Warm Weather Opener

R

ranchodeluxe

New member
Just a reminder that it's going to be warm tomorrow. Make sure your dogs have plenty of water, whenever they want it. That means carrying bottles or your Camelback. If you are a half mile from the truck when your dog overheats, he may not make it back. Don't let your ego trump (no pun intended ) your judgement. There ain't a pheasant on earth worth losing a dog over. One of the worst nights of my life was spent in a Winner motel after a 90 degree opener, listening to grown men cry. Peace and happy hunting!
 
A 20lb bag of ice in the ice chest in the truck isn't a bad idea either, along with a 5 gallon Jerry can of water.

And, as you say, water in the field. I have a small Glad plastic bowl I keep in the bird bag. I used to let them lick from water bottles but they seem to get way more into them from the bowl. It's cheap, it's light, it's somewhat crushable.

Never had much luck with the foldable nylon bowls.

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Got to 84 degrees where we were. I had not scouted and it is very dry in the area we hunted. I kenneled my dogs at 2:00 Pm. My buddies aren't as passionate about the dog thing as I am, but they understood (of course I wouldn't care if they didn't). They went to a WIA while I decided to pick up trash in the ditch. Got a thumbs-up from a rancher in a combine, about 15 minutes later his wife showed-up, thanked me and told me I am welcome to hunt from next weekend to the Prairie deer opener in mid-November! (I didn't tell her I have a deer tag for that unit, too). Got one shot at a hun, missed it and had a great day! I hope you all did, as well!
 
We had one springer in the group get in trouble today. Dog got on a flying bird and chased it across a field and the battery on collar died and no control over dog. Dog ran itself out but is doing much better tonight. Went into convulsions and whole nine yards.
 
UGUIDE said:
We had one springer in the group get in trouble today. Dog got on a flying bird and chased it across a field and the battery on collar died and no control over dog. Dog ran itself out but is doing much better tonight. Went into convulsions and whole nine yards.
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Not Cool, hopes he pulls through. :( Great thread guys . My check list is longer for my four legged hunter than myself. We're heading out this Friday and my wife has a list of Veterinarians listed in closest proximity for each area we"all be visiting. No hospitals for me , but Vets for the other girl in my life. What is so ironic of it all is she says its my dog and she could care less about her. Yeah right. When I'm away on business, the kids say Cookie is in the bed with her:rolleyes:

Come on guys make a list for the dogs
 
Poyntem said:
Not Cool, hopes he pulls through. :( Great thread guys . My check list is longer for my four legged hunter than myself. We're heading out this Friday and my wife has a list of Veterinarians listed in closest proximity for each area we"all be visiting. No hospitals for me , but Vets for the other girl in my life. What is so ironic of it all is she says its my dog and she could care less about her. Yeah right. When I'm away on business, the kids say Cookie is in the bed with her:rolleyes:

Come on guys make a list for the dogs
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I believe one of my hunters wives would not let him bring his hunting dog. Yikes:):D

ranchodeluxe has some good tips. Force water early often and always. A thermometer for checking body temp would have come in handy yesterday. fyi. check with your vet for other field kit items. probably some other good info on this sight. Close to 80 next 2 days but cool down comes mid week.
 
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This thread has sent me off reading about heat exhaustion/stroke in dogs. My youngest dog, a skinny almost white coated yellow seems to heat up pretty easily.

I found a few things I didn't know and one I knew to be careful about. Here's what struck me:

http://www.animalmedcenter.com/news...vention-and-management-of-heat-stroke-in-dogs

common nursing care protocols involve spraying the dog with cool water or immersing it in cool water; using convection cooling with fans or cooling pads; and using evaporative cooling with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol on the foot pads, under the front armpits (axilla) and on the groin or flank areas.

Dogs should not be immersed in ice or ice-cold water by untrained personnel. Cooling a hyperthermic dog too quickly can cause its blood vessels to restrict (peripheral vasoconstriction), which can impede heat dissipation.

It is also wise to monitor the dog?s rectal temperature regularly, and stop these cooling procedures once its temperature decreases to 103 F.
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I wasn't aware of the alcohol idea; a big bottle of that is going into the dog med kit. I was aware of cooling them down too quickly but I do carry ice so I can cool the water in the 5 gallon jug down. Doesn't do much good to put 90 degree water on them.

I think the idea of carrying a electronic rectal thermometer is excellent. I have one but never put it in the kit. Everything I'm reading says a temp of 103-104 is indicative of over heating; time to cool them down. It seems if it gets to 109, the dog probably won't make it.

Great thread; made me revisit a lot of stuff and repack the med kit. Thanks!
 
I wet the bottom half of my dog down before I start hunting in warm weather. This helps extend her hunting time.

A lot of people don't do this because of the threat of trapping heat in but if there's airflow I think it helps cool them down. Putting a dog in a box or kennel when wet is when you can get in trouble.
 
Good point, I have both dogs in one kennel, placed with the access door adjacent to my 4 runners left rear passenger door. They can't get out and roam the vehicle, but can stick their noses out the window. If they are really warm I roll down my driver's window and the rear hatch window and just let it blow through until they lay down.
 
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