Our season is winding down, and for about the 20th th year in a row I've hunted in far more days where heat, not cold, was a bigger factor in tems of dog management. This is unusual where I'm from. Typically we have some warm days in October but things cool off quickly. Not so for the last several years. I'm not looking to debate anything around climate change - Hopefully posting this message will jinx everything and we'll go back to pre-drought/heatwave times! But....all of this has me thinking about switching to a more heat-tolerant breed aka a pointer or a brit. My current dogs do ok up to around 55/60 deg and then we really have to baby them along with frequent stops and lots of water. Just curious if I was the only one thinking along these lines. I could always put a vest on the dog in the cold, but the reverse isn't true. Thoughts?
Climate change and breed selection
- Thread starter Abbeyroad
- Start date
Quailnerd
Well-known member
I’m from the south and heat is an issue most of the season. I’ve hunted behind just about every common dog breed on the market. When you get temps above 60 especially with low humidity it takes a toll on any dog in the field. My advice is own a dog you enjoy! Do pointers tolerate the heat better than most, maybe. But with temps close to 70 you can kill a hard running pointer just like any other dog. If your serious about your trade maybe add a dog or two so you can trade out through the course of the day. That was my fix to the same problem!
Munster927
Well-known member
I don't know of any dog breed that can handle hunting in high heat better than others. I mean generally speaking, a thinner haired dog will handle it better than a long haired, thick coated dog. But heat is hell on dogs even if you shaved them down to bare skin.