My Dog is Always Wet

 This is Puff. Puff likes water. We live on a farm. There is lots of water on the farm. There are stock tanks and water tubs all over the place. There is also a pond. It rains a lot, so there are also puddles. Lots of puddles. Puff loves puddles. 

When we lived in the desert, rain wasn't a thing most of the year. There wasn't ambient water just laying around. Puff would jump in stocks tanks and water tubs, and then dry off very quickly in the single-digit humidity. Now she is perpetually wet. This has caused some unexpected issues. The first is her collar. 

Obviously biothane was the obvious choice for Puff's collar. It's waterproof,  non-permeable, doesn't soak up nasty swamp water, and lasts forever, right? I usually see it touted as an analog to leather for dog gear and horse tack, and I have leather tack that's older than I am. In practice, I keep seeing people say that a couple of years is a good lifespan for a biothane collar. However, a lot of websites that sell biothane collars say they will last a lifetime with proper care. The biothane collars I have on my sheep tend to get stiff after a while, but that probably doesn't count as proper biothane care. 

Puff has been wearing a Farm Diggity Farm-Proof collar for three years, and it has been wet for three
years. The biothane material itself is still going strong, but the rivets are rusting out. This is not a dig at Farm Diggity, almost all my dogs are wearing their collars and they are incredible. I also have several of their dog tie-outs and some farm-proof crooks. I have nothing but good things to say about the company and their products. But farm-proof is apparently not Puff-proof.

I could just replace the rivets and wait for them to rust out again, but I am also exploring other collar options for the perpetually damp dog. Maybe stitched biothane from a company that makes horse tack. Maybe I'll have a go at making my own biothane collars. Maybe I'll have Puff DNA tested to see if she's all dog and not part seal or otter. (Just kidding, the DNA test said 100% border collie without any fun surprises.)

Product Review: Terrain D.O.G. Hunting Dog Leash

Terrain D.O.G.'s Hunting Dog Leash is made from their super durable Brahma Webb. This durable, weatherproof, grippy material is waterproof and requires zero care. The hunting dog leash features an extra snap attached to the handle, along with a floating ring. This allows you to quickly attach the leash to a tree, and can also be used as a slip lead or even a two-dog leash. The hunting dog leash is 6' long, and is available in three colors.

I had never heard of this brand before, but I walked into one of my local shops and they had a whole Terrain D.O.G. display of things that I immediately wanted. They have a really wonderful range of products, from center ring collars to long training leashes in this biothane Brahma Webb, to padded harnesses, to leather collars and leashes.

Their product range is so extensive that I knew this couldn't be a brand new company. Sure enough, Terrain D.O.G. is a Weaver Leather brand. While I absolutely love small businesses and independent entrepreneurs, I was happy to see a familiar big brand. I've been buying Weaver Leather stuff for my horse for years, so I trust them to make decent dog stuff too.

Weaver's Brahma Webb is an easy-care synthetic material that is waterproof, weatherproof, and easy to clean. It doesn't absorb odors, or anything else. This material is also nice and grippy, it doesn't feel like slick plastic and it doesn't get slippery when wet.

The Hunting Dog Leash is a heavy piece of equipment for large dogs. It has big snaps on either end. While I like lightweight hardware for sensitive dogs, the snaps on this leash work well for the weight and size. I do need to be careful not to smack my dog with the snap on the handle end, though.

The leash is equipped with a floating ring and a snap on the handle specifically so it can be attached to a tree or a fence post in a hurry. I've found a couple more uses for those features, though. The handle snap is great for attaching accessories. It also work well to attach a second dog. Boom, two dog leash!

The floating ring means this leash can be used as a slip lead. However, it does not have any sort of stopper to prevent the leash from loosening up. The grippy material and width of the ring also means it doesn't slide freely, which makes it less annoying that most floating rings, but also means it cannot be used for leash corrections. It's more of an emergency slip leash.

Pros

• Non-absorbent waterproof and weatherproof
• Extra snap on handle end
• Floating ring
• Multiple uses/functions

Cons

• A bit heavy for small and medium-sized dogs
• Only comes in three colors

Bottom Line

This is a super-functional leash that will last forever, and it's affordable too!

Product Review: Fraggle Rock Custom Biothane Martingale Slip Lead

Our Fraggle Rock Biothane Martingale Slip Lead was custom made just for Brisbane. It is waterproof, seawater proof, sandproof, and pretty much everythingproof. It also looks quite snazzy.

Photo by Erin Koski

I used to use Lupine collars, leashes, and harnesses for my dogs at the beach. They were sturdy, reliable, and annoyingly absorbent. Every beach trip ended with either hanging the gear out to dry and then trying to shake the sand off, or rinsing it and then hanging it to dry. Either way, we brought home way more sand than necessary in those soggy collars.

Last year I started replacing our beach gear with waterproof, non-absorbent gear like Brisbane's Dublin Dog collar. The synthetic gear doesn't fade in the sun or absorb seawater, so it keeps looking awesome even after being dragged through the mud.

Photo by Erin Koski

I wanted a biothane harness for Ru, but couldn't find one. Fraggle Rock Designs custom-made Ru a beach harness and matching leash that fit perfectly.

For Briz, I wanted something that was easy to get on and off, escape-proof in case he saw the mailman while wearing it, and wide enough to distribute pressure across his neck when he needs to get from the car to the sand RIGHT NOW! (According to Brisbane, this is the only time it is permissible to pull like a sled dog.)

This custom biothane martingale does everything I need it to. The collar is nice and wide to help distribute pressure. The 4' leash is thin enough to hold in the same hand as my Chuckit while juggling my car keys and chihuahua. The martingale loop is big enough to allow me to slip the collar over Brisbane's head, but not so big that it flops around when there's no leash pressure. The slip action is fast enough to keep Brisbane contained even when he tries to back out of the collar, though it's probably not fast enough to do an actual leash correction.

Pros: Doesn't pick up sand, salt water, or dead sea lion goop. Washes clean with minimal effort. Probably skunk-proof, have not tested this theory. Easy-to-use slip lead that won't strangle my dog or let him escape at the worst possible time.

Cons: I haven't yet figured out a good way to carry this leash once we're on the beach and Brisbane is running free, since I can't clip it to itself.

Bottom Line: I now have the coolest beach leash ever for Brisbane. Thanks Fraggle Rock!

Product Review: Fraggle Rock Biothane Harness

Ru's new biothane harness was custom made for him by Fraggle Rock Designs, and it is beautiful. This material is nonporous, and will not absorb water, sand, or beach funk.

Photo by Erin Koski

Our Lupine beach gear is still going strong despite being a bit rusty, but I am getting tired of the piles of sand that fall off it after every trip. With hard floors throughout the house, the sand gets everywhere, and the only way to prevent it is to rinse the entire pile of leashes, collars, and harnesses. Of course, then I have to leave it all out to dry, and run it through the washing machine if it smells funny.

I wanted to replace our beach stuff with something that required less effort on my part. It needed to be totally non-absorbent, as well as sand-proof, tar-proof, and dead-sea-lion-proof.

Photo by Erin Koski

Does such a thing even exist? Yes, yes it does. Biothane is a totally kickass material that has been used for synthetic horse tack for years. It's a pretty awesome everything-proof substitute for leather, plus it comes in fun colors! 

Once I found the perfect material, all I had to do was order gear for my dogs, right? Wrong. Biothane has been used in horse tack for ages, but it's also popular for hunting dog collars. Guess who doesn't have purse dogs?

Photo by Erin Koski

I had no trouble at all finding biothane collars for dog-sized dogs, and multiple retailers carry biothane leashes as well. Biothane harnesses are a lot harder to find. Leather harnesses, and therefore synthetic alternatives, are popular for protection dog training. Nobody does Schutzhund with a toy breed. I managed to find one biothane harness in Brisbane-size but nothing even close to what I wanted for Ru.

I could have possibly found a biothane slip leash for Ru, but what I really wanted was an easy-off, easy-on Norway-style harness. There was nothing even close available on the market, but Fraggle Rock came to the rescue with a custom-made one-of-a-kind tiny biothane harness in purple, made just for Ru.

Pros: Easy to take off when everyone is ready to go charging down the beach. Easy to put back on when I'm rounding up sandy beasts. Rinses clean, and won't pick up sand or suspicious beach smells. Fits perfectly because it was made that way, I even added a little extra to the girth measurement so it fits over his beach outfits.

Cons: It's not pink. Seriously, that's all I can come up with.

Bottom Line: I need to order some more beach stuff from Fraggle Rock. A slip lead for Briz, a collar for his tags, a tag collar for Ru, a matching leash for Ru, maybe a long line...