Dogs and vests

[Florida Curdog]

My dogs run a tracking collar and a nameplate collar.

[rodeoman67]

i to live and hunt in south texas and i know what you mean about having to run grittyer dogs. but i guess i like to gamble all of my dogs are gonna put teeth in a hog they have to get them stop but the are by no means catch dogs. Me and my hunting partners have ran vest on bay dogs and in the winnter time its ok but there is no way i will run one in summer i have lost way to many dogs to heat the heat than being gutted.and even in the dead of night its still 80 in south texas (got to love it lol). thats why we dont run vest on bay dogs just catch dogs our. We been good so far but who knows.

[hogaholicswife]

We own some of the bay vest and we also own some of the strike vests which are longer.  I would say that they definately help prevent vet bills but they are no guarantee that your dog isnt going to get hurt or isnt going to get killed. 

I believe if you are going to run vests then you have to start them in it, we have one that has worn his since he started and he doesnt  know the difference...the others refuse to hunt with them on and most of the time they are with out them.   The only one who is always vested is the CD except on a rare occasion.

We have had some serious vet bills in the last year and a half but I think you owe it to them if you expect them to hunt and catch; it is part of it. 

[3-Bdogs]

My opinion is that most people see it as a risk and most prob start using them after a bad encounter as for me only dog gettin vested is the pits have had bad run ins but just not into having my dogs restricted from moving JMO

[DoGgONit]

circle c , mike  , ...
     just wondering why yall dont run cut collars ?not that i care but thought yall might have a very logical answer ..      thanks ,Eric

[Mike]

circle c , mike  , ...
     just wondering why yall dont run cut collars ?not that i care but thought yall might have a very logical answer ..      thanks ,Eric

I used to back when I ran rough dogs, but all I run are loose baying dogs now. I started to notice lack of mobility on some of the smaller built dogs i've owned and some dogs wouldn't hunt as good with the cut collar on... they seemed to be bothered by it. Take it off and they were a whole different dog. Plus, with all the gps collars, radio collars, shock collars, name tag collars... there's not a much neck to play with.

Knock on wood, but i've never had a dog's neck cut open in the ten years i've been hunting... but i've seen several get hooked underneath the cut collar and laid wide open. You just have to know your style of dogs. With mine, sure it may happen, but not likely. Even in the thick stuff, where most dogs get wrecked, they may be back 20 feet or more baying.

[UNDERDOG]

circle c , mike  , ...
     just wondering why yall dont run cut collars ?not that i care but thought yall might have a very logical answer ..      thanks ,Eric

I can't speak for them but mine don't have enough neck for all the stuff they wear alraedy 

[Noah]

Something I've thought a lot about... I have a hard time accepting getting burned... a vest doesn't remedy this affliction....  Natural selection dictates my future dogs.... if they can't do it without a vest... I don't want them.

I love my dogs enough to try and breed/work towards a dog that is not un-necessarily self sacrificing... i.e. a dog that's got a good sense of self preservation... yet still maintains a high level of prey drive.... stopping/baying power..... maybe some day I'll actually achieve it

.... but this is just an opinion....

[de_moon]

Seems to me that if you start a young dog in a vest, he is more likely to end up a rough dog.

I do run cut collars, but have never owned a bay vest.

[Piglywigly]

A dog is somewhat like a human, they don't like wearing all the extra work clothes ( hard-hat, safty glasses, nomex, steeltoe boots, etc.) But when they get used to it, they do fine. It's been my expirence that most dogs take about five hunts to get adjusted.

Dogs can still move and function in the brush with a vest on. I've seen a few places where a dog backed up cause it was too thick. However, they would have done the same without the vest.

If you have a vest built for you dog, they will be able to swim fine. If you have a dog that doesn't swim that well, there are vest out there that offer flotation devices. They have the same stuff a lifejacket has in them. That doesn't mean it's a life jacket though. It's just going to help the dog out.

My dogs are loose, and I too didn't run vest on my baydogs. When you loose your best strike dog, and come to reality how easy it could have be prevented, it's a hard thing to get over.

I didn't post this topic to have a big debate. I just wanted to hear from others about why they don't protect their dogs. I have a dog that has only been cut once on the front leg. She is a very loose dog. Here recently she bayed a big boar that caught her slipping in a place she couldn't get away from. She took a bad blow to the chest plate.  needless to say, I was very thankful she had a good vest on.

Your gonna come across old grampaw boar one day, he's gonna be quicker than you might think, and poor little Sophie's gonna take a tusk in a bad place.

It's all about the odds, when it comes to old boars, the odds aren't in our dogs favor. I hate to see good dogs hurt or killed. I wish more people would protect their dogs.

[Circle C]

Pigly,

   Only dog I have ever lost was a catch dog, wearing a vest and he got poked through the scrotum.  How is a vest going to protect my bay dogs from getting poked in the backside?   I forgot to mention in an earlier post that I did at one time run a vest on a baydog that I thought needed it. I stopped vesting her when I found her hung in a barbed wire fence one night.

[pig snatcher]

A vest isnt a cure all. They carry their own risks, such as over heating, drowning and getting hung up.  I feel that running a vest on a bay dog you are often times putting the dog more at risk.  I put one on my bulldogs some times but then just the other day I had on get hung up going 20 yards to a bay.  I also dont run cut collars on my baydogs for the reasons Mike described earlier.  Dogs body follows it's head, if the head is slow you are going to get cuts in the rear.  I have tried it and quit using them.

[T-Bob Parker]

,

   Only dog I have ever lost was a catch dog, wearing a vest and he got poked through the scrotum.  How is a vest going to protect my bay dogs from getting poked in the backside?   

I guess you could get a tiny pair off those tusk proof pants somebody posted a while back?  Where me and my friends hunt the dogs run into a ton of barbed wire a feild fence and ive seen dogs snag a cut collar three times, kudos to you for vesting but around here its damned if you do damned if you dont

[cetchdawg]

I just posted the same question a few days ago?? not one reply !! ?? 
 http://www.easttexashogdoggers.com/forum/index.php?topic=12830.0

Looks like a good topic!

I have gotten every single reason why not to use them since i started to use them both cut collars and vest! i can tell you this not nearly as many vet bills and still catching very good hogs!! I do not run bay dogs all of my dogs (and most folks in our area) run RCD's yes they still get cuts and banged up.
  I can show yall some vests that look like edward sissor hands got a hold of !! could only imagine what the dogs would have looked like without a vest !! as for the cut collar !! ive found (non of mine)one too many dogs layin next to a caught hog with lil minor pokes and not had a cut collar on! 

It was mentioned above different strokes for different folks !! i dont try and convince others to put them on their dogs (unless its a dog i hunt with alot)!! but soo many tell me i should not have em on mine !! It works for me and i catch some stout ass hogs with just two dogs and a rope  !!! 

[Circle C]

around here its damned if you do damned if you dont

I think that applies everywhere.  I think it's a personal decision made by the the owner of the dog, and not to be questioned by others. I''ve been on both sides of the vest or no vest issue with regard to bay and catch dogs. These days I do what works for me, and let others do what works for them.

I don't like hearing the implications that if someone does not vest their dog, then they must not care about the dog...  

[cetchdawg]

And yes i agree they do get hot !! i dont know bout yall but we dont run our dogs in the heat of the day?? usually at night !! i also have had a dog get hung up on a fence ONCE in the 12 years i have used a vest !! i will take the vest off every now and again ! and take "That Chance" which we all know is there at any time in this sport !! i would rather fool with a vest and collar and catch a hog or two than carry a dog to the truck to docter him up and not catch that extra hog or two!!!! or three   Look at like and extra handle on a dog and heck some of the vest swamp dog is buildin have pockets on em !! good for leashes hobbles tie ropes break sticks ??

[Piglywigly]

Everybody is right in their own ways! Thanks for you time.
I've learned some things here.

[Flatbroke]

I dont think dogs wearing vests have as much mobility as this pup has while seeing his first pig ever  , but we run a vest on him.  They have helped prevent major injuries for just under two decades now.  I really appreciate it. 
Our dogs dont find many hogs but they tend to grab a hold of the ones they do,


   

[cetchdawg]

Thats a sweet pic flat broke !

IMO im not sure a catch dog needs to be able to move like a bay dog would need to?? all mine just go in ballz to the wall anyway,
tuck in and become an anchor ?? (In most situations) Other than that they just hold on for the ride!

 now i can see where it could hinder a bay dog from bein as agile as the pic you posted ! but for dogs like mine who find and catch there own hogs it really does not matter they arent lookin to becareful or cautious their lookin to stop him with a mouth full of ear! 

[BarrNinja]

Something I've thought a lot about... I have a hard time accepting getting burned... a vest doesn't remedy this affliction....  Natural selection dictates my future dogs.... if they can't do it without a vest... I don't want them.

I love my dogs enough to try and breed/work towards a dog that is not un-necessarily self sacrificing... i.e. a dog that's got a good sense of self preservation... yet still maintains a high level of prey drive.... stopping/baying power..... maybe some day I'll actually achieve it

.... but this is just an opinion....

Yep! And shared by me.