C-C-C-Cold-Weather Canine Care
The hot gunning action kinda made up for the lackluster past few months, and Coal got his share of frigid water retrieves. All was fine until later in the morning when the wind started to howl. It made the Lab curl up in the corner of the blind and shiver. The shivering got stronger, so I pulled out a rectal thermometer. After a minute, the results were in: 98 degrees. Coal was headed towards hypothermia, and it was time to head in.

Cold, wet, and windy weather can be brutal on dogs. According to avid waterfowler and veterinarian Dr. Johnny Myers of the Animal Kare Center in Paducah, Kentucky, hypothermia is the leading injury to hunting dogs when it’s cold. “Hypothermia is an extreme lowering of a dog’s core body temperature,” he said. “A dog’s body temperature is a range that varies between 101 and 102.5 degrees. Exposure to the cold can cause their core temperatures to drop, and when it drops to below 95 degrees they can suffer from hypothermia.”
What causes hypothermia is part of the daily grind during the late season. Wet retrievers that swim in cold water and are exposed to stiff winds are frequently impacted. Bird dogs that run hard and get hot and then sit in uninsulated kennels in the back of a breezy truck bed can suffer, too. Snow stuck in paw pads can lower a dog’s core body temperature, while snowballs gathered in the chest hair of a long-haired dog is similar to placing an ice cube against your skin. Like them, you’d be chilled to the bone, too.
Hunting with a cold dog is dangerous. According to Myers, “A dog’s low core body temperatures causes his heart rate and breathing to slow down. As a result, his circulatory, respiratory, nervous and muscular systems slow down. But then you kill a duck, and suddenly send that dog on a retrieve that requires his body to work hard. Your dog will jump out of a boat, swim in cold water or in current, or run a cover on a snowy day. That vigorous work forces his slow bodily functions to speed up. Friction within the body systems can create a really bad situation. Avoid it by recognizing the symptoms of hypothermia.”

Recognizing hypothermia isn’t always that easy. Here’s the short list:
- Shivering. Dogs shiver when they’re excited just as they do when they’re cold. You’ll need to cross reference their normal excited behavior to know if they’re cold. One way to do so is by time. If you’re 15 minutes into the hunt then your dog is probably excited. But if you’re a few hours in and your dog has made multiple water retrieves and he’s shivering, then the excitement has likely worn off. He’s probably cold.
- Shaking. Violent, uncontrollable shaking is almost always hypothermia.
- Lack of coordination. Disorientation, weaving and stumbling while walking is a symptom of hypothermia. Fur and skin that is cold to the touch is another as are pale blue gums. When combined with a listless and apathetic attitude it’s time to get your dog some help.
If you’re concerned that your dog is in danger, then take a reading with a rectal thermometer. Once a dog is identified as hypothermic, treatment must begin immediately. Time is of the essence, so start by drying off the dog with a towel. When the dog is dry, move him to a warm, but not hot, spot as quickly as possible. Common areas might be near a heater in a blind, under a fleece jacket, or in the back seat of a truck with the heater turned on. Be sure the dog is not lying on the wet, cold ground as any heat gains will be immediately lost.

Transition indoor dogs to the cold late season weather. Dogs that have been outside as the summer transitions to fall and then winter are used to the cold. Indoor dogs that live in warm, dry places and then are called into action for a weekend hunt are most vulnerable. Get dogs ready for the cold temperatures by gradually increasing their outdoor work time. Make some retrieves in cold water for short periods of time, and increase that amount of time until it approximates the duration of your actual hunt. Dry off bird dogs before loading them up, and make sure their kennels are insulated. A neoprene pad topped with straw serves as a buffer between the truck bed and their body.
Some products help dogs stay warm, such as:
- Neoprene dog vests. When properly fit, a neoprene vest adds insulation and blocks the wind. Make sure the vest isn’t too loose; a loose vest can hold cold water which is worse for the dog.
- Musher’s Secret. Coat a bird dog’s paw pads with Musher’s Secret. It’s a wax used on sled dogs that keeps balls of snow and ice out of the dog’s pads.
- Dog blind. A dog blind does more than conceal a retriever from inbound ducks. It keeps the wind off of him, too.
- Stands. If you’re hunting flooded timber then a stand mounted to a tree will keep your dog above the water line.
We don’t stop hunting because it’s cold outside. But just as we layer up to stay warm we’ve got to keep our eyes on our dogs. They can’t tell us they’re freezing, so it’s up to us to keep them safe.
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