Proud New Owner...

[MagDaddy]

Gentlemen:

I must be living right... I have been given a great Duck dog, his name is Kolors and he is a 3-1/2 year Yellow Lab... He has been trained (I haven't)... I've had him a little over a month now and he's become a real member of the family... I have been working with him on all the basics (including Obedience) as well as getting him back into shape... I did take him Dove hunting and he did well--picked up the few birds that we managed to hit... I'll be visiting the site to pick up tips, etc... and to join in the banter...

I do have a question for you guys... Kolors is going to be primarily an inside dog but, I do want to go about acclimatizing him the right way as we get into the cold season... Any suggestions about how much he needs to stay outside, etc... I am in the process of working on a outdoor run...

Any advice would be appreciated.... Thanks

[Jeff]

Mine stays inside 365 days a year, and last year retrieved 32 giant Canadas in Illiniois in -12 weather. She does wear a vest when it gets cold but other than that, let it rip.

[MagDaddy]

Thanks for the reply Jeff.... Any other advice out there?

[Bocephus1]

Yea it's not in any way healthy for a dog (or you for that matter) to undergo drastic changes in temperature. A vest is a good idea, but going from a warm bed or couch to -12. Don't think I'd do that unless I at least let the dog out for a good while early in the morning. Changing his environmental temperature gradually is the healthiest thing for him. Not going from inside warmth to outside cold then to a heated truck and back into the water or something like that. A good dog will die working for you. Take care of him and he will work for you for many years to come.

HRCH UH Hanks Lil Bocephus SH

[Jeff]

[quote="Bocephus1"]Yea it's not in any way healthy for a dog (or you for that matter) to undergo drastic changes in temperature. A vest is a good idea, but going from a warm bed or couch to -12.

So does that mean that we shouldn't hunt in that weather also? Dogs have a built in fur coat, and a winter coat to help with the cold. I find they do a whole lot better in the cold than the hot. Hence the reason that we have dog vests and other stuff. I still say you have nothing to worry about. If that were true about too cold, we would probably need to be gradually introduced to the cold also, however we don't do that. Also to gradually get introduced as suggested would mean you would still have to go from a warm house to a cold outside to get acclimated. So what's the difference?

[jdbuckshot]

i think the ride in the truck and the putting out decoys is enought to break them in before the hunt. my dog goes straight to her dog stand (which is carpeted) now, where as she used to go run around a check everything out! they learn, thats for sure

[5keepers]

My dog is 3 and he stays inside year around. If you hunt in MS I don't think the cold is an issue... at least it hasn't been for us. The heat is another matter on those early Sept hunts. I would be very careful to say the least. Lots of water. Human studies have been done on acclimatization and it occurs rather quickly over a period of days to a couple of weeks. My wife is a vet and and is not aware if the time frame has been looked for dogs. My buddy had a well trained dog that died during a field trial a few weeks ago. May have had a underlying heart problem but you never know.