Dog Armor

[LuciandTim]

I was wondering if anyone out there has their dog wear any protective gear while in the field. I learned on my last outing that dogs do get hurt and if it was a seriuous injury it could jepordize a season or a few weeks. I have seen protective vest's that offer protection to the chest area and I have also seen the boots. It seems kinda silly to put this stuff on dogs but I kinda wish she had the boots on last wednesday becasue I would have been hunting this weekend and not changing wound dressings on her foot! Oh well..Just looking for others opinions. Thanks, Tim

[jigglestick]

i have a female pointer, and she would look like she went through a meat grinder after three days of hunting.

i have a blaze orange nylon vest that she wears when we go now. it saves her titties big time, and itr makes her more slippery when cruisin through the grass. for the right colored dog, it helps to spot them. i do not use the booties, but i think if you could keep them on, they would work good in snow/ice conditions, to keep the pads from packing with ice.

another trick that helps, is vaseline on the eyebrows, and while your there a dab on the snout right by the nose. it helps for a little while and she doesn't get so cut up.

one more tip, when hunting any dog, especialy older dogs, i do give buffered aspirin, in the morning, and at night. also, you would not believe how much a twenty minute massage will help your dog. mine is eleven and a half. if i had another dog ready to go, she probably would have not, but after three days, with these precautions, she was still ready to go, and had more energy than i did the whole time.

the best part is that this dog is my son's dog. this is the first time he has been able to pheasant hunt with her. it was my hope to see her lock up, and flush a rooster for him to shoot, and then finish with the retrieve.

she locked up several times, but only hens. my son did shoot his first rooster, and then some, but if she cant hunt next year, he did finaly see what she can do, and he will remember that all his life. he's happy, and so am i.

have a good hunt!

[bigdog]

One of my dogs was pretty thin on chest hair and used to get pretty raw so we used a Cordura "Skid plate" chest protector from Cabelas. Worked great. Also use neoprene vests whenever it is below freezing and almost always when duck hunting. Helps keep them clean in addition to protection and warmth. Use dog boots if the feet start to show any wear or sores. I use the ones from dogbooties.com, inexpensive and they stay on with the elastic velcro strap.

[Brittboy]

I use a Tummy Saver ... got it from Ugglydoghunting.com. It stays on well...and it's not too spendy. My Britt's chest was getting raw from hunting and this certainly helped....plus it helps make her more visible to my hunting partners ... two in one protection!

[GoodToGo]

Has anyone seen neoprene vests that are designed for pointers? Big chest, skinny waist. Seems like the ones out there are more lab oriented and don't fit the best for my GWP.