How to Care for Your Collar

The collar should be washed with warm water ONLY. Absolutely no soaps or chemicals as these will compromise the integrity of the Effective Microorganisms®!

Rotate and rinse the clay beads often - at least every other week - the beads will work best when they are clean and free of debris.

Swimming with the collar is fine - as long as it is not in chemically treated water. (i.e. chlorine or bromine)

Hang to dry in a warm, sunny area. Sun is good for the EMs and our paracord is mold-resistant & quick-drying!

If you use other products such as topical flea & tick preventatives, bug spray etc - do NOT allow these products to come into contact with the EM Collar. Oils, soaps and chemicals WILL compromise the EMs and cause them to become ineffective. These can also cause the Ceramic Clay to break down, and the pipes will crack.

The paracord I use is the highest quality:

• 550 Paracord - Type III Commercial Grade
• 550 lb minimum break strength
• Diameter of approximately 4.0mm (5/32)
• 7 inner nylon strands
• Mold, mildew, rot and UV resistant
• Color will not bleed
• Nylon 32 strand woven outer sheath
• Made in USA  

• Keep the collar on your pet 24/7 for the first month of use. This is to build up the effectiveness of the Effective Microorganisms®. After the first month of continual wear, you can remove the collar when it is not needed (i.e. your pet is sleeping). **Note: you should still remove the collar to wash it during this first month!
• During "Tick Season" (dependent on your geographic location), the collar should be worn at all times.
• We recommend you change your collar/bracelet every year. You can extend the life  and effectiveness of the collar if you maintain it bi-weekly. The collars do lose effectiveness over time - while it is different for every dog, most will lose effectiveness after continuous wear. Some will find they need to replace more than that, others find they can go longer. Wear & tear on the clay pipes, dirt, oil for from skin and contact with chemicals will all decrease the effectiveness of the EMs.

Collars should be replaced yearly in general - some may need to be replaced more frequently if there is extra wear and tear and others may be able to extend this. It is dependent on the dog/lifestyle, but generally a good idea to replace each "tick season". 

These collars work well for MOST pets and humans, but they seem to work better for some than others. Some find they need to use additional preventatives - many customers like the Earth M.D. Flea & Tick Prevention and the Legendary Canine Fur Fresh Outdoor Spray. Most people find EM collars also work to repel fleas. We have never had fleas with our crew of 3 dogs and many fosters since using these collars. 

• If you live in a multi-pet household, you may find that your pets enjoy chewing on the others' collars - if this is the case, remove the collar when they are unsupervised. These collars are NOT chew-proof and we do not offer replacements for collars which have been the victim of snack-time ;) Yes, I'm talking about YOU Chloe! 
• For your pet's safety and the safety of other pets, collars should be removed when engaged in rough play. Any collar poses a choking hazard, should a collar become caught in another dogs jaws. Play safe!
• Never attach a leash to a tick collar. These collars do not have a leash clip and are not built to safely restrain a dog. It WILL break.
• EM Pipes are made of ceramic clay and are susceptible to breakage. The most common causes of breakage are: hitting against a hard surface (i.e. dog lies down on tile floor or cement), playing with other dogs (other dogs' teeth can crack the pipes), using products like oils and topical flea & tick preventatives - these cause the clay to break down and the will crack. This is unfortunately beyond our control. Please do your best to avoid situations like this. We put MORE EM pipes that required on each collar so that if some break, it will not reduce the effectiveness. We cannot replace collars with a few broken pipes :)