Dog armour

[Akanthus]

My family was scared as i came home with this corrodet thing .And yes it's rusty, but it has seen history.It's a dog collar from the 17th.century, i assume.It's made from iron and has a hinge to open and close it.The hinge of the collar reminds me of the hinges you can find on helmets of these times by wich the ear flaps where connected to the helmet,only bigger.In the front of the collar there are three letters cutted out : “ CWB “ .The “W“ is a double overlapping “V“,like usual in the 17.th century.The same “W" i show on a picture from a “Jagdlappen“,dated 1717.The letters are lined with a copperplate from the inner side of the collar,which is rivetted to the iron.When it was new, it certainly looks very good,the polished iron an the letters shining red.On the back of the collar you find a movable loop ,to connect a lesh.The hole thing is about 10cm high and 18cm in diameter and is to close in two steps.These collars where used to protect the vulnerable throats of the dogs when hunting dangerous game ,like wild boars, wolfs and even bears.It is not one of the highly decorated collars the dogs at the courts carried.This is a piece for heavy hunting use.In those times the farmers had to ceep the dogs of their lords and they had to do the work around the hunts, often for weeks.Their own dogs often had to carry sticks ,to prevent them from poaching.My collar seems to be a big one.I put it around the neck of my good dog Paul for a minute ,but he doesn't seem to be amused.( Got some good treats afterwards ) The collar fits well on our about 55 cm high dog.But what is the meaning of the letters ? Hunting was the privilege of the noble in central europe.Therefore i searched for noble families with a “B" as the first letter of their last name and found over 450 in the time from 1630 to 1750.Then i tried out different combinations from “C W"assuming that “W" stands for Wilhelm.For example Christopher Wilhelm, Carl Wilhelm, Christoph Wilhelm etc. At the end i found 3 for this time.After studying their curriculum vitae,i came to the conclusion that “CWB “ stands most likely for Christian Wilhelm v.Brandenburg.(1587-1665) He was a great Nimrod and the brother of the electoral prince Johann Sigismund von Brandenburg.In the book “Vom Jagen,Trinken und Regieren"from Andreas Gautschi ,you can read letters from the brothers concerning hunting and their dogs.
Because the collar was very corrodet , i gave him a bath in vinegar für some days,interrupted only for cleaning it with a soft brush and clear water ,to solve the loose rust.Then i spayed WD40 on it to conserve it.Up to now no new corrodation appears.But is that enough ?
I don't know if i have posted this in the right category.But it's european,and it's a kind of armour .Certainly Fernando will put it to the right place if i should be wrong.