Dog Vests

[wadersneyes]

First time dog owner here. I have a 8 mo. old black lab and have seen and heard of these neopreme vests. Are they a good idea? Or is it like shooting a single shot compared to an automatic. Not necessary.

[duckbuster]

I would say it's a personal decision. Each dog is different. I have a 12 1/2 year old blk female who's been thru ice for me. No problems with stiffness of anything like that. My brother-in-law has a 4 year old yellow female who just doesn't like cold water. Infact when we get back to the shack she curls up in a ball right in front of the stove, I mean like 6" from it. The later you hunt maybe think about it. One other thing to think about, It's not the water temp. so much, it's the time the dog spends out of the water after the retrive that gets them. Try to wipe your dog down a little bit periodically. GOOD LUCK and GOOD HUNTING

[Guest]

The only reason I use a vest is to camoflauge my dog. She is a white lab and kinda tough to hide. I have even gone as far as putting face paint on her.
I have noticed she swims a bit slower with it on.
I also think it depends on if the dog is an outside dog or inside dog. A outside dog might be more used to the cold.

[Fisher Dave]

My lab is an indoor dog. I use the vest on the dog because it does keep him warmer. Its not too bad when the temps are up a little and the water isnt freezing cold .. but when its cold and the water temps are way down the dog gets the shivers pretty good without the vest... especially wen theres nothing to retrieve for a while. I have cut more than 1 trip short because of cold concerns with the dog. The vest doesnt seem to affect the performance of the dog and it obviously keeps him considerably warmer .. at times you can see steam come out of the collar.

$30 is nothing to me to help assure the health of my dog in the field. As others posted the camo helps hide the dog too. I guess I feel better knowing the dog is more comfortable.

[MNice]

I just bought one at cabelas outlet for $13.00. I have a springer and the main reason I got it is to reduce the amount of time in picking off burr's and it just helps keep her clean.

[bigdog]

I have used vests for all of my labs for as long as I can remember. They do a good job of keeping the dog warm and dry, protect the nipples on females from brush and ice, and they also keep the coat clean of mud and burr's. I use the 5mm vests, mostly from Cabela's, a lot of the others have gone to 3mm which isn't as warm or as tough. Cabela's has a hardwoods camo in the bargin cave for about $15 on-line, I picked up a spare yesterday.

[Guest]

It's a necessity for all duck dogs, IMHO. It is amazing how dry and warm it keeps my dog, even this weekend when he was retrieving through 1/2" ice. That water is darn cold, and he stayed warm with the vest. It also keeps him bone dry on the upper half of his body. At one point he was panting, so that makes me feel more comfortable knowing he's not going to freeze to death.

[Finlander]

I check my labs body temp by putting my hand inside her vest and am always amazed as to how warm she is inside the vest!
Get the best one you can afford.
Also check to see that your dog does'nt get any chaffing as the result of the vest rubbing against the legs after the days end!
Keep it off when field hunting for that reason!

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F-STOP

[wadersneyes]

Thanks for all the information. Many tips that I had not thought of. I am picking up a vest asap. Good Hunting.........

[Guest]

I also think vests are the way to go. My dog is an outside dog and has a somewhat heavy coat, but the vest seams to still make a big difference. I also use the vest to pull her out of the water and into the boat. I don't like to have a collar on her while we are hunting (I'm always afraid it will get hung up on something). The vest acts like a harness to grab hold of.

Good luck!

[Duffman]

Not only do the vests keep the dogs warm, camoflaged and burrs to a minimum but they provide extra flotation. Well worth the money spent to keep your dog comfortable and hunting all day long.

[MNice]

Duffman, I'm going to have my sister scan a picture of my new springer, "millie" with her first bird and mail to you guy's.

Make's a dad proud