Dog coat

Mat

Well-Known Member
What does anyone use if anything?

My dog gets cold whilst sat under high seats for long periods, especially when it's raining, any suggestions?

Cheers,
Mat
 
Yeah, my lab has hated any jacket I've ever tried on him, still it'd be better than freezing his nuts off (if he still had them).
 
Leave the dog home or in the car.
As much as I like dogs, I can see no advantage of having a dog under a highseat or even stalking with you. Motionless under a highseat is cold for the dog and he's always at deer "height". There will always be dogscent, where you don't need it.
Every experienced "tracker" will tell you that the worst thing you can do is , start tracking wounded game to soon. A few hours should be waited to give the game the time to settle in his "wundbett". A wounded deer/boar which is disturbed to soon gets up and can run for miles. Which highseat is more than a few hours from the car?
 
Leaving a deer dog at home defeats the object of having a dog for me. Many folk stalk away from home, me especially, so a dog at home would be about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Stalking Sika in particular, these beasts often run to the shot and can show little effect when hit.I hate to think how many deer I would have lost with clients if I did not have my dog there. I also think it makes little difference to the deer if the dog is laying under a high seat. Never stopped deer coming out for me. I for one would not go out stalking or take clients out without my dog.

Plus he is a good companion in the field :D

ATB

Sikamalc
 
When I mean leaving a dog home, I start from the idea of a stalker living within reasonable distance from his stalking ground ( a few miles ). When further from home, leave the dog in the car and walk back after the shot to the car to fetch the dog for a control search.

I spoke with a few very dedicated handlers of tracking dogs ( Belgian and German) in the past. All agree to leave the animal at least a few hours after the shot. With an evening shot in cold weather even overnight. A badly,non lethal, wounded animal can run for miles when tracked to early and make it almost inpossible to find.

I've got nothing against having a dog ready for when you need him, but there is no need having him under a highseat or at heel when stalking.

I always have in between 5 and 10 dogs in my kennels. I've got nothing against dogs, I am a dog man in the first place.
 
Well, like Sikamalc I like having a companion whilst stalking. Besides which I'm lazy and finding a carcase is much easier if left to the dog. As for tracking a wounded beast I think tracking a trail a few hours old would be something of a challenge given that my dog and I lack the necessary skills, I'd definitely be ringing a friend!
 
Well, like Sikamalc I like having a companion whilst stalking. Besides which I'm lazy and finding a carcase is much easier if left to the dog. As for tracking a wounded beast I think tracking a trail a few hours old would be something of a challenge given that my dog and I lack the necessary skills, I'd definitely be ringing a friend!

Yep, wouldnt be without my BMH by my side. Cant see that leaving a dog in the car serves a purpose. My BMH will scent deer in front and take me onto them, cant do that from the car or home!!
 
When I mean leaving a dog home, I start from the idea of a stalker living within reasonable distance from his stalking ground ( a few miles ). When further from home, leave the dog in the car and walk back after the shot to the car to fetch the dog for a control search.

I spoke with a few very dedicated handlers of tracking dogs ( Belgian and German) in the past. All agree to leave the animal at least a few hours after the shot. With an evening shot in cold weather even overnight. A badly,non lethal, wounded animal can run for miles when tracked to early and make it almost inpossible to find.
.

I can see your point but to leave a dog in the motor un-attended for several hours is not really exceptable to me or even my stalking

last thing I want is to come back after 2-3 hours if not longer and find my dog suffering from heat exhuation or worse while chasing Roe & Fallow Bucks, as that is the time I need a dog most when the crops & cover are still high and so is the temp & sun
leaving the window open leaves me open to my motor being broken into , dog stolen or possibly some one sticking their fingers in tosay hello and then there is risk of being bit , thats some thing I can't afford
A properly trained dog in the field will always be an asset regardless we all agree on that
As for starting to track wounded game to early
it's up to you how long you wait before you start to look , not the dog
using a 3 hour return trip as the excuse for not being patient is a little unfair , but practical if you are in that situ

some stalkers may not hav time to wait and need the wounded beast or beasts gathered ASAP
either due to boundary issuses or possibly curfews on the ground as to when they can actually be on there
others Like Malc may hav clients that are leaving that day and new clients arriving, so lost time following up the next day certainly ain't practical or cost effective,
others don't want or need to be searching all night
Personally I like to stalk with my dog at my side and then track on a leash if I get lucky
depending on how I feel the shot has gone determines how soon I start to follow up
 
What does anyone use if anything?

My dog gets cold whilst sat under high seats for long periods, especially when it's raining, any suggestions?

Cheers,
Mat

Try carrying a sack / bed of some sort for the dog to lie on
keep the heat from underneath being drawn out of the body
It may well be the cold damp ground that the dog is lay is the problem, also a bit of sacking around the highseat base will also keep a fair bit of the weather off if needed
 
Usually the cold doesn't bother my Chesapeakes. They regularly sleep out under the garden bush when its snowing. I will however put a coat on them when wildfowling on the coast, in the depths of winter. Especially if fowling on the North East coast of Scotland.
The dog will soon get used to it. I bought mine from Cabalas because they have a flexible armour on the chest and belly which i thought a good thing as mine are forever throwing themselves into water.

CIMG0435.jpg
 
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