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Training Vests

A training vest might be a good investment to carry all your equipment. There are several available, including those which can release a ball from your chest to help with focussed heeling. Most include plenty of pockets, and since you can wear them in club level trials, your dog may think there are goodies concealed even though they are not. Hunting vests also work and may be more reasonably priced, they are particularly useful for tracking when you have lots of items to carry over a distance.

At first, a good bait bag or handyman's pockets such as those sold for around $1 from Home Depot, might be a good start, but later on, you may find a properly designed vest, much more flexible and useful. Remember, that if you start competing at higher levels, you will no longer be able to wear your vest, so make sure that the dog doesn't key off the vest to know that he is working.

Another item to consider if you are going to compete at Regional level or higher, is a numbered mesh vest so that you and your dog can practise while wearing one.