Neoprene Vest for pointers?

I picked one up last weekend just to try it. I have never owned one before and boy does that vest keep in the body heat. I would rather have orange and a chest protector but for $25 I figured I would try it. I need to hunt him in it to see if any trimming is needed so far so good. :thumbsup:


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birdman652001 said:
kinda looks tight at the chest to neck... but the website said you can cut to shape for your dog as well.
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My main concern is in the front lower neck area. I hope it does not act like a scoop for snow and twigs.
 
I used one in SD in Nov when it was -21. It really helped, but I should have trimmed it in the front and under the leg pits. I should have made it look like a thong, it really chapped my dogs under arms. I've used neoprene vest for waterfowl on my older Lab with no problems, but the dogs aren't running around like upland. I'm going to put it back on my dog and take a magic marker and really trim the heck out of it.
 
Vest

I had a GSP some years ago. Female, 45 pounds, great hunting skills. I decided to get her a vest for waterfowl hunting although none of our dogs had had them before because she was small. My father and I took her out to a duck lake on a very cold day. Hunting was good and Maddy was retrieving all the birds because there was only one other dog there and it wouldn't swim. When the other blind, a ways away would shoot a duck, we would release her to retrieve it and she would take the duck to that blind before returning to us. Mid day, she headed out to retrieve a duck for the other blind. That put her out of voice or whistle commands but she could still see me good enough to be directed by hand signals. I got her near the duck but she did not come in like I expected her to. I left the blind and started running in her direction but by then she was chasing a duck that was swimming well. She got way out of range and we were helpless as she chased the duck farther away. After about 10 minutes, she gave up and swam to the other shore. She came running back across the dike but about half way across her legs folded up as she was running and she collapsed. We were already running toward her. When we got to her, my father handed me his gun and picked her up and started running to the car about a mile away. When I got to the car, it was running with the heater on full and my father was wrapped up in a blanket in his underwear with her. After about 20 minutes she stopped shaking and after an hour he got out with her and she was fine. I was trying to think what I would tell my wife and children. When we had gotten to her, she could barely lift her head to look at me and I thought that I would never forget the look in her eyes. I believe that without the vest she would have died. It was the best purchase decision I have ever made. I'm now shopping for a vest for my current GSP, a 57 pound boy that is my 24-7 companion. The cost of a vest is so trivial compared to the thought of losing my dog or even him being cold when he doesn't have to. When you think about going home to your children without their dog, it's not even a choice.
 
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I had one on my lab in Dec. -8 degrees, as she went through snow covered cattails with her head down snow was forced in over shoulders. Vest was a good insulator so snow melted and her hole chest was soaked. No dog can stay that wet when that cold out.
 
I have an old hodgeman brand vest (used by two dogs) and a newer cabelas vest for my young Brit. My current two Brittanys are 34# and 40# - so finding vests to fit is problematic - but not impossible. Note she is wearing the camo neoprene vest in my avatar. That hunt was a cold, snowy day ... but we were in the field and not by water.

Find a vest that fits the front end - especially around the chest. You can typically trim the neoprene material around the front leg holes to improve overall fit.

Remember that these vests add some degree of warmth, but they are not dry suits.

If the dogs is going in and out of cold water and the air temperature is cold ... you need to vigilant for signs of hypothermia. Upland dogs do not have the same "oily" coat and physical size as labs ... and even labs are susceptible.
 
Had a message to share a larger picture. Hope this works.



Rivers West Vest. Neoprene rubbed to hard on her injury late last fall. The fleece is nice way to go too.

 
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jahjah said:
I had a GSP some years ago. Female, 45 pounds, great hunting skills. I decided to get her a vest for waterfowl hunting although none of our dogs had had them before because she was small. My father and I took her out to a duck lake on a very cold day. Hunting was good and Maddy was retrieving all the birds because there was only one other dog there and it wouldn't swim. When the other blind, a ways away would shoot a duck, we would release her to retrieve it and she would take the duck to that blind before returning to us. Mid day, she headed out to retrieve a duck for the other blind. That put her out of voice or whistle commands but she could still see me good enough to be directed by hand signals. I got her near the duck but she did not come in like I expected her to. I left the blind and started running in her direction but by then she was chasing a duck that was swimming well. She got way out of range and we were helpless as she chased the duck farther away. After about 10 minutes, she gave up and swam to the other shore. She came running back across the dike but about half way across her legs folded up as she was running and she collapsed. We were already running toward her. When we got to her, my father handed me his gun and picked her up and started running to the car about a mile away. When I got to the car, it was running with the heater on full and my father was wrapped up in a blanket in his underwear with her. After about 20 minutes she stopped shaking and after an hour he got out with her and she was fine. I was trying to think what I would tell my wife and children. When we had gotten to her, she could barely lift her head to look at me and I thought that I would never forget the look in her eyes. I believe that without the vest she would have died. It was the best purchase decision I have ever made. I'm now shopping for a vest for my current GSP, a 57 pound boy that is my 24-7 companion. The cost of a vest is so trivial compared to the thought of losing my dog or even him being cold when he doesn't have to. When you think about going home to your children without their dog, it's not even a choice.
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Thanks for sharing this story!
 
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