Dog Vests

J

James Woods

Active member
So we have gotten a Springer Spanial, "Ruthie" aka "Wild Child." After Labs, my wife's bucket list dog. She is "so sweet" but energetic and in trouble all the time. At a year and 6 months she is still pretty immature. But she retrieves to hand from the water, not so much on land, plays with the dummy. Have thought about force fetching, but my wife might suggest remedial force fetching for me. She is a great upland hunter, quarters naturally, comes, and loves chasing up birds. She is very aggressive and hits the water like King Buck. Therein lies the problem, we hunt farm ponds and beaver swamps riddled with stumps and dangerous underwater issues. I cannot find a vest that will fit her tight enough and provide a marginal amount of protection.
Any ideas?
 
For the vest get one and tailor it to fit her Google search neoprene dog vest trim to fit
you will have all kinds of answers.


An alternative to force fetch is the hold training method by Dog Bone Hunter


https://dogbonehunter.com/free-videos/1/hold-conditioning-basics.

Look for a local retriever club to work with.
 
John: Thank you. Have trimmed neo for my little lab, not 12 years young...the chest alway fit. This pup is very thin in the chest, and I have seen many try to address that with a variety of upland dogs, none seem to be able to get the fit tight around the chest. I will look at the website and see if I am missing something, Started Dog bone. Thanks.
JCW
 
Again: Thank you John and Dani:

I hunted setters for thirty years, and never used a protective chest vest. I have rethought that because a couple of years ago in New Brunswick a friend's setter ran through a field which had been recently bush hogged, and sustained a stab wounds to the chest into his lungs which required a two hour trip to the vet, a couple of days at the vets and a tub protruding from his chest for a week.

Good thinking, I am sure blowdowns present similar threats.
 
W always had good luck with Neoprene armored dog vests. I think that Cabelas had them, they also offered one with float pads laterally on the sides which helped Ol' Alex a lot, because he was a very lean and tall dog with a deep chest, built like a runner not a swimmer. He did great with the vest and it kept him a lot warmer.

Get one that has a grab handle on the back of the set up, so you can pick him up like a suitcase in case he needs help getting into a boat etc.
 
it was something like this... you get the idea. https://www.amazon.com/Ducks-Unlimited-Deluxe-Vest-Blades/dp/B01MDKBSFR/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=QGNHOSI7T05K&keywords=camo%2Bhunting%2Bdog%2Bvest%2Barmored%2Bwith%2Bflotation&qid=1699198663&sprefix=camo%2Bhunting%2Bdog%2Bvest%2Barmored%2Bwith%2Bflotation%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
 
Todd: Thanks again. We take the measurements for a small see if that is going to work. I have a Cabellas for the older dog, my second one, but handholds were not readily available then as now.
JCW
 
I no longer have the vest but I did find one a few years ago for a 34# springer. Pretty sure it was a small.

The neck opening was a bit large. But, you can cut slits in the vest, take up slack and then bond with a neoprene cement.

For comparison, my current Labrador is 44#, and a Rig 'em Right medium fits her perfectly.

Remember, spaniels get soaked in high humidity. Always a good idea to have a towel and wool blanket handy...
 
Thanks CpK and Robert...and all:

I have hunted down one which fits which is an upland vest but can be converted; measured and measured her (does not sit still) and ordered a "small" neoprene from Avery to see if I can make it work. Thanks for the Springer hint, I am aware of those issues because of how often we hunt under difficult conditions in upstate NY. Had towel and wool dog cape even for the choc lab some days!!!
 
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