, a spiked iron dog collar in Lazio, Italy
A roccale of a different type.

Ancient Greeks used such collars to protect their dogs from wolf attacks.[2]

In Latin the collar was called mellum or maelium or mellum or millus.[3][4]

Use

A wolf collar is normally made out of metals such as steel. 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 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
  1. Charles Bergman, Jorge Sierra (1997). Spain's Wolf Wars. International Wildlife. 27 (2): 22–29. (subscription required).
  2. Dogs in the Ancient World "The dog was companion, protector, and hunter for the Greeks and the spiked collar, so well known today, was invented by the Greeks to protect the necks of their canine friends from wolves."
  3. Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Millus
  4. Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, mellum

Sources
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