OregonCockSlayer

Hey guys new to the forum,

Used the search feature but turned up only 1 thread which is out dated and the time suggested is only offered in SM.


Any suggestions on dog vests to aide in the prevention of "hitchhikers" and/or blackberry thrashing?

Lookin for maybe Orange and Camo reversible or orange camo?

And neoprene vs ....?

TIA

mrbb

OK< MY 2 cents
I am NOT a fan of vests on dogs for upland game, and my reasons are this, over the yrs I have seen far too many vest end up causing more issue's and even injuries than one's without them
sticks and things get ram'd in under them, (one dog needed stitches from being jabbed when a stick got caught under it and it tried to push thru, far from no where a scary deal to see)
I have seen them get stuck to fences and in briar's too

so they seem to do both good and bad help at times

I personally won't use them unless in water hunting where they can help in both flotation and heat retention

the better advice I can offer is on long haired dogs, trim the hair under there arm pit's,
as this is where I see most get torn up from things sticking and balling up hair and such and eventually tearing the dogs up, or rubbing them raw, making it painful on them to keep going!

carrying a portable grooming kit helps here, also a first aid kit(never go on hunts without one in the truck and tend to carry certain items on me when I hunt with dogs any more!

basic grooming every day, and a good once over to find issue's both at end of day and randomly in the field , seems like a better plan than a vest

sorry if NOT want your asking for, just offering a different view to think about?
Safe hunting to you and your dog/'s

MudderChuck

We get our dogs together and Hunt the thickets and hedges once a year. Basically the various lease holders do a round robin invitational. Most every weekend in the fall someone is hosting a hunt. Mostly Hare, Rabbit, Pheasant and Fox, occasionally Hogs.

We often have 20-30 dogs. Nobody puts a vest on their dog unless we are Duck hunting. Most everybody has break away reflective collars and/or break away Flea and Tick Collars.

The reason being, if they take out after a Deer (which they are trained not to do, but stuff happens) they may get hung up by their vest or collar and you may have no idea where to start looking for them.

Years ago one hunter lost his dog this way, eventually found it weeks later, hung up by it's collar, dead. The break away collars don't come off that easy, my dog loses his about every other hunt.

Most Dogs avoid Blackberry thickets or thorny bushes (somewhat), except when they are in hot pursuit. Stuff happens, the up side is they seldom injure their eyes. We pulled a four inch stick out of the chest of my Daughters GSP. Running through a barbed wire fence in hot pursuit, has torn up many dogs.

Brushing or combing your dog after a hunt and/or a bath is a must. My finger tips are sensitive (and years of practice), I rub down (massage) the whole dog with my finger tips, I can pick out 90+ percent of the Ticks. Personally I'll never own another long haired dog.

One Shot works OK, Bayer Tick and Flea collars work best for me. Be careful not to overdose your dog on Flea and Tick stuff, it can happen, they go into convulsions.

If you do decide to put a vest on your dog, find one that doesn't trap a lot of heat. Even near freezing, working Dogs often over heat.

Oldtimr

I bought a vest for my current setter when she was one year old. I put it on her and she wouldn't move, she was not going to walk around with it on so I took it off and didn't look back. I can see where a dog with a vest coud get hung up on a fence or thick thorny brush.

JW

I use a Quick Spot vest but it offers no protection to briars.
Use purely because my dogs are dark.
Some dogs just don't have the proper coat to hunt briars. I a k ways look at the chest and leading front leg edges as that is what takes the beating.
I also stay away from full body vests or chest protectors. Put on a dog and its a poor fit high desire dog will wear sore spots shortly you'll pay for later.

The Quick spot vest is nothing more than a highly visible flap attached at the collar and an elastic belly strap. The covering rides on the back.


JW

Berserker

As for the stick between, the vest and dog, the stick was already pretty close to the dog, regardess of the vest.

Mine don't have them. But I know people that do.

mrbb

yes the stick would have been close, but not getting trapped in the vest it most likely would have been pushed off and NOT into the dogs stomach as it was, as it had NO where to go and the vest GUIDED it like an arrow into it!

I have seen a few dogs get injured lumping into water on high charged run in,s and underwater objects, NOT wearing a vest!
so yes it can still happen when a vest isn't worn

I am also NOT a fan of dogs charging in in huge leaps into water due to this reason
My lab recovered a LOT of ducks and geese(even more upland game birds) and was trained to NOT go full bore into waters
that stuff is great for TV and controlled testing and the likes, but again IMO< its a dangerous thing for a real working dog to be doing!
MY 2 cents

Berserker

I have no clue, I was not there. But dog running, gets implaed by big stick pointing at dog.

Maybe so uniue chance run ins where it makes a difference. But eithe way its pointed at the dog.

Without the 1/4" of fabric, it would have passed by? It was under the fabric.



Did have a dog gets its chest tore up. Now have staple gun, but don't have it with us.



Cops should not wear bullet proof vest, rather let bullet go on by.

mrbb

pro's and con's pro's all things
so to each there own!
as for cops and vests and bullets
well 22's tend to go thru vest as do ALL center fire rifle calibers, unless there wearing a special plate and even then, the SHOCK trauma can kill even if the bullet doesn;t go thru!
and well, since were talking about DOG vest running thru weeds sticks and such, and a cop, well, seldom does this, its NOT a real comparison by any means
if I was a cop, I'd wear a vest and takes it draw backs(weight bulks, loss of movement and general discomfort.
I sold vest to police and like agency's for many yrs, so I do have and know a little about them!!

Pepper79

New to upland hunting with a 41lb 7mo/old GSP in SE WI.

On recommendation from my breeder I got her the SKID PLATE from MENDOTA PRODUCTS because the first time I took her out her belly got completely trashed by the brush. She broke out in crazy rashes. Put the "skid plate" on her and haven't seen the "road rash" since. The nice thing is the blaze orange helps me keep an eye on her in the thickets and underbrush that she's working.

May not be for everyone and I haven't seen other dogs out by me with them on but screw it. It works for us and I could care less what other dudes think. Especially the ones with dogs that are completely untrained.