Catch Dog Attire

I been noticing we been having a few more braddahs cruising through the boards and just checking in to see whats new and every1 knows me I love discussion! I know here in the islands we have a lot different terrain then on the mainland hence we let all of our dogs run together with the exception of a few who prefer to "unleash the beasts" once the trackers get um stopped. Each method has its ups n downs (we can discuss this 2 if you guys like!) but I was more interested in your guys thoughts on what you guys run on your dogs and for what reason?? example: Just a cut collar, Cut vests or Australian breastplates ??

I own the newest kevlar vests to hit the market and will tell you first hand that if I was to try run them it would have to be a very fast hunt with my dogs being lead in and then released or open pasture land at night ( With land owner permission of course)! These things are thick!! I currently just use cut collars on my dogs but have been lookin into a breastplate recently! Feel free to respond guys with whatever experiences or if you just like discuss the different scenerios!

Got a message asking me what is the differences between the 3 options so figured would be better to post here for everyone.

Cut collar- Most mobility but least protection. Usually 4-5 inches wide and covering just the throat area.

Australian Breastplate- Covers 4 inches behind the shoulder to 4 inches behind opposite shoulder. Can be bought with collar and "bill" that covers under the jaw area. Usually open between legs to allow dog to stabilize itself when caught due to this open design it can be used in higher heat with less problems and makes the dog more mobile but also leaves openings for injury to occur.

Cut vest- Covers all of the dogs vitals but by doing this it can get hot. Also can be ordered with leg flaps to cover the armpit area and front of chest.

When looking into any of the 3 options mentioned the most important factor is gonna be materials used and construction.

At the top of the list of materials is ballistic Kevlar- cut resistant material used in bulletproofing.
2. Viper Cloth - used in snakeproof boots and chaps. Can be thick and stiff and take some breaking in!!

3. 1000 Denier Ballistic Cordura- 1000 Denier Cordura has a 1-1/4 oz Urethane coating and is very durable and will not rot or mildew. Coated Cordura is extremely water repellent. Compared to cotton duck of equal thickness, Cordura weighs half as much, has twice the tear strength, and three times the abrasion resistance. It's often used for packs, soft luggage, protective cases, gaiter bottoms, wallets, horse gear and stalls, ski bags and many other items.

4 Ballistic Nylon- Ballistic nylon made its first appearance during World War II. The idea was to develop and industrial strength nylon material that would provide additional protection for troops serving on combat areas. The task was taken on by the DuPont corporation, which tried several weaves and formulas before coming up with a durable nylon that could be used to create the flak jackets worn by a number of United States airmen beginning in 1942. The main purpose of these stronger jackets was to help deflect shrapnel and other types of flying debris that resulted from gunfire and artillery shell explosions within the immediate area. Given the intended purpose for the nylon product, the material was dubbed ballistic nylon, with emphasis given to the ability of the material to repel a number of materials.
It was later replaced with Kevlar due to not being as resisitant as hoped.

"Denier" refers to the weight, NOT the strength of an individual fiber that goes into making a fabric. Therefor, a higher denier count does not indicate a stronger fabric, it just means a heavier fabric. Strength and abrasion resistance are achieved through molecular manipulation, or how a fabric is stretched, spun, or woven. These characteristics are measured through tenacity (strength per denier), breaking strength (tenacity x denier) and toughness. Laboratory tests prove that the Tru-Ballistic 1050 denier fabric is the strongest and most durable fabric for its denier weight level.

5 Industrial wet felt- Industrial felt doesn't have a wikipedia page so I had to search for it and came across a table of over 13 different grades of Indutrial felt used for different applications and all tensile strength varying depending on which grade used.I also noticed that the vests which used Industrial Felt don't mention which grade they use! Heres the table if you wanna check it out: www.aetnafelt.com/sae_felt_specifications.htm Industrial felts main drawback is its ability to retain water. Gets very heavy when wet!!


After you decide on what materials work best for you and your style of dog you wanna look into the way it is put together.

How many layers of what does it have??
Is the materials quilted?? (quilting the materials adds strength and makes the layers work as one)
Is it gonna be used on a running catch dog??
Are you leading the dog in??
How does the dog move in the vest??

The most common negative guys got with the use of the vests here is they are afraid of it getting snagged on a stick or something but anything you use on your dog can get snagged so as long as you put it on correctly the dog should be able to get itself free.

I hope this helps somebody! I was interested before buying my vests so I looked into it first and this is what I was able to find! Have a good one guys!

Hawaiian sent a PM!

cut collar only. the pigs gotta win sometimes too..........

Hog Killaz Inc.- Using a vest doesn't really gaurantee a pig in the truck as much as it stops the tusk from poking through and ripping holes in the dog. All materials used in all 3 of the options I listed were all cut to be put together so nothing is "cutproof" but it will save you on the vet bills especially for the braddahs who like running the bulls that go straight in and anchor. I recently picked up another Bull from this board and haven't had a pure bull since high school so I been keeping an eye on her and having to get to the bay alot more quick cause as good as the vests I have are I don't think my dogs could handle the heat of marching up the mountain and then having to chase the pigs down so I also only use Collars on all my dogs.