Neoprene Vests

[BluffCountryOutdoors]

Are there really any differences?

The water gets a little cold and I mean cold up here in Minnesota.. My dog has a thick coat mixed with wirehaired hair as well as longer too. Do you look for a vest that covers the dog the most? The cabelas 5mm looks like its decent but that it doesnt cover a whole lot. As long as the chest is kept warm you would think that it will keep the internal body heat a little warmer..

any advice anyone has or a little experience would be gladly heard.

Thanks,

Mikey and Odin

[Lab Man]

I live in Iowa. I definately use one in late November and December. I really like the Avery Boaters vest. The quality is very good. I have them in stock if you need one. http://www.coonriverkennels.com Good luck

[tfbirddog2]

I have a cabelas neoprene vest for my three dogs, one lab and if it isnt near negatives or single digits she is to warm in it.Hunted in 7 degress negative 20 wind chill, and she didnt want it, sat on the tailgate till I took it off.She was born during a blizzard in March and loves the snow and cold, hunts circles around the GSPs when its cold out.Then again she's part lab.My GSPs love the vest too.

[BluffCountryOutdoors]

Thanks to both of you..

Hey CoonRiver,

I like those Avery vests a little better than those Cabela's ones. I dont think the Cabela's vests have the handle and I would think I definatly need one unless I get one of those doggie ladders, but I'd rather not.. My dog doesn't have a problem jumping out of the boat.

Are those Avery handles pretty durable and can you custom cut those vests like the Cabela's ones for a better fit?

I measured my dog.. His neck is 16" his Upper was 25" and his hind area was well I forget.. Do you think that Medium would be a better fit or should I go large because he is only a Year old?

Thanks again boys, and yes Labs definatly seem to be just fine without those vests.. tough "bleep"..

Later,

Mikey & Odin

[sjohnny]

I'll probably need to get a neoprene vest for my V for any cold weather hunting - waterfowl or otherwise. I thought he was going to freeze to death when we let him out to pee last winter - in Texas :roll: . How did the Hungarians develop a breed with this short of hair? (Don't get me wrong - that type of coat was one of the first requirements when I started looking for a gun dog). I'm pretty sure it gets colder in Hungary than in Texas.

John

[BluffCountryOutdoors]

Hahah, yeah tell me about it.. Up here in Minnesota it gets cold.. boy and I mean it.. We had one of the longest coldest winters I can remember this last year. negative temps all the time. BUT... the begining of duck season last year.. like opener weekend.... it was 60+ F. how dumb is that? but as soon as the ice forms I believe 80% of "duck hunters" bail and its just us die hard after that.. I feel.. the worse the weather the better the hunting and the more excited I get!

They do breed Wirehaired Viszla's too.. Hungary is at about the same latitude as MN/Canada...

anyway.. I'm diggin that Avery vest.. its the same thickness as the Cabela's but has a nice Handle...

Where in Texas are you located?

Mikey & Odin

[1vizsla]

We have the Cabela's neoprene and it has worked well for us. Definitely needed it in Iowa at -18. With a little triming it fits great for a Vizsla.

Carla

[Rick Hall]

I've had both zippered (Avery) and velcro-fastener (Cabela's) vests, and prefer the later on a number of grounds. I find them easier on and off when my hands are cold, the 2" wide Velcro affords some adjust ability for growing dogs or those that lose weight during a season, and I assume that a dog that snags its vest on something beyond my sight/help would find it easier to pull free of a Velcro-fastened vest than a zippered one. (Never had a dog come back without its vest, but would think it likely a very good thing if one did.)

And while that Avery "handle" seems a great marketing tool, I'm one who frequently works his dogs out of boats without ramps and finds pulling the dog's front feet up onto the boats gunnel by the nap of his neck, and then letting him lever himself into the boat against that hand much easier than reaching back to the vest and trying to put such an unhandy and leverageless handle to use.

Guess I might add that a general vest advantage many seem to overlook is that even when it's not cold enough to be necessary to keep a dog warm, it can help him save calories, otherwise burned for warmth, for the work at hand.

[sjohnny]

Hahah, yeah tell me about it.. Up here in Minnesota it gets cold.. boy and I mean it.. We had one of the longest coldest winters I can remember this last year. negative temps all the time. BUT... the begining of duck season last year.. like opener weekend.... it was 60+ F. how dumb is that? but as soon as the ice forms I believe 80% of "duck hunters" bail and its just us die hard after that.. I feel.. the worse the weather the better the hunting and the more excited I get!

They do breed Wirehaired Viszla's too.. Hungary is at about the same latitude as MN/Canada...

anyway.. I'm diggin that Avery vest.. its the same thickness as the Cabela's but has a nice Handle...

Where in Texas are you located?

Mikey & Odin

Yeah, we don't get a lot of below 40 ever but when we do my V has to wear a flannel shirt to go outside :roll: I don't know if I'll get a chance to do any waterfowl hunting but if I do it won't be from a boat so I think the handle wouldn't be an issue for me one way or the other. I'll probably end up getting him a vest before winter to wear when we're upland hunting if it's a little bit cold. If it's over 40 degrees I think his movement will keep him warm enough but it's better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it.

I'm just South of Austin.

John

[gonehuntin']

Here you see one with a zipper, one without on the Mississippi. I love the vests, but without the zippers. The velcro is more flexible. I think they do a great job and won't hunt without one again in cold water. That picture is over Thanksgiving last year when the river was just starting to make ice.

[Rick Hall]

I'll probably end up getting him a vest before winter to wear when we're upland hunting if it's a little bit cold... I'm just South of Austin.

John

If it gets cold enough for a neoprene vest to be more boon than bane to a dog upland hunting south of Austin, heck has probably frozen, too.

[sjohnny]

Rick,
I'm pretty sure my dog is really wimpy. He was also too skinny last winter and that may have been a big part of it, we're working on that. I may get a chance to do some hunting in the northern part of the state this year so I'll most likely get him a vest before we go up there just in case he needs one.

John

[BluffCountryOutdoors]

Thanks for all the help guys.. Thanks alot..

Even when Im not hunting I pick up my dog just the same way as you said. The velcro stap being so wide is a huge selling point in my mind.. being as my dog is still a pup (1 year) he may grow a bit.. This weekend is the employee discount wknd, so I should be able to get one of those vests for 20 bucks or less...

Looks like the cabelas vest wasn't quite as snug as the zippered one but like you said.. when your hands are frozen and you can just rip vs. unzipping its a nicer feature.

Thanks again guys..
MIkey & Odin

[Rick Hall]

double posted

[Rick Hall]

Looks like the cabelas vest wasn't quite as snug as the zippered one...

The odds are overwhelming that any other-than-custom-fitted neoprene vest wil need some tayloring for proper fit (snug but not tight) - but don't panic: it's a simple scissors and glue project most anyone can easily manage. Just be sure to begin with a vest that's right for your dog's chest measurement.

Excess material that will chafe under Pup's front legs or keep him from peeing is simply cut away, and baggy/loose areas are "darted" (think that's the term?) and glued. Darting just means folding/pinching the material onto itself in loose spots (with the vest on the dog), marking the two corners at the edge of the fold and the one at the end of the crease it creates, and cutting out that section of excess - which will look like an elongated triangle or dart. Then you'll need to bind the new edges you've cut to create a seam, which is either extremely easy with real wet suit cement like "Block Surf" or a royal PIA with junk like Aqua Seal that takes forever to dry. Real wet suit cement essentially melts the neoprene and "welds" the two edges together to create a seam so tough I don't bother with stitching or even "bar-tacking" for added security. And it does that job so quickly it's no burden to simply hold the edges together while they weld. But a slow acting adhesive like Aqua Seal will require stitching to hold it while it dries - and maybe after... (And sewing gluey neoprene ain't fun.)

[displaced_texan]

Rick,
I'm pretty sure my dog is really wimpy. He was also too skinny last winter and that may have been a big part of it, we're working on that. I may get a chance to do some hunting in the northern part of the state this year so I'll most likely get him a vest before we go up there just in case he needs one.

John

We hunt just east of the Texas panhandle, and actually go farther north than Texas does, and we hunt our pointers hard all winter, no problems from the cold, just as long as we keep them fed and moving. And EP aren't the most cold tolerant dogs.

FWIW if they are hunting they are much more tolerant of the cold than going out to pee. Mine will act cold to come in with me at 40*, but break out a gun and game vest, and he forgets about the cold.

[h20fwlkillr]

I really like the deluxe vests from BPS. They are very durable. I went thru several of the Avery's ( wouldn't make it one season ) before trying them out.

[sjohnny]

FWIW if they are hunting they are much more tolerant of the cold than going out to pee. Mine will act cold to come in with me at 40*, but break out a gun and game vest, and he forgets about the cold.

That could be the case with my little buddy also. He's a machine when he's out in the field so it's very likely his constant motion will keep him warm.

I'm hopefully going to try waterfowl hunting this year as well so a vest is still on the list.

John