WILD BOAR HUNTING: THE NEW DOG HUNTING JACKET

A dog hunting jacket is the best way to protect your best friend from wild boars during hunting.

Dog Hunting Jacket: other then hunting wild boars there are news on which little is said about now given that more and more often it happens to read about dogs fatally injured by wild boars that are raging even in areas close to inhabited centers.

Over the years, the type of attack inflicted by the wild boar has also been deepened: if it is a male it hits from the bottom upwards on the side of the dog, while if it is a female it acts with repeated blows, raging moreover once the dog has been landed. We are talking about animals with fangs that can reach 14-15 cm and therefore leave very little to chance.

Many hunters and dog owners also complain of very high veterinary costs to recover their dog from an attack as well as not being able to use the dog for an entire wild boar hunting season. And when the dog does not make it, then it is a lot and it is right therefore to raise a problem on how to do the best to preserve our animal.

A dog hunting jacket is the best garment to protect our trusted friend in fact exist and no longer have the prohibitive prices of a few years ago. There is a fair choice on the market but making your way through the proposals is not exactly easy because perhaps you would never have thought of having to resort to a blaze orange vest and you do not know materially how to deal with the problem.

Dog hunting jacket sizes

First of all, the advice is to go to the armory directly with the dog in tow because this will greatly facilitate the taking of the measures that if done at home can leave many doubts.

Each brand of bodice in fact adopts particular criteria and above all not all brands cover all sizes. Simplifying, we can say that the most important measure that already allows you to make a first selection is given by the length of the dog’s back: it is an immediate measure to take and if you stay in the range of 50 cm – 80 cm it will allow you to have a fair possibility of choice of what is on the market; for smaller or larger sizes we recommend thinking about tailor-made solutions that can also be ordered online and which, even if costing more, will allow you to have an answer for the most “difficult” cases.

The other measures that are normally required to be able to try on a vest are the dog’s chest and neckline and to know the right points where to place the soft meter we recommend the tutorials found on the web so as not to completely misrepresent the required data.

However, what we suggest is to prefer a model that gives a little margin thanks to wide adjustment velcro strapst as the dog is subject to gain weight, lose weight, pregnancies … in short, we would not want to have to keep three variants of size at home with related costs.

How to make the dog accept the vest

It must be premised that when the hunting dog will wear any model of bodice during your outdoor activity it will not be at easy to put: it takes days of use with a time that gradually increases so that it gets used to wearing it and so that it does not experience disturbance in the movements. So do not worry if the first reactions are available, in most cases the dog tends to sit still but increasing the time he wears it a little at a time you will be able to get used to it gradually until you get to the day when he wears it quietly. A couple of hours and you will finally have the perception that it is ready to wear his dog jacket.

Although the technical time of adaptation is to be taken into account, it is good, however, to immediately skim what is in the store because an excessively heavy model is not to be taken into consideration since it would require unnecessary effort, as well as fabrics or materials that do not they have any water resistance requirement and are to be discarded because a sudden shower will suffice to make it soak and excessively weigh down our friend. Those who opt for shorter models with the excuse of annoying the dog less, pay for this choice with less protection which honestly seems a contradiction to us when you have decided to make this kind of purchase: the priority is to preserve the dog.

Also avoid the tactics of the type “I take it a little wider so it fits us more” because if it does not fit well the vest can also create injuries, so you need the right size, worn so that your body is perfectly wrapped .

Why the Integrex model is more willing to wear than other models

The Integrex model is a model characterized by three fastening straps, wearing it takes maybe 2-3 minutes longer than a traditional vest that has only a velcro to adhere but the advantage is obtained precisely from the fact that it adheres so well that the dog after the first few days no longer feel it.

Then the front legs are inserted into the appropriate holes, the straps are closed, the Velcro is positioned on the back and finally the one on the neck is closed. The first two uses will be enough to take some practice and you will not regret having spent a few more minutes in wearing it correctly rather than having a dog that expresses discomfort for a badly positioned vest.

The material to choose

The protection against wild boar during the hunt is given by the material used, so the question to ask the shopkeeper is what was used and what type of test was carried out to verify the tightness of the product. The Integrex solution features a puncture-resistant fabric coated with a nylon layer.

The external high visibility nylon of the hunting vest can clearly be damaged over time or due to thorns or with the attacks of the wild boar as it is the “cosmetic” part of the product, not the one that preserves the hunting dog. The inside in the position of the girth and neck (which are the points on which the wild boar’s fangs normally strike) is instead made of a truly amazing material tested to not be able to be pierced. What therefore could turn out to be a deadly cut becomes at most a bruising that can be cured with very different times. Before placing the product on the market, as there was no universal test to subject this type of article to, we wanted to carry out two different ones:

The screwdriver test

this is a rather common test which can also be traced online as it is possible to immediately have a perception of tightness of the dog hunting jacket. The flat screwdriver in fact has a shape similar to a boar’s tooth and if two men hold the vest open and a third with all his strength throws the screwdriver at the vest repeatedly what should happen is that the outer layer is damaged but that the screwdriver can’t get over to the other side

The test of the rifle optic machine

thanks to the experience on recoil tests for rifle optics, Konus wanted to subject the safety jacket to his own rather extreme test. The usual screwdriver was then placed on this machine with which the resistance of the rifle optics to the recoil of the weapons is normally verified. It is certainly a test carried out at a strength far greater than that of a man or a wild boar and as you can see from the video the product manages to pass it with flying colors with the lesion of the outer layer but no perforation in the inner protective layer.

The most beautiful test, however, was that of Konus customers who in two years of use have subjected the product to all the necessary cases and despite being amazed at how many dogs have been attacked by wild boars we have always had the comfort that the vest worked and no dog suffered injuries.

Of course, the vest after a collision is then to be thrown away because it shows signs on the outer layer but it is not an armor, its function is very well carried out and we therefore consider the product suitable for use. Also not to be underestimated are the brambles that inevitably get entangled in the vest and that if the dog pulls can ruin or tear the outer layer … this is normal use that means that the average life of a protective vest does not exceed two years. but if you do a count of money and sorrow saved with different scenarios well, certainly it is an investment.

The details that are appreciated the most in a dog hunting jacket

A few more details can make the purchase pleasant since for those who have used them, the side bands have proved to be very useful for the dog visibility on a dog hunting jacket. Konus immediately presented two different colored bands on the sides: reflective silver and fluorescent yellow. With this distinction between one side and the other, the hunter will always know by seeing the dog in the distance which side it is facing and therefore consequently where to expect the wild boar. Two loops for the leash and the pocket on the back with waterproof zip makes the item complete as well as the 3d mesh lining that ensures that the vest while adhering does not overheat it.

All the feedback we ask about this dog protection has also allowed us to make improvements by focusing on reinforced seams with a double bartack in the point in the middle of the front legs as well as with a gusset that makes this point more resistant and comfortable. The side colored bands will also be enhanced with a more decisive reflective effect and a more incisive fluorescent color.

Having said that, it is good to clarify that no jacket can guarantee 100% protection because it should completely cover the dog, however, just be a little careful in the purchase and certainly you will protect yourself from nasty surprises and you will have the peace of mind of having done everything possible to protect a trusted companion who, beyond an operational function, also has a great emotional value.

Thanks to those who trusted this visibility vest, to those who sent us photos of dogs who survived bad adventures, to those who bought the product after an attack, happy to have ruined it by saving the dog, to those who gave us advice based on real life … in short, the Konus team is also made up of you and this fills us with pride.