How cold is too cold for a GSP chasing pheasant?

A

Ain't Whistlin' Dixie

New member
I have owned GSP's for a very long time. I have hunted both waterfowl and upland in freezing weather with my current GSP and she does great. We take extra care when water retrieving in the cold and make sure she can get warm again.

However, I was curious if anyone had thoughts about the coldest weather you could UPLAND hunt with a GSP. I have Lewis dog boots I put on here when needed (mostly for the sand burrs) and she wears a chest protector (highly recommended by the way, learned that lesson with a 5" stick in Dixie's chest). I have no problem in the 20's or even teens.

Any thoughts on temperature limits for a GSP? With our without a coat/vest?

Please note, I understand it depends on each dog, what they can tolerate, the wind chill factor and whether or not the dog is wearing something to keep them warm. I am just looking for suggestions on general guidelines.

Personally, my limit is single digits with short drives and time to warm up in between.
 
Shorthairs for 25 plus years here too.
If it is much under 10 degrees F I usually don't take my dogs out. If it sunny, and not windy I might go into the woods. And, limit the time to maybe an hour.
 
This is especially true with intact male dogs. We hunted hard last year. Time to breed him came around...........and he had a whole 6 sperm in the dish! I literally froze his balls off.
So now, he is on the bench while we have a bitch in to breed. Sucks having to run the second stringers......
 
dvmweb said:
Shorthairs for 25 plus years here too.
If it is much under 10 degrees F I usually don't take my dogs out. If it sunny, and not windy I might go into the woods. And, limit the time to maybe an hour.
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That is close to where I am at. As long as I keep my drives short enough and we can prevent getting her chilled to the bone and have a place to keep warm, I will still work Dixie.


Thanks for the replies guys
 
mstand said:
This is especially true with intact male dogs. We hunted hard last year. Time to breed him came around...........and he had a whole 6 sperm in the dish! I literally froze his balls off.
So now, he is on the bench while we have a bitch in to breed. Sucks having to run the second stringers......
Click to expand...

HA! (sorry, poor dog). That is not the first time I have heard a low count from frigid temps. I have only had females, my folks run males but do not breed so it was never an issue.
 
I have routinely ran my female GSP in -10 to -20 weather with no issues. She has really well conditioned paws thanks to being a running companion to my wife throughout the year so I don't mess with dog boots.

I do put a jacket on her. The Rivers West H2P vest.

I have an SUV so she rides inside with lots of warm blankets in her kennel.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Being a native Michigander now in Colorado, I find my cold tolerance can sometimes be above my dogs. I also just started using tuf-foot on a recommendation to toughen Dixie's paws up. That being said, about half the fields out here have cacti or sand burrs that really require some good dog boots. The first 2 inch cactus sticker I pulled out of her paw was enough to for me to get boots.

Heading out tomorrow and the temp will be in the teens. Hopefully we can all stay warm!
 
I've hunted my Brittanys in sub-zero temps without any problems. As long as they are moving they will be fine. I have an SUV so if they get damp from the snow I can get them in and warmed up.
 
low temp

have run gsp for years, never had a temp prob. think it is a little harder on them, maybe a little shorter day is all and a heated cab

cheers
 
Nor,
Are you happy with the Rivers West vest? It looks good, but I never found a vest that did not rub my shorthair so usually just go without one.
 
PcolaGSP said:
Nor,
Are you happy with the Rivers West vest? It looks good, but I never found a vest that did not rub my shorthair so usually just go without one.
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Yeah, I've experienced the same. the problem is that there are generally only a few sizes e.g. (sm, med, lrg) and your dog might need something in the middle of two of those sizes, so ideal fit is not always possible.
 
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