Soul Touched by Dogs

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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And if you know a pawsome human
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Email me at Anke.

That's A N k E at Soul
touched by dogs.com.