How cold is too cold to hunt a lab?

I wouldn’t… unless I had a good way to dry him and keep him warm. It might be different if my dogs were accustomed to colder temperatures, but they aren’t. I left mine home last year when it got in the teens, but he would have been in a momarsh blind over water. As much as I love to watch those dogs work, it isn’t worth it to me to put them at risk for hypothermia.

ETA: I should have mentioned that it depends a lot on your hunting situation. Hunting a flooded field is going to be a lot different than hunting the marsh with a long boat ride. Also, ice can definitely be a killer if you expect it to be present. You just need to use caution when the temps drop. A South Louisiana lab that sleeps inside is going to be more at risk than one who lives outside somewhere that stays pretty cold in the winter. At a minimum, do some research on the signs of hypothermia in dogs before you take them out.

Thanks guys.

Gonna leave her at home.

Mine will be out there. Same as he always has and the ones before him. Never had a problem

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if you are cold, they are much colder than you are

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Is this true?

Honestly asking

Mine has hunted in the low teens in a flooded field and loved every minute of it. Wore a neoprene vest.

This is a story worth reading. I don’t think he mentions how cold it was, but the dog was in the water with no way to dry off. It’s an extreme case, but shows how quickly things can go south.

10 minutes from retrieving to “should be dead”

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if you are cold, they are much colder than you are they can get frostbite just like you can

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There is no way you are serious, my lab will voluntarily jump in the water letting his ball sack drag through 35deg water that would turn any man into an inverted tranny.

To the op I have never hunted 10 but mid 20s many times with and without a vest on my labs and never had any issues.

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they can get frostbite just like you can

make sure they have a heated box to stay warm in

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Heated box?

I did have one get frostbit in 89 but it was my fault making him be still.

keeping a dog out of the wind goes a loooong way. If it's too cold for my dogs it's way too cold for me. Just like heat acclimation and conditioning go A LONG Way too.

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if you are cold, they are much colder than you are

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I wonder what Lab stands for......



I need to post the video of the Russian guy that goes trapping in the winter and says if his dog cant live outside in negative temperatures, he wants a better dog.