Dog vest ideas?

I have always had labs and never felt the need for using vests in extreme cold and rough conditions. My son picked the last dog which is actually a Lab/Shorthair mix. great dog but seems to shiver a lot, I think it is more anxiety than cold. When hunting seems to be no need for vest.
Hunted with English pointer years ago, they seemed like they would have benefitted from vests and boots as it was icy, cold and we were hunting some cat tail marshes where the birds were hold up. I do like those Filson chest protectors.

Ugly Dog, what part of Iowa you from?
 
I have always had labs and never felt the need for using vests in extreme cold and rough conditions. My son picked the last dog which is actually a Lab/Shorthair mix. great dog but seems to shiver a lot, I think it is more anxiety than cold. When hunting seems to be no need for vest.
Hunted with English pointer years ago, they seemed like they would have benefitted from vests and boots as it was icy, cold and we were hunting some cat tail marshes where the birds were hold up. I do like those Filson chest protectors.

Ugly Dog, what part of Iowa you from?
South central
 
Another vote for the chest protector. I got a skid plate from cabelas back in 2015 for my beagle lab mix. Hes short and stumpy so the added protection really helped his chest. Bought another one for our gsp who has since passed, but it will go on our wirehair pup as soon as she fills in and up a little more. They are faded, but otherwise like new. Would definitely recommend.
 

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That looks like the Sylmar vest mentioned by Toneloc. I ordered one last night to try out. Il keep you posted on what I think.
 
I run my GSP in that vest to keep from getting her shot. I don't hunt when temps are above 60. I also have just a chest vest look up stone creek hounds. It's heavy duty but just straps on the side.

Who are you worried about shooting your dog?
I wish I had the luxury of not have hunted my Brittany in certain temps and with certain clients.
He retired at 6 years old with some bird shot in him. Most of it was from clients shooting the truck box after I had visually showed them the location and told them not to swing. Some from them shooting low after I told them not to shoot. He's healthy and enjoying retirement but working dogs have their stories.
He loved every minute and he still hunts but rather than 150+ days a year it's 30+ days a year.
 
I did get one but it was too large and was not able to get the correct size at the time when I returned it. They tried to get one but said they were not able too at the time. That was last year. It also thought neoprene portion seemed a little heavy for the dog I have now with her coat. All in all it was better than a lot of them I looked at and really liked the orange on it for visibility which is big selling point for me.
 
my sons girlfriend got our dog an Ugly Christmas Sweater but I wont let anybody see her in it!
I am going to look at that one at Scheels, doesn't look bad.
 
Just an FYI , be careful and vigilant if you run a vest with leg holes, like the Scheels model. Most likely the holes are too small and will rub your dog raw in the armpit area. They will never complain and just keep hunting but it has to hurt!!!.
I used to run vests for visibility, so I could see the dog easier in dark woods or fields. I don't use them much anymore, in fact, almost never.
I had custom made hog vests, some made by a local tailor to my design.
For visibility the ones that go over the back but just have a neck strap and belly strap worked the best:
For cold protection I found the Riverwest vest the nicest:
For chest/belly protection I like the skid plate type:
I run German Shorthairs and they are very narrow between the front legs so I usually had to alter the skid plate vests so they didn't rub them raw.

Good luck in your ventures.
 
I picked up two vest recently the one that works great for Warmer days is a cooling vest. I picked it up at Duluth trading company for $20.00. Not much protection but does help greatly with the visibility and does help keep the burrs out of her coat. It's been on about. Dozen hunts and as many runs, so far and is holding up well.
 

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My smaller GSP wears a ballistic vest. It is super lightweight and really effective. She has to wear one because her teets will swell up the size of grape tomatoes running in tall stubble or chasing mountain grouse.

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I can crunch it up and stuff it in game pouch on my vest. About the size of a softball.
 
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