Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello and welcome, Peter.
I'm absolutely delighted to have
Peter: you here today.
Thank you very much, Anke, for inviting me for a wonderful chat with you.
It's an absolute pleasure.
Thank you.
Well,
Anke: thank you.
I'm really looking forward to it because you bring something that I can
comfortably and confidently say that listeners you have not seen before.
Peter: That's very true.
That's very true.
. Anke: So before we go there, why don't you share where you are based and,
uh, you know, what's your business?
Well, my
Peter: name's Peter Antonio and I'm the inventor and CEO of Dog
Fender, uh, based in the uk.
Um, and it's a product quick.
Preview is a product that actually defends your dog from an attack.
So, and that's really, it's very basic, um, description.
I, yeah,
Anke: I just, when I first heard about it, I was like, Oh my God, I
wish I'd had that, uh, that horrible day back in the day with Leo.
So how did you come to creating that?
Like, what was the story for you there?
Peter: Well, it happened five years ago.
So back in 2018, when you know, it was just a walk that Murphy and myself would
do, you know, and it's a regular walk.
And but this day was very different, you know, I suspected something was going
on with another dog approaching Murphy, and I tried to get in between them both.
And to protect Murphy without You know, putting myself in danger.
However, this dog grabbed Murphy by the throat, pinned him to the ground and,
um, I had little option but to intervene.
Through intervening, um, I did save Murphy's life that day but, you
know, he was, he suffered severe wounds to the throat and neck and
I also, um, uh, had severe cuts and, uh, and bites to my hands.
Um, I did manage to get the dog off and, um, You know, we rushed
Murphy, um, to the vets and I was persuaded to go to hospital.
It was quite a traumatic day for me, you know, uh, lots of things happened, you
know, on that day, um, the screaming and the shouting and, and the dog's owner.
You know, hitting on me while I was trying to save Murphy from his dog.
It was quite a surreal situation and something that really affected me.
And, you know, the after effects of Murphy, you know, from that attack was
Very, very visible and, um, he suffered from trauma, anxiety, stress, and he
really didn't want to go out at all, I had to carry him for quite a long
time, and I vowed while he was getting better that I would make something for
him that would, so no doc could ever do that again to him, and, um, I really
didn't know what I was going to make, and some very strange, um, events happened
which led me to make my prototype out, um, using, um, Anke Herrmann.
An electrical fly squat, my grandson's remote control car, some drawing
pins, uh, and, you know, uh, earbud casings, uh, you know, a case, and
I put it all together never thinking that this was going to work, you
know, six months later, Murphy had it.
Basically started to get back to normal, but still showing
signs of anxiety and stress.
But he had my, my homemade collar on, um, which at the time
was called the Murphy Collar.
And it was only made for Murphy, and I really didn't think it was
ever going to work, and I didn't ever think that I would ever use it.
That was the thing.
I made something, only because I promised Murphy I would make something, but I
didn't believe that I would ever use it.
Six months later, we was out in the park again, and he was attacked
by another dog, a large dog.
I pressed the remote control, praying that the dog friend that, you know,
the, the Murphy collar would activate.
It saved Murphy's life.
And from that day, five years ago, I have been devoted.
In bringing the Dog Fender collar to market to hopefully
help owners defend their dogs safely without them intervening.
Um, and doing this in a very effective, efficient way.
I love it, I love it.
I
Anke: just kind of imagine Murphy collar, Murphy collar.
So basically explain to people how it works.
So you've got
Peter: the collar.
So, okay, so let me just turn this off.
So I have to swipe it to turn it off so we can see.
So basically, um, once this is on your dog.
Using the remote control, which we call the key because you need this as a
safety feature because it's child proof.
There's no button so you can't turn it on accidentally, which is great.
So using the key, using the key you swipe across the face of the dog
fender collar and the green LEDs will indicate battery reserves within
the collar, and then it will go to amber solid LEDs, which indicates now
that the collar is in standby mode.
So you, it's, it's basically a collar, you've got your lead on.
That's what you do before you go out with your dog.
That's correct.
So you've now prepared.
So now what the collar is doing is waiting for a command from the remote control.
So let's go through the very quick part first.
So you've, you've obviously got the night lights, which are
operated via remote control.
Very, very convenient.
How many times have I lost my dog at night?
I mean, I don't, I mean, it's so bright.
I mean, sometimes I used to laugh.
Now I see you, now I don't.
Now I see you, where are you?
And he'd be over there, and then he'd be over there.
And I'd be turning this off and on, and it'd be quite
funny because it's so bright.
So that's a wonderful feature to have, and it really does help.
However, the main feature of the Dog Fender Collar is to defend
your dog, and to do this in a very practical, user friendly way.
And how you do this is, you have a defense button, which if you press once...
It will indicate with one LED on the remote control, and now the Dog Fender
Collar is Indicating red flashing LEDs.
So, and this is indicating to me that it's in defense level one.
You have three defense levels.
So if I press it a second time, defense level two for medium sized dog
aggression, defense level Three for large dog or extra large dog aggression.
Now, how does this work?
So let's put it back to defense level one.
'cause sometimes when I'm talking about the collar, I actually touch it.
, . Uh, I've had enough of that.
Uh, I've, I've touched this collar possibly about a thousand times
while I've been prototyping it.
So now it's in defense level one.
So what exactly is it?
The, what is it doing?
It's actually creating a static barrier, a shield.
around your dog's throat.
And the throat is the most instinctive attacking part of your dog's body.
So if a dog is really seriously and inflicting serious injury or death to
your dog, it will go for the throat.
And what will happen if there is any mouth contact to any part of the collar
by the aggressor, The Dog Fender Collar will release a stimulant and directly into
the aggressor's mouth and only into the aggressor's mouth and it's although the
stimulant is very low in voltage, it has a very, very potent response to that so
you can actually see it's actually gone to standby mode because as a safety feature,
we have added a 60 second timer so if you forget to turn Like, I would forget
because I talk to dog owners, we all talk to dog owners, sometimes if you've got
it into the defense mode and, you know, we don't want to keep it in defense mode
so it automatically deactivates itself.
However, if it's in a defense mode, you can deactivate the collar at any time, any
time by pressing the deactivate button.
So, you know, That's basically in a nutshell, really.
Anke: Yeah, so it's almost like, you know, we were talking before and it sort
of reminds me of those, uh, collars for Spanish masters that have the kind of
picture, like the spikes on the outside.
Yes.
Basically a more sophisticated
Peter: version of that.
Yes!
Yes, you know, those collars were actually being, you know, people did have those
collars, you know, a few years back.
I don't see many dogs with those now.
I think a lot of people now carry pepper sprays.
Um, and however, you know, the pepper sprays work for certain things.
I'm a bike rider.
I've been chased by a dog many a times, you know, uh, you know, so, you
know, spray a pepper spray as you're driving your bike, not a big deal.
But however, if your dog is attacked by the time you've reached for
your pepper spray, sort it where you're pointing it and spraying
your, you know, the pepper spray.
It would actually spray your dog as well and everybody else that's around so and
the after effects are seven to eight hours of really a painful experience.
So it's, it's, it's a long, it's a, it, the last, it would last, the
effects would last for a long time.
Whereas Dog Fender lasts for a long time.
a second and that's enough to get that dog off and not want to go back again.
So very practical dog fender is very clean.
It's it's precise.
It works precisely.
And it's very easy to press buttons very quick.
And
Anke: it doesn't.
And you were saying the even like when it's in standby, you know, I think, I
think what I'm most love about it is is that peace of mind for the owner, right?
It's that like knowing that your dog's got this on, you know,
there's the two, there's two pieces.
I mean, you explained that dogs perceive even the standby sort of probably deters
Peter: them from even getting close to
Anke: your dog, you know, and the owner would be I mean, I certainly would feel
more confident and more relaxed, like knowing that that like we're protected,
you know, so, and so that means my presence would change, which would also
Peter: Absolutely.
And we know that the dogs feed off your own personal, you know, your own feelings.
So if you're walking around, you know, with the dog on your
collar and you're stressed.
out of your mind.
Well, the dog's also going to be stressed out of their mind as well.
So it does, you know, I've sold the dog Fender Collar to a lot of people.
People bought it from all over the world.
And you know, the reviews say it does give them peace of mind.
I'm not saying don't be vigilant anymore.
I'm not saying don't be, you know, looking around.
You have to still be a responsible owner.
The Dog Fender Collar is merely the last resort.
It's the last line of defense.
You still got to be a responsible dog owner.
However, if a dog does approach your dog and you're, you're, you're, you're feeling
uncomfortable with the situation, just put it into a defense mode, whether it's
a small dog, a medium or a large dog.
You know, it's very simple.
It's that simple.
And it does give you peace of mind.
I've been told that by a lot of people and have by, by giving you
peace of mind, it gives you a better outside walking experience as well.
And it also gives the dog a better experience as well, because you can
now leave your dog off the lead and not worry so much because you have help.
I've been in that situation Anke, as I know you have as well.
It's a very lonely situation to be in.
When your dog is attacked, no one's going to offer to help.
It takes a second to kill your dog.
A second.
You know, so people are always going to be nervous of their dog, but with the Dog
Fender Collie, you know, you've got...
I call it basically an angel on your shoulder, really.
I mean, you've got help.
You've got help.
You're not out there on your own.
You've got some help.
And that's what, which is lovely, which is lovely.
Anke: So where can people go find out more about you, get in touch with you?
You know, get on the waiting list for the next batch.
Peter: Well, you know, we didn't really know that the first batch
would be sold so, so quickly.
Um, we've done very minimal, um, you know, um, advertising.
And in actual fact, all we've done is organic posts.
Um.
So we, we were really caught off guard, really caught off guard, and I thought it
was going to take a long time to sell a couple of thousand units, but it didn't.
They sold very, very quickly and we've had some great response
from those people as well.
And our next batch, unfortunately, is about eight weeks now for them
to come into the UK, which is...
You know, I'm sorry to say, but that's just the time people are listening
Anke: to this, it's going to be a little less than that.
So where are we going to send them?
Peter: Well, I mean, DogFenders is available worldwide.
You know, we've, we've got our fulfillers in America now.
Our own personal fulfillment company in America and Australia
as well, because we've had so much interest from America and Australia.
So, um.
Hopefully we'll get them sooner than eight weeks.
But you know, you know, it's, it's something that it's a new product.
It's a new company.
It's a new setup.
You know, we need time to sort of get things going and moving.
But you know, the response has been just Unbelievable.
I love it.
So
Anke: dogfender.
com is the place, right?
Peter: dogfender.
co.
uk.
dogfender.
co.
uk.
Absolutely.
If you want any information about DogFender, please visit dogfender.
co.
uk.
It's got loads of information on there.
There's a phone number on there as well.
And there's always someone there to give you some advice or help
or, you know, explain to you the products in further detail.
I
Anke: love it.
Love it.
So obviously, if you're listening on the podcast, it's on the show notes.
If you're watching, then obviously it's on the page that
you're, you're watching this.
So thank you so much, Peter.
Um, yeah, I hope you sell loads and loads of those.
It's
Peter: just great to know that there are dogs out there being protected.
That's all that matters to me.
The dogs are being protected.
Owners are being protected, um, and the dogs that are attacking also will
have a chance that, you know, that they, you know, that they don't have
to be so wrongfully euthanized, which is terrible because we all know in the
majority of the time it's the owner's fault, it's not the dog's fault.
So I'm just happy to help.
Love it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thanks so much for listening.
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That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.