I was fortunate enough to get to go to Rose Lake this past weekend. A friend of a friend that came with brought his dog. I can't remember the breed of dog but it was some kind of sled dog from Greenland... 7 months old. On Sunday we were gearing up to do some Lake Trout fishing. My buddy (not the owner of the dog) pulled an airplane jig from his tackle box, set it on the ice next to the hole, turned around to put his tackle box aside, turned back to grab the jig... but there was no jig.

The puppy in its youth and stupidity thought that the airplane jig was a chew toy. YEAH... NOT GOOD! What took place over the next half hour could have been part of a horror movie so I won't go into too many details but to sum up, it took two guys to hold down a 50 lb dog who was kicking and screaming (I really do mean screaming) while the third guy (me) attempted to cut treble hooks from the lips of a dog with a leatherman.

We were mildly successful removing a few of the hooks. 3 hooks had to stay in because the dog would not let us push the barbs through. We did the best we could with what we had. The dog was immediately taken out of the BW and to the Emergency Vet clinic in Duluth to have the remaining hooks removed. The dog is fine now.

Really this is no ones fault, OK maybe the dog. But it got me thinking, what if that was a person with a musky bait stuck in their face? The wire cutter on a leatherman hardly lives up to the quality of the other tools on it. From now on I will have the best side cutter money can buy in my tackle box.

Therein lies my question.... who makes the best side cutter available?

OUCH!!!! Poor doggie. :(

I don't think that dog is going to like ice fishing anymore.

I don't know what gauge wire those hooks are but my rapala pliers with carbide cutters cut small hooks like butter. Also cut braid better than my knife or scissors could.

There were two different size treble hooks on the jig. I think the bigger was a number 2/0 or 3/0.

Channel Makes the best one I've used. Its made by the same company that makes Channel Locks -locking pliers. Husky also makes a good side cutter. All side cutters are good when they are new but those two seem to last me the longest.

Wetlander, I know how you feel. Several years ago was at a buddies who has a farm pond and at that time a small pup, We had all been fishing, went inside and left the rods & reels on the porch.

A little while later, we heard a great deal of yelping and when we went outside the pup had one barb of a treble hook stuck in the inside of its nose. We tried several time, much to the pup's dismay, to push the barb out through the nose.

Note for future reference: the exterior skin on a dog's nose is very tough.

We ended up cutting off the barb, leaving it embedded in the pup's nose and to the best of my knowledge it's still there.

quote deepwood: "Channel Makes the best one I've used. Its made by the same company that makes Channel Locks -locking pliers. Husky also makes a good side cutter. All side cutters are good when they are new but those two seem to last me the longest."

+1 for Channel (Don't let the "light blue" handles fool you)..;)

I did an internship with a vet in Prairie du Chien (Mississippi river town). He had a large box full of various fishing lures that he had removed from dogs....both externally and internally.

+1 more for Channel, Klein tool also makes an excellent product designed for professional use.

These are on my list of things to buy after my brother hooked himself with a treble in the cuticle of his thumb last September in the BWCA. We were a long days paddle away from any entry point and were standing on the end of a 240 rod portage we had just finished--sundown was coming soon as well. With no multi-tool or anything to clip a hook, I had to pin his hand down and yank it out with pliers. I decided then that side cutter is a must for any fisherman in the bwca.

I did some internet lurking and Knipex seems to be the choice for a lot of fisherman... comes with a heavy pricetag, but probably worth it if you ever need them. Anyone own a pair?

I use a craftsman it's in my med bag. The long nose pliers with the side cutters can be very awkward.. There are times the length of the nose gets in the way and you cant get the cutter part to the hook. Something to think about.

KNIPEX no comparison, unfortunately quite spendy but motors through musky size trebles! Good Luck!!