How cold is too cold for hunting waterfowl?

[mastercaster]

With this cold snap upon us now I was wondering how cold is too cold for a furry friends doing water retrieves? I figure labs, goldens and chessies can handle colder water than versatiles like griffs and other wirehairs. My griff doesn't have much belly hair. lol

She does wear a 5mm neoprene vest but I've got to figure that -14 which is about 7 degrees F, compounded by wind chill, has got to freeze the fur on the dog when it's out of the water. Would hate to see a dog get hypothermia.

[Big Lew]

I used to hunt ducks above the Harrison River Bridge with my first lab when the only open water
was the fast moving river itself. I carried an old sleeping bag in my pack to wrap him up in immediately
after each time he plunged in to retrieve a bird. He had the advantage of his inner fur which didn't
seem to get soaked like his outer layer. His wet outer layer would freeze white right away once he came
out of the water. My worry was for his feet, legs, and underbelly...especially when sitting waiting for birds.

[labguy]

It really depends on the dog. Some handle cold/wet better than others.

That said, you Lower mainlanders have a different idea of what cold is compared to those of us who live in the interior.

I’ve hunted in minus 20 to minus 30 when the only open water was at the mouth of a creek coming into a frozen lake. That Lab would charge out breaking ice to make the retrieve and when he hit the shore after 1 or 2 minutes would turn solid white as the water froze on him......still wagging his tail and ready for more. This was all before neoprene vests were available. He never seemed to be bothered by it.

Other Labs I’ve had would never be able to stand up to that type of cold.

Know your dog, know his limitations and hunt accordingly. Be smart about it because dogs do get hypothermic so know the signs and be prepared to act quickly.

One thing for sure is a dog who is kept in the house will have a far lower tolerance to cold than one who acclimatized from being kenneled outside.

There is no single lowest temperature for all dogs. Wind plays a huge factor in how much cold a dog can tolerate.

[Foxton Gundogs]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ end of story.

[mastercaster]

Had someone post this on my facebook WPG dog site. I wonder how accurate it is.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Like LG says there is no set scale for cold and dogs, my Spaniels and Goldens used to stay out all day at -20 they had shelters but rarely used them that being said they acclimatized themselves through fall and early winter.

[mastercaster]

Like LG says there is no set scale for cold and dogs, my Spaniels and Goldens used to stay out all day at -20 they had shelters but rarely used them that being said they acclimatized themselves through fall and early winter.

I would have to think the biggest factor in terms of whether it was safe or not would be if water was involved. If it was a field shoot there wouldn't be any sheet water at all,,,,it would all be frozen as opposed to an over the water shoot where the dogs need to go into water for almost every downed bird, and then their fur would get frozen from the extreme cold and wind chill.

I'm not particularly worried about temps down to -6 or so,,,,,it's those temps. down to -15 when there is a wind making it feel like it's -25.

[labguy]

I would have to think the biggest factor in terms of whether it was safe or not would be if water was involved. If it was a field shoot there wouldn't be any sheet water at all,,,,it would all be frozen as opposed to an over the water shoot where the dogs need to go into water for almost every downed bird, and then their fur would get frozen from the extreme cold and wind chill.

I'm not particularly worried about temps down to -6 or so,,,,,it's those temps. down to -15 when there is a wind making it feel like it's -25.

If your only hunting fields, I wouldn’t be at all concerned, with any hunting type dog no matter what the temps went down too.....especially in the lower mainland.

Seriously, you boys down there are living in a fantasy land compared to the “real” world.

[mastercaster]

If your only hunting fields, I wouldn’t be at all concerned, with any hunting type dog no matter what the temps went down too.....especially in the lower mainland.

Seriously, you boys down there are living in a fantasy land compared to the “real” world.

Haha,,,,yup, pretty much. I'm not concerned about the field hunting at all, it's the water retrieves in the -14 weather combined with a 15+ km. wind that has me questioning how my house living, bare belly griff would do. LOL

[deltawaterfowler]

Haha,,,,yup, pretty much. I'm not concerned about the field hunting at all, it's the water retrieves in the -14 weather combined with a 15+ km. wind that has me questioning how my house living, bare belly griff would do. LOL

For what it's worth, I think this cold snap should be gone by the weekend. Supposed to see highs of 10 degrees. Much nicer than the -10 it was this morning!