Conflicting data - chain or leather?

I keep in touch with the VDHA. I found them through a guy I found while researching. I post on their message board once in a while with questions and sometimes I get answers.

Chain collars are for training only. And even then only for obedience. All bite work is started in a leather body harness and/or a leather collar. If something happens and the dog is on a training collar (choke chain) it won't become a weapon either inadvertantly or on purpose against the dog. Typically there is alot of pulling by the dog doing bite work and sent duty or patrol work so the constant work on the chain makes the dog "dead to it" so it has little effect later as well as constantly choking the dog.

Leather leads don't rust and they don't make noise. If enough stress is put on them they will break and can easily be cut if necessary. You can also feel the dog through the lead. (Yeah I know it sounds weird but belive me it works).

If the dog is being used in LRP work like in SE Asia, then you also don't have the tinkling of chain to give away your position. Some dogs were even attached to their handlers and air dropped into positions in the front.

I'm glad someone is doing this subject matter. This is a topic that I am very interested in. Sadly, 4000 good soldiers, MWD's responsible and credited for saving over 10,000 good human soldiers were left behind. Many specificaly targeted by the enemy. Surplussed as military equipment. Some that if they were human would have no doubt received the CMOH. Guys, I know that some of you are hard core vietnam vets and my hat is off to you and am respectful and considerate of your time in hell. But this was these were the truly forgotten and abandoned soldiers of the war. Something that the military is hopefully trying hard to not let happen again. In WW2. Dogs were brought home and some returned to the original homes they were "enlisted from".

Good luck with this, and I hope to see pics of the finished project.

Mike

Thanks guys, since I'm doing the 47th scout dog platoon I'm shooting for '68-... the 47th was a member of the 101st airborne and the figure has jump boots. soooooooo... the 47th looked good. These probably means leather collar, web leash the buckle will be the trick. I'll try to get pics up eventually. Right now my course work is insane.

The K-9 unit I saw in Vietnam had olive drab web collars with aluminum quick disconnect buckles. With just a twist of the hand and the dog would be released. The idea behind this is they did not want a collar on the dog that could be used as a weapon against the dog. Most of the attack dogs I saw had this type of collar.

The other type I saw was the harness type, made of leather. These were usually speciality type dogs.

I only saw two dogs and their handlers in Nam(1967/1968) and they both had leather collars and web leash. At the Dog handlers school at Lackland AFB Tx I was a gunsmith and the kennels were directly behind our shop an the Lackland Annex. I say both chain and leater collars and leather and web leash's.That was back in the late 70's and early 80"s.