Too Cold for dogs?

[skiftcky]

Here in Kansas we had negative and single digit temps which made for good hunting on the river. I did not take my dog out thinking it may be too cold for him to be wet outside of the water. What is a good temperature cutoff point for your dog? When is it too cold for him?

P.S.
while hunting without my dog and retreiving a duck, even though the deepest point was belly deep I thought it would be nice to take a swim in 8 degree weather.(I slipped and fell) it was about 1/4 mile to the nearest road and 1/2 mile to the truck. I went to the road and some passers by offered me the heat of their car while my buddies went back to get the truck. Thanks go out to all of them as I thought I was not going to make it. Either way, I can look back and laugh at the story now. Specially as my head went under and all I could think about was "is this how my dog feels in here?"

[dalee1002000]

Hi,

Depends on the breed of dog and if they can move around or need to be still.

I've seen big Chessies that weren't happy until they could be swimming in sub-zero weather. On the other hand, my Springers are done duck hunting for me when the temps drop into the low to mid 30F's. But a dip in the water at zero doesn't bother them in the least if they can run to keep warm.

So it really depends. But my rule is if I'm concerned about it, the dogs stay home. And if I do take them out, I watch them and I take note of how they are preforming and feeling. I have no trouble ending a hunt because my dogs come first.

dale

[skiftcky]

Thats how I see it. Dogs will do what it takes to make their hunter happy even if it means going beyond their capability to withstand the elements. This I know and I do not want to hurt my dog or make him do anything that will cause him discomfort beyond a bit of a work out. The way I see it is if I take care of him now he will take care of me for years to come.

[Jimmy S]

Originally Posted by skiftcky

Thats how I see it. Dogs will do what it takes to make their hunter happy even if it means going beyond their capability to withstand the elements. This I know and I do not want to hurt my dog or make him do anything that will cause him discomfort beyond a bit of a work out. The way I see it is if I take care of him now he will take care of me for years to come.

Words to live by - very well said skiftcky!