Bird dogs

[sierracharlie338]

SierraC That lost shot on the sofa his profile and coloring looks like my almost 2 yr old Chocolate.

Yeah she gets called a lab all the time. Then the follow it up with "why'd you bob her tail"

 

[trappererick]

I have a DD, GSP, and a Braque Francais. The little Braque was the easiest to train and my best grouse dog by far out of the bunch. He has retrieved ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, grouse, and woodcock with hardly an issue. In the house he is a velcro dog.

My DD is one smart sob and relentless in the woods and waters. He is fur sharp and has killed many small furry creatures including skunks. He has a great nose and can trail like no ones business. He once chased a moose in a very large circle right on top of me and my GSP. Very exciting for a short time. He is my buddy dog and goes everywhere in the truck with me and is very well behaved in the house.

My GSP was my first dog and taught me much more than I ever taught him. He is going on 13 now and I could only hunt him a few times this year because of a bad hip and arthritis in his front hocks. He is loyal to a fault and other than his barking at every loud muffler that goes by he is a great dog. He has pointed many hundreds of woodcock and grouse over the years and never leaves my daughters side when he is home.

 

[just_jon]

My 15 1/2 year old springer (Kaycee) took her last ride on 8/29/22. I've owned springers since 1977 and she was far away the best dog I've owned and had the pleasure of hunting over in my 65 years. Tough to see her go and be down to a one dog household, so the next day I started contacting breeders about 2023 planned breedings. I learned about a 10 week old puppy that had just been returned to the breeder because the owner had suffered a stroke. After researching the blood line, I decided to go for it. He's a hand full as most field bred springers are in their first year, but I think he has a ton of potential.

 

[dciron]

I have a DD, GSP, and a Braque Francais. The little Braque was the easiest to train and my best grouse dog by far out of the bunch. He has retrieved ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, grouse, and woodcock with hardly an issue. In the house he is a velcro dog.

View attachment 420294

My DD is one smart sob and relentless in the woods and waters. He is fur sharp and has killed many small furry creatures including skunks. He has a great nose and can trail like no ones business. He once chased a moose in a very large circle right on top of me and my GSP. Very exciting for a short time. He is my buddy dog and goes everywhere in the truck with me and is very well behaved in the house.

View attachment 420295

My GSP was my first dog and taught me much more than I ever taught him. He is going on 13 now and I could only hunt him a few times this year because of a bad hip and arthritis in his front hocks. He is loyal to a fault and other than his barking at every loud muffler that goes by he is a great dog. He has pointed many hundreds of woodcock and grouse over the years and never leaves my daughters side when he is home.

View attachment 420299

Fantastic brace of dogs.

 

[tops911]

This is Tara, a teckel (wirehair dachshund) with an elk she tracked for a hunter. Elk was shot on a Saturday and we tracked on a Tuesday. Spoiled of course and bears had been checking it out. She comes on some bird hunts with the Drahthaars, but she has learned when they point there is something there and she rushes in for the flush and try as hard as I can I can't out run her LOL

 

[Deleted member 107666]

Sidebar...but what vests are you shorthair owners using for cold winter? I've got a carhartt neoprene for my pup when he's in cover, protects the chest well, but I'm looking for something for deep freeze type days he's not hunting but just outside hanging out...he gets visibly cold/shakes but doesn't always want to come in.

 

[trappererick]

To be honest I don't put a vest on my dogs anymore as I found that they caused rubbing issues. My boys, even the short haired Braque have never had an issue. I do dry them off best I can when we get in the truck, but they seem to be able to handle the cold and snow for much longer than I am.

If I were going to try a vest i think neoprene would be the way to go.

 

[Deleted member 107666]

To be honest I don't put a vest on my dogs anymore as I found that they caused rubbing issues. My boys, even the short haired Braque have never had an issue. I do dry them off best I can when we get in the truck, but they seem to be able to handle the cold and snow for much longer than I am.

If I were going to try a vest i think neoprene would be the way to go.

This isn't for hunting...his neoprene is for the extra cold days and extra protection in the field...it was easy to trim out around his legs to avoid rubbing.

This question is more about just a warm vest for those extra cold winter days when he's not active but still wants to be outside. The neoprene is a pain for my wife to put on and off, looking for something easy lile a dog coat or vest...Google tells me the Filson dog vest would work pretty easily, but not available right now in his size...

Not to hijack the cool dog thread, hopefully applicable to other bird dog owners...

 

[Firedad]

When I was in Sierra Trading Post a couple days ago they had a few fleece lined. They may have been Patagonia I can't remember but weren't too expensive like you'd think.

 

[Montana'eer]

This isn't for hunting...his neoprene is for the extra cold days and extra protection in the field...it was easy to trim out around his legs to avoid rubbing.

This question is more about just a warm vest for those extra cold winter days when he's not active but still wants to be outside. The neoprene is a pain for my wife to put on and off, looking for something easy lile a dog coat or vest...Google tells me the Filson dog vest would work pretty easily, but not available right now in his size...

Not to hijack the cool dog thread, hopefully applicable to other bird dog owners...

My oldest GSP girl really likes her Ruffwear fleece/blanket vest. We've had it about 5 years. It's not for hunting just for everyday cold weather wear. She's older and not quite as active, so she get's this in the winter. She actually wags her tail when I bring it out. It's -15 right now, she loves it when going outside. Plus it's stupid easy to put on.

From today-

Kinda like this one.

Hemp Hound™ Dog Sweater | Ruffwear

The Hemp Hound everyday knit sweater taps into the natural durability, breathability, and odor-resistance of hemp for warmth from town to trail in dry conditions on clear, cold days. The open cap-sleeve construction and full-length zipper work in tandem to not only capture core warmth, but also...

ruffwear.com

 

[Deleted member 107666]

My oldest GSP girl really likes her Ruffwear fleece/blanket vest. We've had it about 5 years. It's not for hunting just for everyday cold weather wear. She's older and not quite as active, so she get's this in the winter. She actually wags her tail when I bring it out. It's -15 right now, she loves it when going outside. Plus it's stupid easy to put on.

From today-

Kinda like this one.

Hemp Hound™ Dog Sweater | Ruffwear

The Hemp Hound everyday knit sweater taps into the natural durability, breathability, and odor-resistance of hemp for warmth from town to trail in dry conditions on clear, cold days. The open cap-sleeve construction and full-length zipper work in tandem to not only capture core warmth, but also...

ruffwear.com

That's perfect...looks easy on/off too, thanks!

 

[idcwby]

To be honest I don't put a vest on my dogs anymore as I found that they caused rubbing issues. My boys, even the short haired Braque have never had an issue. I do dry them off best I can when we get in the truck, but they seem to be able to handle the cold and snow for much longer than I am.

If I were going to try a vest i think neoprene would be the way to go.

How cold of temps have you had the short haired dogs in?

 

[Montana'eer]

How cold of temps have you had the short haired dogs in?

I don't know about him, but my GSP's can do a few hours in single digit to zero. Any colder and frankly I can't hack it.

My wife and I were hunting pheasants (last day) a few years ago and it was about zero.

Our dogs are pretty conditioned, and when they are working they don't really get cold. Just keep 'em pumped with calories. About 20 years ago back when I lived in WV, I had a Basenji that was a really good rabbit/squirrel dog. Now being a breed from African Congo, if I tried to get her to go hunt in anything colder than 40deg, she'd look at me and say "F-you".

This was her normal winter sleeping spot- under the woodstove while it was ripping away, lol.

 

[idcwby]

I don't know about him, but my GSP's can do a few hours in single digit to zero. Any colder and frankly I can't hack it.

My wife and I were hunting pheasants (last day) a few years ago and it was about zero.

Our dogs are pretty conditioned, and when they are working they don't really get cold. Just keep 'em pumped with calories. About 20 years ago back when I lived in WV, I had a Basenji that was a really good rabbit/squirrel dog. Now being a breed from African Congo, if I tried to get her to go hunt in anything colder than 40deg, she'd look at me and say "F-you".

This was her normal winter sleeping spot- under the woodstove while it was ripping away, lol.

My GSP has been doing good in the cold, I've had him out quite a bit in it, never paid attention to temperature to much in previous years. This last weekend though we went out, the pickup said it was 10* when started hunting, and I think he may have got some frostbite on his ballsack. I'm not sure if it's a combo scrape with the cold, but it was bleeding decent. No signs anywhere else that he had frostbite. Ive never been around a dog that had gotten it, so I'm not sure. So, I'm curious what cold temps everyone else has been hunting them in.