Heaters in boats to warm your dog, opinions wanted

John L

John L

Well-known member
I am looking to see what most of you guys are using to warm you dog back up after a cold swim. I really felt bad for Mocha this weekend. She had a crippled goose, Brant, lead her on a wild goose chase. She would get within 5 to 10 feet of it and it would swim another 10 to 15 feet. This went on for a little while. She did not want to give up, so I called her back and after swimming about 1/4 mile in cold sea water and in current, she was beat. I got the boat launched and chased it down then let her get it when the bird was too tired to go any further.
I have always been against open flames in a small boat but this retrieve really has me thinking. Blankets and an extra heavy jacket just did'nt warm her up enough.
I was out hunting with Mike Samilo yesterday and he had a Mr Heater brand heater in his boat, it looks like it would do the job. I'm just looking for any thoughts on the subject. I mainly hunt from my 2 man BBSB so it is a small cockpit and also has a portable fuel tank in the boat. Thats what scares me most.
Any thought would be helpful.
Here is a very tired Mocha with the bird still kicking.
MocharetrievingBrant.jpg

 
I've thought about this many times over the years, for me, not a dog, I just don't think you'll gain much heat laying in a sneakbox type boat,I mean where do you put the heater, under the forward deck?, your basically blocking that opening laying down, and I doubt much heat will get to where you need it.In a mostly enclosed blind, yes, that will warm up. I dunno, I guess you can make it work. Though....Zack Taylor in his book spoke of charcoal briquettes in a tin can sitting on an old license plate. That sounds a little scary,lol.
 
John its just a thought but if you put electics in your boat, maybe you will be able to plug in a little hot hair blower, that way there is no open flames to cause a problem, it may work.
take care and God Bless
Eddie.
 
Like Mike, I'm gunning out of a TDB and use the Mr Buddy heater. The dog loves it but tends to get a little too close. One needs to maintain at least 12 inch clearance in front of it on LOW setting. I don't think it would work in the confines of a sneak, fuel tank or not.
 
John your dog mocha is great,The best thing hands down is to get 2 wool gi blankets for her,one to lay on and the other to cover the dog with,even when wet wool will insulate.As far as a heater the buddy heaters have a small flame they make a smaller version than the one that u saw in my boat that i think would be perfect for what u need.
 
I wrap her up good when she gets out but as you saw she was in that retrieve for the long haul. She just does not know when to give up. I could not ask for more but I felt bad that she was so cold for the rest of the hunt.
I have wool blankets but I loaned them to my brother and have not gotten them back yet. I think it's time to get her a small heater.
I was online looking at the Mr Heater portable 9000btu. I went to Wallmart tonight to check it out but they don't have any. They list Wallmart and Ace hardware as dealers but none of the stores I called had them or even knew what they were. I think I'll just order one online.
 
John,
What about those heater pads made for the layout blinds?
I looked and didn't see them but if I remember right they last
for up to 8 hours on a charge. You'd have heat when you need
it and no open flame.
Just something to think about, John
 
John,

I have never seen anything like that. Sounds interesting but I could not find any info on it. If you come across it let me know

Thanks
 
I use a Mr. Heater with a blower on it along with one of the towels that obsorb water that swimmers use to help dry him off some. Hunter yesterday with 17 degree high and the dog never got cold and neither did we
 
I worried about this until I hunted with a with a guy with a 42 pound male (large) Boykin on about a 3 hour hunt. It was in the mid 20s with ice all over the salt marsh. The dog was wearing a vest. It retrieved 3 ducks and six geese that day. The animal was four years old/in its prime.

If you use a heater I'd wonder about the effect on the animal's system dealing with such extremes.

Nothing seems to bother my 3 year old 35 pound Boykin female. But I could tell my older dog was loosing her edge at about 8 years.
 
I wrap her up good when she gets out but as you saw she was in that retrieve for the long haul. She just does not know when to give up. I could not ask for more but I felt bad that she was so cold for the rest of the hunt.
I have wool blankets but I loaned them to my brother and have not gotten them back yet. I think it's time to get her a small heater.
I was online looking at the Mr Heater portable 9000btu. I went to Wallmart tonight to check it out but they don't have any. They list Wallmart and Ace hardware as dealers but none of the stores I called had them or even knew what they were. I think I'll just order one online.
Click to expand...


John,

I was just at Cabelas in Hamburg PA and they had a ton of different kinds of Mr. Buddy heaters. Check with the store in Hartford CT.
 
John, I don't have enough room in my boat to safely operate a heater but I too fashioned a dog-sized horse blanket to toss over my Lab after a retrieve. However, for his backside, instead of having a wool blanket on the boat bottom sopping up water I cut down a section of Kennel Deck to fit my dog's area and attached (with Velcro) a layer of thick Neoprene. I melted some perforations in the Neoprene aligned with the openings in the Kennel Deck to help with the drainage.
 
John,

I have a 19' duckwater. I use a Mr. Heater Big Buddy 18k btu when it gets cold. The heat gets trapped under the roof of the blind, I've hunted in -16c wearing just a fleece pullover.
It really does the trick and your dog will love you for it.

Dean.
 
I had the single propane canister Mr. Heater (buddy) heater and took it back after one use. It put out decent heat, but it rose straight up. I hunt out of a Triton 1860 with a mud buddy blind and the Mr. Heater that I paid $90 didn't keep the boat warm. I returned it and bought a heater that attaches to the threads on a 20 - 30lbs LP Propane tank. It works WAY better than the Mr. Heater (even on the lowest setting) and is cheaper. So if you have room, I highly recommend it.

John
 
Hi John,
Just got off the Gerbling site and it looks impressive.
I think I'm going to order one for next year.
I'll let you know how it works, John
 
Thanks for all the replies.
I am going to get a Mr Heater Portable Buddy model #MH9BX from Lowes. I called to check stock and they said they have it and will match Northern Tools price of $69.99. According to the manufacturers specs, I have more than enough clearance in the cockpit for safe operation. I will admit, it still make me nervous.
 
john,
I also use a jacket for jake in the really cold weather,you can find them on ebay look up calf jacket,it is made of wool and has straps so the dog cant shake it off,farmers use them to keep calves warm but i found a better use for them and is a perfect fit.
 
Thats a great idea with the calf jacket.
I think between the heater and the wool blankets that should have it covered. I was really just concerned with getting her warmed up and a bit drier after a long cold swim.
 
Hi John - I'm not sure which BBSB you own but here is another idea. I have a 12' Don Warren - basically 1 man and added a small cockpit forward of the regular cockpit. The dog cockpit opening measures about 2' x 2' and it has a small floor which drains. I then lined it with generous amounts of salt hay and my dogs also used the vests. The idea is twofold, the dog has a faily small space to heat up and the salt hay helps with the water. It also kept the dogs behind me when I sat to shoot. I will bet the wool blankets can help the same way to hold some heat in. Good luck with it.

sarge
 
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