Protective gear for upland hunting dog

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BPeterson
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Protective gear for upland hunting dog

Post by BPeterson » Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:50 am

Hey guys, I'm new here and will post on the New Members page shortly for an introduction so I will skip that part...
Anyways, as a recent college grad from south LA, I will be moving to west Texas in the fall of this year. I have a 2.5yr old Boykin who has only ever duck hunted and I wanted to get into some upland stuff with her... from what I understand there is pretty good blue quail hunting in the area and have some pheasant a little north of me. Since she has mostly been exposed to marsh, pastures, and flooded fields... I don't think her pads will be able to stand up to the West Texas environment, so I have been looking at getting some Lewis boots for her and possibly a visible skid plate type vest. Is there anything else I should consider/do I really need these? I have seen that the Lewis boots can tear up there toes, is this more of a concern than sand burs or cactus spikes (if this is even a concern lol)? Anything else I should take a look at?

Thanks

reba
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Re: Protective gear for upland hunting dog

Post by reba » Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:08 am

Good luck with booting your dog. Lots of tricks keeping them on. :(

I would recommend rattle snake vaccine and rattle snake avoidance class.

Clip long hair, ears/legs, groom dog after every hunt carefully checking ears and feet, carry lots of water. Carry hemostats clipped to your vest to handle burs, spines and such.

HAVE FUN!!!!

BPeterson
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Re: Protective gear for upland hunting dog

Post by BPeterson » Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:45 am

reba wrote:Good luck with booting your dog. Lots of tricks keeping them on. :(

I would recommend rattle snake vaccine and rattle snake avoidance class.

Clip long hair, ears/legs, groom dog after every hunt carefully checking ears and feet, carry lots of water. Carry hemostats clipped to your vest to handle burs, spines and such.

HAVE FUN!!!!
Yeah I watched a few videos about taping them and such. She pretty much lets me do whatever I need with her feet and all, but she has never worn anything on them so I'm sure thats a different ball game. I was going to get them in advance and get comfortable putting them on and taking them off, and let her walk and run around in them some.

That part kind of worries me... Never seen a rattlesnake in person but heard it is a concern. Is the vaccine to help with side effects of a bite?

I try to keep her groomed for the most part, but will probably have to do a better job I'm sure because I can only imagine if her ears get pretty long...

Thank you!!

Mountaineer
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Re: Protective gear for upland hunting dog

Post by Mountaineer » Sun Jul 22, 2018 9:43 am

Not first line protective but I have found Cowboy Magic to be swell at helping with burr removal in long-haired dogs.

For hard burrs, pliers can mash them first and aid in removal, especially with a good mat knife.

Think hydration.

BPeterson
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Re: Protective gear for upland hunting dog

Post by BPeterson » Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:19 am

I have a pretty big bottle of Showsheen which I think is pretty similar.

Is a squirt bottle pretty good for bringing in the field? I keep plenty of water in the truck, but I guess that wouldn't be much help while hunting

Mountaineer
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Re: Protective gear for upland hunting dog

Post by Mountaineer » Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:26 am

Depends upon dogs, conditions, location and personal preference as to toting water....I prefer bottled water, for dogs and myself.
I have found that some bottled water caps are less dog friendly and more a nuisance than others. Could be just me so, Fit & Try.

I suspect Showsheen is similiar.

reba
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Re: Protective gear for upland hunting dog

Post by reba » Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:39 pm

Read up on rattle snake vaccine and talk to your vet.

I hunt 6 western states every year and never know what I might run into.

Not many local vets where I hunt my dogs even treat dogs. Most of them are out preg testing cattle; so I might have a few hour drive to a dog vet, let along one that treats snake bite!!

At home all local vets treat for rattle snake bites! One vet I know treats one rattle snake bite per day during the season.

The first time you boot your dog try not to laugh to hard :lol:

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