Question about dogs and cold weather.

S

Steve Parisi

Member
First off, let me state that this IS NOT a post about dogs and ice. I understand the dangers of hunting a dog on the ice, and the place that I'll be hunting will not have ice on it yet (hopefully)...

As a first time dog owner I find myself with the occasional "dumb question" (OK, more than occasional...). So here goes.... how cold is too cold to have a dog out hunting??? I'm planning on a quick hunt tomorrow, and the temps here will be hovering in the teens. We're only planning on hunting from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m, and they will be water retrieves. The dog has been hunting all season up to this point, but this will be the coldest weather we've had here so far. I just want to make sure it's not too much for her, OR that if there's anything else I can do to keep her warm, that I'm able to do it. She wears a vest, and usually hunts in a dog blind.

Thanks in advance.

Steve
 
If she has been hunting all season, she should be fine. Take a towel to dry her off after retrieves, make sure the dog blind isn't sitting in water, and consider putting some straw in it. Good luck.
James
 
What kind of dog? I have hunted Kodi at 10 degrees and his predecesor at -5.. all with water retrieves... I think the first question is types of dog .. next question... are the outside dogs, or do the spend all day in the house except when hunting....
 
She's a lab. As far as the house goes, she's a house dog, but we've been "conditioning" her all season long by keeping her outside for most of the day. She sleeps inside though.

My feeling is that she'll do fine, but didn't want to do anything stupid. She's got a lot of years in the duck blind ahead of her... here's a pic from last week's hunt. All birds taken over a rig of my own handcarved decoys, with a call that I turned on my lathe. Pretty much fun.

Steve

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I would hunt her.. and just watch for signs of hypothermia.. .take a blanket or have staw for her too lay in when not retrieving...
 
Steve,
One thing I would consider doing is finding a thermal backpacking pad and take half of it with you on cold hunts. It get s the dogs and your feet off the ice and will do wonders for keeping you both warmer. That plus letting pooch get up and stretch/run some to warm up when needed.
Have a fun hunt.
 
Good advice so far, the only thing to add is be aware of how much wind she is exposed to while out of the water. Even a slight wind can dramatically change the impact on a wet dog.

Also a dog has no self preservation mode. They'll go until they drop. Its your job to make the call when enough is enough. Watch for signs of confusion, lethargy or other signs that they are being impaired and then get her warmed up.
 
Steve this time of year I will feed my dog a couple pieces of fat trimmed off the deer we butcher before the hunt. High calories so he won't bottom out in shiver mode. A piece or two before, rubdown and a piece after does him just fine and he is a house dog that hunts.
 
Steve,

Old wool army blackets will work even when they are wet. I had picked up a Mr. Buddy portable heater last season and it worked out great. You just need to watch how close your dog gets to the heater. It will get your dog warm and dry quickly. I was never a big fan of these heaters but once I went out with someone who had one I became a believer. Still, I would exersise caution when it is in use but it had worked out great for us.
Good luck and stay warm
 
Just got back from an awesome morning. DAMN cold outside. Temp in car said 12 when we were getting set to hunt. Sage did awesome for her first "severe cold" hunt, and the birds cooperated as well. Couldn't have asked for a better quick hunt. (Had to be at work by 10:00...). Here are a few pics. I hunted over my own blocks as well, which just added to the fun.


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Cold training also starts early in the season, making sure your dog can shake his/her coat dry...or close to it.
I had an 85 black lab and taught "shake" right from the beginning. When he came out of the water, I'd hold his muzzle to prevent him from shaking and when I released his muzzle, I'd give the command to "Shake". Programming. I did this all the time. I'd bring Duke into the boat and have him go up to his dog box and he wouldn't shake until I gave him the "Shake" command. He'd shake, even if he hadn't been in the water and was completely dry. Thus, when hunting, I could command him to shake and get his coat quite dry. After that, I had his dog box, in the bow, with high enough sides (and holes in bottom for draining) to keep him out of the wind. It worked extremely well and we even did an article on the dog box in the March/April '83 Gun Dog Mag. There's a pdf copy of that article on my website also: http://www.lockstockbarrell.com Just scroll down to the pdf articles.
Lou

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Steve,
Do you have or can you shoot and post more pictures of that Hen Mallard you've got there? Nice feathering. I like it & would like to see more.
Lou
 
Lou,

Funny you should mention the "shake" command. I have trained my lab Mocha to shake on command. I did'nt think to mention that. I did not do it for hunting purposes but in the off season when she is out on the boat with us. It helps to keep all the other passengers and seats dry. They sure can hold alot of water in their coats.
 
Lou,

Funny you should mention the "shake" command. I have trained my lab Mocha to shake on command. I did'nt think to mention that. I did not do it for hunting purposes but in the off season when she is out on the boat with us. It helps to keep all the other passengers and seats dry. They sure can hold alot of water in their coats.
Click to expand...

You got that right....lotsa water in a dog's coat. Another reason I taught Duke to shake on command was that very reason, so the hunters in the boat wouldn't get soaked when he came back from a retrieve.
Lou
 
I avoid hunting my 35 pound female Boykin when it dips too far below freezing, but have observed them take the cold w/no issues.

I hunted with a USArmy 05 Naval War College student who had a big 45 pound male. It had a lot of training from being with trainers while the owner was deployed. The animal mostly lived inside. On a windy mid 20s day with ice all around I observed it retreiving 6 ducks & six geese over a couple hour period. It wore a neupreme vest, but when waiting for birds it mostly stood around in belly deep water (there was room in the blind but the dog did not care).

As long as the dog is healthy & willing (I would NOT hunt an old dog around ice) I doubt a two hour hunt could do any harm w/reasonable precautions.
 
here's my girl samantha blue bella
she is a house dog from the get go. I do not hunt her when it gets too cold. I bring an old 80's era goose down coat for her if I think she may have problems. put it on her and she looks like the michelin man all puffed up and warm as toast.
this day was colder than expected and a full blown snowstorm
put her in the jacket and laughed my a** off as she strolled around the boat, didn't send her out for any retrieves this day. you gotta take care of your pal



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