re: How cold is to cold for a lab?

Hunted mine yesterday AM and this AM. Yesterday we were standing in water all AM without a vest on and did fine, picked up 20+ birds, he was very happy to get back to the truck to get in his kennel, I let him in the camp when we got back and he slept all day. This AM was colder, ice formed on him after retrieves and I could see he was very cold, but it didn't stop him. I have the dog to do a job and that being said in my opinion it will never get to cold for me to hunt him. I do always feed him prior to the hunt so he has extra calories for all he will burn in the cold and I think I will get him a vest

I don't have one at the moment but I always worried more about the heat at beginning of dove season than the cold during duck season. If I was in the cold he was too and wouldn't have it any other way.

FTR many times ppl think their dog is shivering they are just shaking from how excited they are to hunt. Hard to know which is which though


Dogs are unbelievably tough but I wouldn't push mine much. Key is keeping them out of the water and having a chance to dry some

I mean I don't know that they need to sleep outside but a lab can usually handle some bitter cold hunting temps as long as you can get them up and out of the water. Hypothermia is still possible for a dog if they have no opportunity to dry off and warm up.

quote:

---

If you want to pussify you fricking dog then put that sumbitch in bed you and spoon with motherfricker for all I care.

---

Dang baw lol

We hunted sat morning here in East TX with temp of 12 degrees And windchill of 2. My buddies 40 lb chocolate lab had a vest and sat out on the bank with us as we hunted and retrieved birds after the shooting was done (first 30 min). She didnt mind walking on top of the 1/4" thick ice or breaking through the surface and swimming to get the ducks. Unfortunately, she did not have the size or strength to climb up onto the ice from the water or to break the sheets in front of her when she was swimming. Had to leave mallards dead on the ice in middle of lake with no safe way to retrieve them. On the ride back she had the option of sitting down on the floor board of the polaris out of the wind infront of the engine compartment where the heat vents but chose to sit on the seat and hang her head out the side facing into the wind. So, I suppose she handled the cold ok. When we got back to the truck it was still 13.


She sleeps outside in a small wooden kennel on the ground with some hay in it and has a companion mutt that shares the space.

43 yrs old huh? From your responses I'd have put you at around 15.
Go get em tiger.

Might be a reason at 43 he's had 5 labs.

My yellow lab curls up in a ball in 50 degrees much less 12

Yep, you voted for Hillary.