EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some vest advice and hoping you could help me out.

I've got a young male mastiff x and recently the other young males on our walks have started to notice him. Fortunately we haven't had anything too horrific happen, but I'm tired of worrying that my dog is going to get seriously injured so I want to do what I can to make sure he's as safe as I can make him.

I've read everything the Internet has to offer for those in my situation and the only thing I'm certain on is that I don't want him torn to pieces. I've had a look around and aside from the super expensive police ballistic vests, I think the cut vests designed for catch dogs might just be my best bet.

Right now I've narrowed it down to:

Razorback's Gladiator with its 2 layers of cordura, 2 layers of ducks and some gel.

Southern Cross Full Vest with an outer layer of 1000 denier Cordura, thick 1/4 inch PolyFelt chest plate, coated DuPont Kevlar throughout, and another interior layer of 1000 denier Cordura.

Guardian Kevlar with kevlar sandwiched between 2 layers of 1000 denier textured nylon, 3 layer kevlar chest and 2 later kevlar sides. Also with kevlar neck, kevlar leg flaps and chin flap with trauma plates.

Guardian Titan as above with additional kevlar layers.

Devastator Kevlar, with 3 layer kevlar neck and 2 layer kevlar body. Overlapping triple sleeve design on each leg to give the dog's shoulders and legs unmatched protection while at the same time allowing maximum range of motion. The leg flaps have one layer of kevlar between two layers of fabric for added protection.

Appearance isn't too important, nor weight, as he won't be working. Currently he wears a Julius K9 harness so I would have to think about placing that over/under the vest.

Thankfully, I don't really know much about dog bites so I don't know where the other dogs will target or how different materials will perform against an aggressive dog. Equally, I'm not sure how hogs fight so I'm not entirely sure what the vests are designed to stand up to (aside from tusks).

Please would you share your experience and knowledge of vests and let me know which you believe would best suit my situation.

Thanks in advance!

If ur wanting to protect from neighborhood dogs fighting with him. Then keep him leashed up while yaw are walking and carry a 4' hickory limb. An aggressive dog runs, babe ruth its ass back to its property.

Yeah, it's the neighbourhood dogs. I keep mine on a lead and he walks to heel when we see another dog, but some owners can't stop their dogs running up and attacking him. So far we've kept them all just off him (he made contact last time, pinning a patterdale) but I'm worried in case something bigger goes for him. I've read so much online, I go to training classes and I've bought various protection aerosols but I want something specifically to protect my dog.

You could go with the Loisville Slugger method- or I would carry a cattle prod with me.  Let the neighbor dog try attack and put the shock to him and I gauantee he leaves!!!!  And you dont even have to swing!

Are the neighborhood dogs loose ?
Also how old is your dog ?
I'm not seeing a dog just flat out going to tear your dog up if its a mastiff cross

Also if the other dogs are on leashes walking too , then go to the other side of road

I wish! Except I'm based in the UK so I can't carry a baseball bat, pepper spray or cattle prod (they're "offensive weapons"!) so I have to rely on an airhorn and citronella spray. I'm also worried that the dog will be moving too fast for me to get an instant hit in so I wouldn't want it seriously injuring my dog before I could get at it.

He's only about 75lb and the other dogs are being walking off lead with the owner several metres behind them. I'm worried one day we might cross paths with two Rottweilers or five labs.

more than likely, you need to quit being so worried and Sheepish. your energy is more than likely the problem and with a mastiff, if you don't have the boldness and confidence, then he will. and you wont like the results.

you don't need to put him in PPE. you need to watch the dog whisperer

I'm not so convinced that it's me giving off scared vibes, but I figured if it is then I'd be a heck of a lot more confident if I know my dog won't get injured. I've watched Cesar and my pup definitely knows his place in the pack (right at the bottom, even beneath my other dogs) and he's fine when the other dog is under control, but some dogs just run at him with attack in mind.

One time he was following behind my friend chasing a toy as we walked and a dog on lead just went at him, totally unprovoked as he was focused on his toy. Another time some stupid woman passed us but then let her dog run up behind us and jump on him (we didn't even notice the dog was coming back till it was on him) and the last time the dog just ran straight in for attack.

   you could vest the dog up in any of the vest but I don't think it would give you the protection you desire  as most dog fights are mainly injurious to the head and leg areas .  if it was me I would find a new place to walk my dog . good luck in whatever you decide  .

get him a custom made livestock guardian dog "spike collar".

they are designed so that when the attacking dog (or wolf in the lgd case) gets ahold of your dog's throat he gets a mouthful of something he doesn't want. most of the time, they hit the head and throat/neck hardest.

My Apologies

Watch Cesar Malian on discovery channel. Be calm and assertive

Move to the USA,, EASY to come up through Mexico right now!  Can u not call a bobby on the person not controlling their dogs?  Lord have mercy,,,, can ya'll do or carry ANYTHING to protect yourselves, your family, and animals???

Something weird about this post.

The LGD collars would be quite fitting, especially as the attack before last was by a kangal! I was hoping the chin protection on the cut vests would protect his neck enough though as I'm worried the spiked collar may catch him as he twists. Someone in a store the other day told me a staffy ripped their friend's dog's throat open recently so with the luck I've been having, I want to make sure my dog has the best chances when/if his turn comes. These attacks happened just a few miles away from my house:

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Three-dogs-savage-pet-in-horror-attack-in-Cambridge-park-then-turn-on-terrified-owner-Liz-McKintyre-20140328055027.htm

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/I-thought-she-was-going-to-die-Owner-of-savaged-pet-Harper-tells-of-the-horrifying-attack-by-two-loose-dogs-in-Royston-20140206060057.htm

http://m.fenlandcitizen.co.uk/news/latest-news/pet-injured-after-a-dog-attack-in-murrow-1-6172295

a catch vest is not going to give you any protection on any kind of dog jumping on your dog as to where most dogs when they fight they usually go for legs are ears. just carry a sharp pocket knife with you and keep your dog on a leash and one or two dogs you can kick them or shoo them off, if they do grab your dog or get close enough stick them in the guts with that knife and i bet they will tuck their tail between their legs, its several ways to go about this, but i dont think a vest is one

Yes sir I do agree

I recommend a stun gun that shoots out the leads. Then u won't have to get excited just pop and watch them flop. Ur dog won't become aggressive following ur actions.


Shotgun
Arkansas

I thought the same thing when I first read.........

So why are you in the UK and getting on this board?  Im just wondering?  Maybe others are wondering the same?

It sounds like ur up that paticular creek without a paddle. If the night stick cops in ur area wont help and ur country wont let u protect urself or ur dog then that creek is getting deeper and has some bad rapids. If finding a new place to walk ur dog is out of the qestion and u wanna continue to walk ur dog, then u may need to nut up n if need be football punt the "attacking" dog and if it continues the attack, get in the middle of it choke the dog out, grab a mouth full of ear or nose n a handfull of nuts with a twist n pull. The attacking dog will give up when it cant breathe or is more pain than it figured u could cause. If u cant do any of those advises, then u may not need to walk ur dog anymore or hav a dog/s that require u to walk them in dangerous areas.

May not hav a choice to be there, could be a service member stationed there or a spouse of a service member.

This person is no different than the ausie crew that are members on here as is with members in other states other than tx.

But i too am getting the feeling its a bs scam by an anti group to find out the extent of "abuse" caused to animals.

#1. Agree with Charles on his advice he gave you.

#2. Yes this does seem a rather odd use of cut gear, but I bet you wildboarusa.com would appreciate your greenbacks no matter what you do with their vests. Heck, you wouldn't be the first to buy hog dog cut gear for dogs that ain't catching hogs.  ;) :D

#3. Charles is right again fellas, this is WORLD WIDE WEB. Occasionally someone outside of America will get on it too. 

Yes, a subtle hint of trolling. Not sure the intentions of coming on here.

If the OP is sincere, carry a pocket knife (if the Queen permits you to carry one?). Any aggressive dog that is off leash and puts its teeth on your dog should have the air let out of it by means of pocket knife.

Most service members live on post- as you know Charles, MP would not allow this.

Just as Ausies, most English men type just a bit different- this person types and communicates well.  Write like an educated American would write.  Correct punctuation and sentence structure.

It is an interesting post though- I hope it continues.

since you can't carry any type of weapons to defend yours or yourself then maybe packing a nice and heavy duty walking cane...carry it with you when out walking with your dog...

As i do know, no. Not all families or gis live on the instalation, even in a forgein country. They can choose to off the economy or forced off post due to lack of housing or barack space on the installation. But tes, u r right, mps wont allow it after the first incident

x2


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Get yourself a cur dog from this part of the world for a bodyguard to your dog. It should be able to handle most  all these vicious dogs in jolly old England. If you run in to the Kangal again, maybe your sissy dog with the dress on will help out.

Bottom line is, a cut vest is something we hog hunters use to help protect our dogs from possible injury from a hogs tusks. Our dogs don't "fight" hogs....that sounds like an HSUS term and it's nauseating.
I doubt a cut vest would fit the bill for what you want. Like already suggested, if you're worried about your big mastiff getting jumped, carry a stick, or mace even if they allow that over there. Or take a little drive and go somewhere else to walk your dog that's not known for loose/roaming dog attacks.
Don't know what other kinds of advice you'd expect to hear here.

I have literally been taken everywhere Google sends me, searching for something to protect my pup. At first I was looking at ren-faire type leather dog armour but most of the gear out there is purely cosmetic. I considered making some sort of 9oz hardened leather vest but I just can't see that happening and I think it'd restrict movement. After scrolling way too far in a Google image search I saw a cut vest and just kept following the trail and I figure you guys are the ones to ask about them(!). I had my mind set on the gladiator vest but I imagine the gel would burst and the cordura can't be much tougher than a horse rug? I have a feeling this forum contains a wealth of experience with the vests and the ways dogs move and twist so will have some useful advice for me. Right now I'm thinking a cut collar is a definite - bit concerned the spikes will get me or my dog - as I want to make sure his neck is safe. Think manning up a bit and letting my dog do more to defend himself will help too, but I know one day he'll meet a bigger dog and I would like some sort of body protection too.

If you choose a company you want to order a vest from, you can have one custom made to fit by sending in the measurements to the provider, therefore movement shouldn't be restricted much. Your dog can run hot though on extended walks since he is a large breed so you'd need to pay attention to that as well. That's about all the advice I can think of to offer. With your dog being a mastiff cross and large you shouldn't have much to worry about as far as him defending himself if need be in an unwarranted attack. If h were a ten pound poodle I'd be a bit more concerned.

Sorry, I don't mean to sound so weird. My family haven't had any peace from my ramblings ever since the last attack as I genuinely just want to protect my dog the best I can! I'm starting to think that perhaps I looked at too many dog bite pictures on the Leerburg website and came across too many horror stories while doing my research. He's still under a year an there's been two incidents on one walk we take and three on the other. In the UK there's not really any leash laws if walking in the countryside (and most are ignored. Come to think of it, he was leapt on by a dog on a leash only park too!!) and pavements here are about a metre wide at best so don't make the best of walks. To be honest, the fact that many of you have said my dog should be able to look after himself is actually massively reassuring - to me he's still the little puppy I carried home so I guess maybe I should let him "protect himself". I'm a bit worried about him becoming aggressive though so would rather he was never actually "harmed" by the other dogs (with the patterdale he just pinned it till I opened his mouth and let it run off).

I'm genuinely not a troll, I just want to stop a dog biting mine. Kind of thinking there may be a good business in dog protection vests now considering the little luck I'm having!

I smell an anti boys....

We're allowed a three inch folding blade that can't lock and can't have a quick opening mechanism and we need to have a "good reason" for carrying it, which can't be protection or self defence or I'll end up in jail  :-\

I'm really just looking for some experiences of the vests and collars as they're pretty expensive so I don't want to buy twice (but they're still cheaper than the vet stitching him up). Something like "don't bother with the gladiator vest, it's nothing more than two canvas dog coats sewn together" or "xyz tried it on with my dog but he had his vest on so nothing happened" or "a single layer of kevlar won't stop a dog bite but the triple layer should stop the teeth reaching the skin".

Id say ur country is more screwed up than ours if ur gov thinks self protection aint a good enough reason to carry a knife.
If ur dead set on a vest and will have nothing less, then there is a vest manufacturer in austrialia (i think thats where they are located) that makes a chain male vest. There was a topic on here a good while back. Use the search function and see if u can find that topic. When i looked at it, there was a long lead time on it but for the meen time, only advise would b dont walk ur dog or curb check the nxt dog that attack ur giant puppy. Try patitioning ur parlament and local night stick carriers to for advise and what ur legal boundries are on all these "unprovoked" dog attacks to ur minature clydsdale

Cut collars don't have spikes. They are made exactly the same as vest. With the same material. Vest are made to stop the slashing and cutting a hogs tusk make. They also cushion impact slightly. While a vest may or may not prevent puncture wounds from a bite it will do little to prevent the crushing aspect of a dog bite. It could also give another place for a dog to get hold of . Ur best options are walk somewhere else, carry a club, mace or stun gun.


Shotgun
Arkansas

if a club mace or stungun is not an option on your little island i suggest a handy tree limb !

what are you gonna do even with all the protective equipment you can afford ? whatch somebodyelses chitteaters destroy it while you try to keep from getting arrested ??




             GOD BLESS GEORGE WASHINGTON , AND ALL PATRIOTS LIVING AND DECEASED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D

Reminds me of the coment mathew quigley told that british major:
"Major Ashley-Pitt: In our experience, Americans are uncouth misfits who should be run out of their own barbaric country.
Matthew Quigley: Well, Lieutenant...
Major Ashley-Pitt: Major.
Matthew Quigley: Major. We already run the misfits outta our country. We sent 'em back to England."

Something like "don't bother with the gladiator vest, it's nothing more than two canvas dog coats sewn together" or "xyz tried it on with my dog but he had his vest on so nothing happened" or "a single layer of kevlar won't stop a dog bite but the triple layer should stop the teeth reaching the skin".         Why do you want someone to write that? You've been given plenty of advice on options and are still pushing like your looking for something else like you want to take someone's suggestion out of context to use it for something else. I'd leave this alone and not talk to this guy fellas, if he is legit and cares for his dog he will figure it out on his own he got this far. But I think it's something more, smells fishy !

Good post Buford...

Superdog, as your dog grows and matures he will be able to handle himself just fine, he is a mastiff after all. Really, he may even become hard for you to handle and a liability if you don't put in the time to develop handle with him. Just ensure that your dog is well mannered, confident and most of all obedient and you will be fine.
Be less worried about protecting him and more focused on enjoying your time with him.

Best of luck to you and your pup, as you can see, folks in our sport can be a bit clanish and distrusting of outsiders. Understand that we have good reason to be this way in our country as folks are daily striving to strip us of our rights as hunters and dogmen.
You may honestly find more helpful tips and less animosity on a non-working pet training forum. Again, best of luck fella.

I sec that terry.

good post terry

And super dog. If you are a anti hunter or a humane person you need to look on both sides of the fence. Most dog hunters look at their dogs like family and they are in example to athletes so they get the best their is on the market for them so they can do their job to the best of their ability. Dogs were bred to hunt and have a job whether it be yard dog or guardian or hunting etc. as long as people are hunting with dogs it will be dogs took well good care of. It's when the hunting is done away with their will be no more need for dogs. If you are a anti hunter you can guarantee your self as long as people hunt any kind of game with dogs their took care of by most people and you should feel more comfortable knowing that and should be on the hunters sides. I hope you get your dog situation straightened out I know i would not like dogs jumping on mine everytime I walked them. Good luck

I'm not some tree hugging anti-hunting activist (although I guess I do like trees). I'm in a hunting community myself - I've killed dozens this year already and my bitch has a great knack for randomly catching and clean-killing pheasants - so I don't really have any strong feelings about hunting with dogs, but I do understand how annoying the "activists" are as they usually don't have a clue what they're ranting about and usually don't want to try to understand either. I'm an avid fisherman myself and I know people are against that too, usually saying fishermen are leaving line and mistreating fish not realising it's the fishermen that look after fish and know/care more about them than the activists and no one ever wants to lose line or you've lost your end tackle(!). In the UK a rights group have gone and reintroduced otters too and actually said they'd have no impact on the fish stocks!! So yeah, I understand why you'd be annoyed but please rest assured I haven't really developed any anti hog dog feelings as I didn't know this activity even existed last week and I don't really have enough brain space right now to think it through enough but I do know I actually like the idea of working dogs as hundreds of years ago they were all bred to be doing something while nowadays most dogs just sit at home staring at walls.

I know I'm kind of going around in circles and I'm sorry for that, but armouring him up is pretty much the only thing that's going to stop his throat from getting ripped and I don't have the stomach to be trying to carry him and hold his neck together while manically driving to the vets. Plus so far he's never actually been "hurt" by another dog and I think if one actually caused him pain then he'd get quite aggressive whereas thankfully he only pinned the patterdale like my bitch does to him when he's annoying her. I've done so much training with him and every time he gets attacked I have to do one on one sessions with the trainer just to make sure he can have "happy" times around unknown dogs to try to undo the damage. He'll loose leash walk and do all kinds of daft tricks and he let me open his jaws to get the patterdale out and I've read usually you can't do that so I'm pretty pleased about that. Just worried if it's a staffy or rotty attacking him as he'd be pretty equally matched and having seen how quick the patterdale was I just want to make sure the dog can't get a grip-hold while I try to figure out how to bash it on the head. I think if the other dog gets the chance to actually latch on then it'll be a full blown attack and hopefully it'd just go to bite the vest, look confused and then I can shoo it away. I thought about the chainmail vests (the armoured dog is one of the first Google image search pictures) but I got the feeling they would be way out of my price range - if shark suits were cheaper I'd buy one of them and leap on the other dog myself! Do you have the link for the Australian chainmail suit place? I've had a search but can't find it :-/

  I am not sure a dog is best for you. Maybe adopt a cat.


    If you happen to be serious , change where you walk your dog. If there happens to be vicious attack dogs where ever you go. See a doctor.

I already have two cats and one chased two different staffies off his territory so maybe I'm best walking him with the dog.  :laugh:

I'm honestly not taking the mickey and it's not just me! Although I accept that maybe I'm going a bit over the top trying to make sure he doesn't get ripped apart, but when that day comes I want it to fly past without any major incident.

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/79795.html

Weird...

Sounds like you and others facing the same issue should go talk to whatever authority regulates dog laws over there and press for harsher  penalties for owners who don't keep their dogs under control or confined or leashed properly.


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Get the mastiff a guard dog, maybe 2 (one for the left-one for the right)

Maybe another to guard the rear.

Lol. Thats good advice.

100% agreed AND stop walking ur damn dog till they fix it if u can't protect ur self and ur dog won't protect hisself. If u hav to baby that miniature horse, then maybe it's the wrong dog in the first place

I had a mastiff x pit when I was stationed in 25th id he was king of the post the seas parted when he came thru just a pure bulldozer he shouldn't need much other than a napkin lol

Steel toe boots are deadly on a country boys feet :) if you can't stand up for your dog, then don't take him walking. If your the pack leader, prove it. Every mean dog on the block would be crippled if I were having that problem.

if the neighborhood dogs were jumping on mine , then the it would be the owners of the dogs that would need the protection !

can you post pics of the dogs involved? also please get someone to video your dog walks so the experts can judge the situation better ;D. there are some people on here that are very knowledgeable about dog behavior. I also love trees.I do not love anti hunters or hs trash. If you are a anti and i find out about it I will go outside and shoot at least two helpless squirrels or something and eat their flesh.our dogs don't fight hogs they strike hogs and bay them. or catch them and hold them usually by the ears.although catch dogs are typically used for that and a good number of those are walked into close range of the bay and are turned loose to minimize exposure and danger. then the hog is tied up unharmed with exception to a little ear damage that quickly heals. the other way is to walk in on the caught hog and stick it with a large knife . I like to stick them high up between ribs and push straight down until everything around turns red. the animal is dead in seconds.In both these methods the hunter is vulnerable to injury's as well.I think your setting us up. there is no need, just message me and i'll give you some stuff that will make your ears bleed.