[Maren Bell Jones]

Didn't know quite where this fit, but has anyone tried using one of these for drive work? The pocket tug sounds good for obedience.

http://www.helpingudders.com/Shop.htm

The concept (the rubber things that fit over a cow's udders in milking used in a tug) sounds like it would really be appealing to the dog. They also have a link where you can donate one to miltary working dogs and their handlers.

 

[Bob Scott]

Thank goodness!
When I read your post title all I could think of was "WOW! That sure sounds painful"! :wink:

 

[Connie Sutherland]

Thank goodness!
When I read your post title all I could think of was "WOW! That sure sounds painful"! :wink:

Yeah. I thought we were back to protection cows ("No one wants to catch the cow in the courage test") and a new kind of agitation.

Did you see that Chilly Dog cooling vest on the same site? They send them to Iraq with the % of profit set aside to "helping udders."

 

[Bob Scott]

Went back and looked. Very nice!

 

[Woody Taylor]

Wonder if the rubber would make it harder to "deliver" to the dog, though...i.e., yank it out of a pocket, etc.

On the otherhand, looks like it would stay tucked up in an armpit well.

And yeah Connie, that ChillyDog vest looks awesome. Seems like a great alternative to some of the car rigs people are setting up. We need somebody with a gadget budget to go try one out...I hit my limit after Annie dropped her nth Orbee into the drainage pipe at the soccer field yesterday.

 

[Konnie Hein]

I know a few people in wilderness SAR who use these udder tugs for reward toys. They seem to work OK for folks who like them.

I personally don't like them. I don't like the elastic nature of them and they are hard to "deliver" to the dog in a disaster SAR training environment (although not more difficult than those damn floppy frisbees though - I hate those for reward toys!!! I've bloodied my knuckles and elbows several times trying to tug from a hole in the rubble with those stupid things!).

 

[Connie Sutherland]

Wonder if the rubber would make it harder to "deliver" to the dog, though...i.e., yank it out of a pocket, etc.

On the otherhand, looks like it would stay tucked up in an armpit well.

And yeah Connie, that ChillyDog vest looks awesome. Seems like a great alternative to some of the car rigs people are setting up. We need somebody with a gadget budget to go try one out...I hit my limit after Annie dropped her nth Orbee into the drainage pipe at the soccer field yesterday.

What ... you have no working earth dogs to get them out? [-X

 

[Woody Taylor]

Wonder if the rubber would make it harder to "deliver" to the dog, though...i.e., yank it out of a pocket, etc.

On the otherhand, looks like it would stay tucked up in an armpit well.

And yeah Connie, that ChillyDog vest looks awesome. Seems like a great alternative to some of the car rigs people are setting up. We need somebody with a gadget budget to go try one out...I hit my limit after Annie dropped her nth Orbee into the drainage pipe at the soccer field yesterday.

What ... you have no working earth dogs to get them out? [-X

I think my exact words were "You damn dog." And then I said "Yeah, that's right, keep sniffing at that damn drainpipe. Funny how that gravity stuff works, isn't it?" And then I realized I was talking to the dog during normal hours (I don't feel so bad about it at 5am) and I shut up and we went home. It was at least five feet down in a city drainpipe...with a nice iron lid about 3 feet across I would have had to pull off...no thanks. I've thrown $12 down the drain lots of different ways, but never quite as literally as that.

 

[Thomas Barriano]

HI Guys,

Go to your neighborhood dairy and you'll probably be able to get them for free and they'll even have eau d'cow odor on them or go to a Dairy/
farm supply store. They're a lot cheaper than $10 each

 

[Maren Bell Jones]

That's a good idea, Thomas. I bought an "unleashed udder" for $10 this morning. Free shipping and 50% of the profit goes to rescue. I'll just need to go to a hardware store and get a bit of rope for the tug. Now at least I won't have to feel foolish asking some of the grad students in the animal science department for one.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

The ChillyDog cool pack vest looks interesting --- but vehicles can easily exceed 100 degrees on a warm day so it is still no replacement for keeping the car cool with AC or fans, unless I'm missing something?

 

[Connie Sutherland]

The ChillyDog cool pack vest looks interesting --- but vehicles can easily exceed 100 degrees on a warm day so it is still no replacement for keeping the car cool with AC or fans, unless I'm missing something?

No, I think you're right. I think maybe it's a good aid, though.

It sure sounds useful for the Iraq desert. And maybe as a backup for the fans and A/C in a parked car..... ?

 

[Woody Taylor]

I would think that for short periods...like at a field training...that vest, cold water, open vehicles, and a space blanket over the vehicle would be a pretty good fit?