Field test: Bahia, 7 months old, her first drive hunt with the RoG Elite i3 vest
Article published with the kind permission of Aymeric Bentajou, passionate hunter and RoG Hunting user. Find him on Facebook and TikTok (@aymericbentajou).
Bahia's first drive: trial by fire at 7 months
Today was a major first for Bahia, the youngest Griffon Fauve de Bretagne in Aymeric's pack: her very first wild boar drive.
At 7 months old, a hunting dog discovers everything at once: the scents of game, the noise of the drive, dense vegetation, the excitement of the pack. It is a decisive moment in the training of a scent hound. And it is also the moment when the question of protection becomes very real.
The RoG Elite i3 vest: immediate adoption
For this first outing, Aymeric chose to equip Bahia with the RoG Elite i3 protective vest. And the verdict was immediate:
"No discomfort, no hesitation: as soon as the vest was on, her nose was on the ground! She naturally set off in search of scents and to discover her new playground, as if she had always worn her vest."
— Aymeric Bentajou
This is the feedback we hear most often from hunters discovering the RoG Elite i3: the second-skin effect. Unlike old rigid and heavy Kevlar vests, the i3 fits the dog's shape without restricting movement. The flexible double-coated I3 1200D nylon glides over the coat, the 3-part zippers allow precise adjustment, and the weight remains controlled (from 446 g to 1,298 g depending on size).
For a young female dog discovering hunting, this is a crucial point: if the vest bothers her, she associates protection with a constraint, and the whole training process suffers.
Why protect from the very first drive?
One might think that at 7 months, a puppy does not need protection. That is a common mistake. Here is why Aymeric made the right choice:
- A wild boar does not distinguish between an adult dog and a puppy. One tusk strike can rip open a young dog in a second — tusks show no mercy, whatever the age of the target.
- Bramble and undergrowth are the same for everyone. Griffon Fauve de Bretagne are scent hounds that push deep into vegetation. The 7 layers of UHMWPE (Dyneema-type) in the RoG Elite i3 protect against punctures, thorns, and barbed wire.
- Early habituation is the key. A dog that wears its vest from its very first outings adopts it like a second skin. No stress, no refusal — it stays with them for their entire hunting life.
What the RoG Elite i3 brings in the field
The vest Bahia is wearing is not just a simple piece of orange fabric. It is the result of more than 10 years of field R&D with professional hunters:
A word from Aymeric
"I know how much a RoG Hunting vest provides essential protection for our dogs during drives. So for our new recruits too, we do not change a winning team! Protection, comfort and freedom of movement: RoG Hunting vests are with them from their very first drives."
— Aymeric Bentajou, hunter and RoG Hunting tester
Thank you Aymeric for this authentic sharing. Bahia is lucky to have an owner who thinks about her protection from day one.
Discover the RoG Elite i3 vest
Find Aymeric on Facebook and TikTok (@aymericbentajou)
