In a small town of Holmes County, Ohio, our Leather dog gear begins its journey. As with all of our dog gear, we have the highest standards to ensure only the very best quality dog products are available here. For our leather goods, including our leather leashes and leather dog collars, we have partnered with a family of Leather Makers, who hand-make all our leather items in their family workshop.
The making of leather dog products is something that is easy to learn, and extremely lengthy to perfect. Family of leather working experts that we work with, are a third generation family of leather makers. This means that they have perfected the art for years and continue to do so.
Our leather makers start with only the absolute highest quality English Bridle leather. When we say that the leather we use in our collars and leashes is the highest quality, we absolutely mean it!
To start with, the type of leather hides chosen come from North American Cattle, these leather hides are then tanned within the USA. The tanning process itself is very unique, as the leather used on our dog collars and leashes comes from one of only two vegetable tanneries left in the USA!
The vegetable tanning process uses natural tree bark and plants, instead of the chemicals used in the vast majority of leather production. It is a very eco friendly with little to no environmental impact, due to the use of natural materials for this process.
The hides soak in a long bath of natural tannins, allowing the oils to fully soak into the leather for total absorption. Leading to a slightly firm leather that continues to soften more and more over time, as the oils work there ways to the outer layers of your leather gear.
A complex 6 week long tanning process takes place, with the end result being the most beautiful rich leather available. You can learn the detailed step by step process involved in vegetable tanning here!
Once the tanning process is completed, top grain super heavy leather graded as 1# is selected for use. This is because super heavy leather is naturally thick, creating a incredibly high tensile strength. Our wonderful leather crafting family then receives these amazing quality hides at their workshop.
The pattern for your leather dog collar or leash are first cut by hand, this means you will never have 2 leashes exactly the same as your individual item has been shaped to the perfect shape for dog leads or collars. A machine stitches the dog leash or collar on both sides to make it stronger and more secure.
They are then finished with the highest quality stainless steel hardware, specifically chosen as it is some of the most waterproof hardware, resistant to the strong properties of salt water that is so common australia wide!
The finishing steps include a final application of leather paints, then branding with our one of a kind Wildhunde logo. After that, these beautiful handmade leather items are packed for the long journey to Sydney Australia!