SWIMMING how long

[Dman]

doesn't it also depend greatly on the temperature of the water?

Yes it certainly does.

I would also suggest that if you do not have enough control over your dog to call them back to you on a dangerous retrieve, you might should consider doing more training and less hunting before you put your dog in danger.

[Hunt'EmUp]

[QUOTE=Gunner's Dad;1040312]If you are worried about swimming ability get the vest with the little floaty things built in. I personally dont use them on this my dog because he treats everything like a lazy river if he has it on. Just sorta floats around enjoying himself. /QUOTE]

LOL my 14 yr. old loves her lazy-river vest

[Zeppelin86]

Yes, big time! I was going to link the old sticky "ten minutes from dead" that used to be here, but I coudn't find it. Our retrievers have unbelievable heart, but they depend on us to keep them out of trouble. For example where I hunt water freezes over. Don't shoot a duck that may fall way out on the ice, I know of more than one guy who drowned trying to save his dog who fell through the ice trying to retrieve a duck. A dog with a lot of heart could swim way out to sea chasing a cripple, you better have a boat to rescue that dog. Also always hunt your dog with a vest in even moderately cold water. Hypothermia is a killer. (I wish I could find that sticky)

OK, off my soap box now,

John

Hey John, I have a question about wearing the vest . I hunt in a reservoir often when everything else freezes up and put my dog's vest on for sure when it's that cold. My only concern is this reservoir has a lot of dead timber and trash in it, have you (or anyone else) ever had any issues with the vest hanging on something in the water that could potentially cause danger? Granted I'm sure the chance of hypothermia is much greater, I was just wanting to pose the question to the RTF to get some insight.

[Howard N]

I had a dog who got her vest (Cabela's brand, 5mm) hung up on some beaver sticks. She struggled ripping her vest, climbed out of it and didn't drop the duck. I don't know if it would always turn out this well. I do have fears of big tangles really limiting their movements and holding them. I figure I might have to go in for one someday. Thank God it hasn't happened yet.

Hey John, I have a question about wearing the vest . I hunt in a reservoir often when everything else freezes up and put my dog's vest on for sure when it's that cold. My only concern is this reservoir has a lot of dead timber and trash in it, have you (or anyone else) ever had any issues with the vest hanging on something in the water that could potentially cause danger? Granted I'm sure the chance of hypothermia is much greater, I was just wanting to pose the question to the RTF to get some insight.

[Shawn White]

Hey John, I have a question about wearing the vest . I hunt in a reservoir often when everything else freezes up and put my dog's vest on for sure when it's that cold. My only concern is this reservoir has a lot of dead timber and trash in it, have you (or anyone else) ever had any issues with the vest hanging on something in the water that could potentially cause danger? Granted I'm sure the chance of hypothermia is much greater, I was just wanting to pose the question to the RTF to get some insight.

Proper fitting vest (snug) and if it a Avery vest or any other brand with the metal D rings on top -cut them off.

Dont trim the shoulder or neck area of the vest any more than you absolutely have to.

The brands with zippers are harder to get proper fit ,but once on they are less likely to come undone while dog is working.

[Gunner's Dad]

I have never had a dog hang up in the water, and hope i never do. But i have had to put trash out of the vest while hunting public lakes. I have pulled pieces of plastic, sticks and other floating objects that got in between the dog and the vest. Was not a big big deal, but did rub raw once when i did not notice till i pulled the vest off at the end of the day. Now i check my vest a few times a day just to make sure that it is clean.

[Zeppelin86]

Proper fitting vest (snug) and if it a Avery vest or any other brand with the metal D rings on top -cut them off.

Dont trim the shoulder or neck area of the vest any more than you absolutely have to.

The brands with zippers are harder to get proper fit ,but once on they are less likely to come undone while dog is working.

Yeah, I guess that's what worries me. I have the Avery Boater's Parka in a 2XL for my dog and there is a little room in the neck area. Thought about trying to modify it to tighten it up, but I don't know about my skills as a tailor, or if the neoprene would rip through eventually. He fits it real snug everywhere else tough, and when I tried the XL on him it was was like putting 10 pounds of sugar in a 5 pound sack just because his chest is so broad. Hadn't thought about the D-rings though, that's a good idea, I'll be making that modification shortly. Thanks.

[LucyTudeOn4Feet]

Here it is, hope this link works. I don't see it as a sticky anymore either.

http://www.retrievertraining.net/for...d-be-dead-quot

[John Robinson]

Hey John, I have a question about wearing the vest . I hunt in a reservoir often when everything else freezes up and put my dog's vest on for sure when it's that cold. My only concern is this reservoir has a lot of dead timber and trash in it, have you (or anyone else) ever had any issues with the vest hanging on something in the water that could potentially cause danger? Granted I'm sure the chance of hypothermia is much greater, I was just wanting to pose the question to the RTF to get some insight.

Not where I hunt, but one thing I have learned through this forum is that duck hunting and dog training in North America is very diverse. What works for me on the lakes, rivers and sloughs in NW Montana could be a recipe for disaster in a Louisiana stick pond. I think we all need to weigh the risks of where we hunt. I can't imagine hunting warm early season weather in a Florida aligator swamp, that would scare the heck out of me, but guys who know the land do it all the time. Back to your question, if your dog did get hung up, is there any chance he would be hung up with his head under water? Do you have a boat available so you could go out and unhook him? Are you more afraid of him getting hung up versus getting hypothermia. Are these danger areas obvious, if so you could just aviod sending on retrieves in that area.

Like I said originally, we have to be the brains in this outfit and use our brains to keep our dogs out of trouble. Use your best judgement.

John

[Don Lietzau]

They can swim until they get in trouble.........then what are you going to do about it is the real question. Duckdon