I have a three year old black lab that I love taking duck hunting.It is starting to get cool here in Michigan (lows in the low 30's, highs in the mid 40's), and I was wondering how cold is to cold for the dog? I an going to buy him a vest so I think that might help.
Bo is correct that one needs to use a little common sense when determining what is too cold. It's going to vary with conditions water & air temp and wind.
Most dog want to please so badly and love what they're doing that they'll never refuse a retrieve. It's up to us to use good judgement.
I've hunted saltmarshes in the late season when the wind is blowing a steady 20 MPH and temp was hovering around 5 degrees under those conditions I never sent my dog but made retrieves with the boat. Just like with people working in cold and wet conditions can bring on arthritus earlier than normal so be very carefull under extreme conditions whith a young dog (under 1 1/2 years) it can bring on early arthritus by age 5 or 6 in some dogs.
Do you have the same advice for Golden's? Some people say to just watch for uncontrolable shakes. I hunt in SE Ok. and have been told that it should really never get to cold for any waterfowl dog. What do you guys think?
How cold is to cold
