Water in the field

by **Nmhuntr** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:16 am

What is your method for giving your dog water in the field? I am looking for ideas. I carry water bottles but is waste a lot. I thought someone made an adapter for the end of the bottle but I cannot find it.

Thanks
Greg

by **Dakotazeb** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:11 am

I carry a small collapsible bowl like the one in the link below. I attach it to my WingWorks vest.

https://www.chewy.com/cozy-courier-pet- ... /dp/152260

by **Steve007** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:32 am

It sometimes takes a while, but you can teach your dog to drink from a bottle. Nothing wrong with a collapsible bowl, but my dogs are now pretty efficient when I take a bottle out of my hunting vest. In the beginning, I had to call them in and pour water into the sides of their months, but they figured it out.

by **Dakotazeb** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:45 am

I think even if your dog is pretty adept at drinking out of a bottle a lot of water still ends up on the ground. Mine drink from the bottle most of the time but I do use the collapsible bowl to conserve water.

by **RayGubernat** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:22 pm

I have an old Frisbee around somewhere. That is what I used to use.

I also have a camelback bladder with a bite valve. If I put it at the dogs mouth and squeeze, they wind up with most of it where it needs to be.

RayG

by **cjhills** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 2:54 pm

unless it is extremely hot and dry dogs rarely need water in the field unless you are out for all day. I carry a collapsible dish and a couple bottles of water on hot days, but I do try not to train my dogs to keep coming in for water and they do not need it very often. It is generally in the seventies or lower where we hunt. .......Cj

by **one4fishing** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:45 pm

cjhills wrote:unless it is extremely hot and dry dogs rarely need water in the field unless you are out for all day. I carry a collapsible dish and a couple bottles of water on hot days, but I do try not to train my dogs to keep coming in for water and they do not need it very often. It is generally in the seventies or lower where we hunt. .......Cj

I disagree there. Chukar hunting in the 30’s-50’s my dog needs water unless there is snow on the ground. Often times the amount of water I carry is the limiting factor to how long we hunt.
I also carry the collapsible bowl to limit waste when out with my buddy.

by **Trekmoor** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:26 am

When I hunted my dogs on the grouse moors in August and September I used to carry water with me and poured it into my hat for the dogs. Doing that gave the dogs their drink , saved me from carrying a water dish and cooled down my head when I put the hat back on again ! :lol:

Bill T.

by **NC Quailhunter** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:35 am

[quote="Dakotazeb"]I carry a small collapsible bowl like the one in the link below. I attach it to my WingWorks vest.

https://www.chewy.com/cozy-courier-pet- ... /dp/152260[/quote

This is what I do also.

by **Max2** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:18 am

Here in NY a water bottle had always worked fine for us. I once purchased a camelback and purchased a valve for it to control the water flow. A camelback I think required we humans to suck the water out of it. What the valve purchase allowed was on/off of water flow. I then purchased a vest that the unit could strap to . Problem for us was I like to travel lite . I gave the camelback away and went back to the sport drink squirtter bottle. At the truck I had kept a reservoir jug for easy refill.
I would look into this possibly for where you live.

by **cjhills** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:33 am

one4fishing wrote:
cjhills wrote:unless it is extremely hot and dry dogs rarely need water in the field unless you are out for all day. I carry a collapsible dish and a couple bottles of water on hot days, but I do try not to train my dogs to keep coming in for water and they do not need it very often. It is generally in the seventies or lower where we hunt. .......Cj

I disagree there. Chukar hunting in the 30’s-50’s my dog needs water unless there is snow on the ground. Often times the amount of water I carry is the limiting factor to how long we hunt.
I also carry the collapsible bowl to limit waste when out with my buddy.

You are probably right about that. I do not hunt in the really arid country. But, I do believe dogs and people can be conditioned to take less water. Also that the amount of water you can carry limits the length of the hunt and the number of dogs per hunt. I don't want it spilled on the ground. Most efficient method is a bowl of some kind..........Cj

by **Featherfinder** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 7:16 am

I'm with CJ on this one. Dogs can get by on less water than "we" think they can. Water management in a field trial can be a handling strategy as much as a requirement but I digress.
I try to condition water consumption in training but of course, the terrain, time-of-year, etc. plays into this when hunting. What you need when running for early season quail in AZ versus what you need for running late-season grouse in the MI U/P is diverse, to say the least.
One event I vividly remember....with a chuckle. We were at a cover trial and a gent was decked out more like a mountain climber than a dog handler. He had gadgets hanging off him for everything which included two water containers - one on each hip. He had a wonderful setter that was doing an OK job, except for the fact that it ran 10 minutes then cyclically came right back to the handler who would fumble feverishly trying to unhook a water bottle for the expectant dog! He completely buried that dog's performance based on HIS need to provide the dog with water - which was obviously programmed into the dog. It's too bad. We'll never now the true potential of that dog.
If on the prairies where weight is a huge consideration, running in arid 70-80 degrees (no water sources around), I might suit up for a walk of about 2-3 hours or so. I bring 1 small water bottle. It is NOT for the hunters. When I see the dog "needs" water, I simply put the neck of the bottle at the back of the dog's mouth/jaw area (left or right side), part their lips and they drink easily! Most any dog will take water this way straight out of the bottle. No need for a water vessel of any kind this way, regardless of how light-weight they are. ....that's what I do.

by **birdshot** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 8:29 pm

plastic bottles with a flip lid. I use a ketchup bottle. The small hole regulates the stream and your dog will be able to keep up with the flow better.

by **TruckMan66** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:42 pm

I concur with Steve007. My dogs drink out of bottles. Trianed them to take through side of mouth and you don't waste very much at all. Now in regards to the amount I carry in the field, I carry two 24 oz bottles & three 16.09 oz bottles. Plenty of water for 2 dogs for about 4 hours at temps 60 degrees or lower.

by **Nmhuntr** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 3:43 am

birdshot wrote:plastic bottles with a flip lid. I use a ketchup bottle. The small hole regulates the stream and your dog will be able to keep up with the flow better.

Good idea

by **JONOV** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:12 am

I'll either bring a water bottle or collapsible fabric bowl. Then, he'll turn his nose up and go drink out of a stinking puddle.

by **GrayGhost** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:59 am

I got a promotional water bottle at the end of last year that I've kind of liked so far. It's a stainless steel bottle with a cap on the end with a metal bearing on the inside. The bearing stops the water from leaking out to much when you hold it upside down, but the dog can use his tongue to lap up the water. Like I said I've only gotten limited use from it so far, but I have liked it.