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so i took my dog Friday morning and it was COLD! She had ice on her whiskers and frozen beads all over her. I couldnt keep her from shaking. She didnt have a vest on that morning. I went online to Macks Prairie Wings and got her one. My question was, how cold is too cold for a dog. i want to take her in the morning but im worried 18 is too cold. what do yall think.

Too cold.

what temp would be safe? the lowest.

a vest aint gone help much in 18 degree weather....kinda like you wearing a sweater vest. mine wears one simply for protection of underwater sticks and thick ice. Id much rather keep my hunting buddy happy than have a few ducks in the freezer.....but thats your call. I wouldnt take mine in the morning, 25 degrees and an hour or two hunt is all I will do with him and he is a 3 year old chessie that lives inside. Be smart about it!!!!

jsh164 wrote:what temp would be safe? the lowest.

It's not that easy. 'Depends on the dog, it's experience level, diet, coat, conditioning, the wind, etc........and I don't have the answers.

You have to know the dog, basic physiology, and be realistic in your expectations.

If you're not sure, I would not put the dog at risk. I would advise against taking a young, inexperienced dog under the current conditions......they can't pace themselves and can get themselves in big trouble.

Ours is answering the telephone while we're hunting this week.

Way too cold for a dog, wanna burn him/her out? did some research some years back and its not good to have them in this cold of weather. when the vest gets wet, it can freeze too. I would draw the line at the freezing point 32 degrees

A friend of mine took his dog last year in 13 degree temps. It was so cold, the guns were freezing up--the dog would come out of the water and shake and the water would freeze on contact with the guns.

Every time she had to go get a bird, she yelped just before hitting the water, but she never refused or hesitated to go. Also, she never got ill the following week.

I wouldn't do it to my dog, but I'm a little soft on mine.

If you have a blind and heater ok. if you hunting on levee where the dog can get in grass and dry out ok. In deep water leave him at home. Do not take a young dog. I hunted Friday, Sat & Sunday, in deep water and we left Roux at the camp. I have owned every vest made for two good labs, I do not use them. It's hard for the dogs to get the water out of the vest.

Byhaliadog

I hunted my golden everyday. He hardly got cold at all. The only time I leave him at home is when I am hunting somewhere that he has to break a lot of ice to get retrieves. As long as they have a place to get out of the wind and a good thick coat they will be fine. This weekend he was either in the water or walking on the ice so no breaking was involved. I also do not use a vest. He shivers with the vest and hardly shivers at all without it so no one can convince me that they work.

The vest is more for bouyancy and protection shiver or not if they jump in the water and a stick jabs them in the chest it don't matter how cold. I always run a vest on my dog for that purpose although at her age there is a lot less jumping and alot more inching in. I don't take mine if it is under 25 now, I use to take her down to bout 20 degrees but not now. If your waders freeze when you exit the water they have no business out there. Plus in all this ice it would be easy for them to walk on a weak spot and fall through, this is very dangerous conditions for a retriever. Just my opinion.

What are you guys suggesting, swimming after the ducks your self? I did not feed my dog all summer to go fetch the ducks my self!

DuckBoat wrote:What are you guys suggesting, swimming after the ducks your self? I did not feed my dog all summer to go fetch the ducks my self!

You will be fetching our own birds if you take the dog out and get him sick / to scared to get in the water.

I took my dog saturday........to the boat ramp where she ended up staying in the kennel in my SUV while i hunted. I changed my mind once I got to the boat ramp. Didn't want her freeze to the boat.

I took my dog for 2 mornings in the teens he had a vest on and never missed a beat. He didnt shake no more than normal from being excited. He is more hardcore than me though

i take mine everytime i go but of course shes a little husky from stayin at home with my parents haha so the cold doesnt really bother her......now if the hole is frozen solid shes stayin home cuz haha she cant break the ice and retrieve too she tried that one and found out that 4 in thick ice doesnt give when she jumps on it

We used to keep 2'x2' piecies of carpet rolled up in the gun box of the boat. otherwise after the dog got wet her paws would start to freeze to the aluminum deck on the boat. that carpet keeps from freezin up. just dont expect the dogs to stay out in it all day long, get em dry as soon as the hunts over and let me rest inside, even if they do smell like crap. besides they earned it.


JD