# Cold water retrieving



## Jungda99 (Nov 17, 2006)

I have a two year old Yelow Lab that is on her second season of duck hunting. She is a really small lab (49lbs) soaking wet. We had her out to NODAk the 3rd week of oct. during some pretty cold weather and some ice on the water in the mornings. the first two days of our trip she did great. Retrieved all but a few of the bluebills that sail half mile away. However the last 3 days of our trip as the weather got colder she did not want to go in the water at all. I would throw her out of the boat to go after a duck and she would jump right back in the boat. I even tried the old throwing a rock trick and she wouldn't bite. I did have a neoprean vest on but that didn't seam to help her. What do you guys think. would it be due to her not having a full winter coat yet due to it being pretty warm in the Twin Cities pre hunting trip? I was told I might be able to break her of this by taking her retrieving in the spring just after the ice goes off the lakes. Do you think this will help? It was extremly dissapointing to see my dog acting like this.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

First never push a dog into the water thats not going to work as you already found out.

Was she shivering?? were her teeth chattering? if not the cold wasn't the problem. If so you need to figure out away to keep her warm and dry her after retrieveing.


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## Jungda99 (Nov 17, 2006)

she was shivering but she shivers when its 50 outside.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

there is shivering from excitement and there is shivering from cold, with dogs that often accompanied with teeth chattering if shes really cold.

If you keep her dry on a insulated pad off the bottom of the boat, then she probably had some other thing scaring her. Very few labs won't swim in winter, but if shes keep on the bottom of a boat with no insulation under her she might be cold.

I would try to send her into some water without any guns or other hunters around and see if she willingly goes in.

You have to figure out whats wrong before you decide on a tactic to correct it, my gut feeling is something else was bothering her,water temps don't change that much from day to day but I wasn't there. Did anyone ground swat a wounded duck in front of her when she was retrieveing?

If you think the dog is cold bring it on shore and let it run around for a while thats the quickest way to warm them up.


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## Timber2005 (Jul 8, 2005)

I had somewhat of a problem last year when my lab was 2. We hunted the last week in WI and hunted in 28 degree weather and broke ice etc and my dog started out by getting all the birds without a problem. We limited on greenheads and geese and by the last few she was no liking it. We did this for the next 2 days and the second day was the same and come the third she wanted nothing to do with the water. She is alot like your lab 55lbs at the time. This year however so far ice has not bothered her at all and another year of a thicker coat and more gerth she seems to be handling it just fine. Hopefully i can say that in 3 weeks time.


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

Another issue may be an unseen injury. I once had a dog break ice for a bird, but was a hurting unit afterwards. Especially on her front forearms. About two weeks later, no big deal again to break ice.


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Most of the problems I ever encountered with labs in cold water were with yellows. I'm not going to say that this is the Gospel truth, but I read once that some yellows and chocolates don't have an extra epidermal layer that blacks have. Something about it disapearing during show breeding. Anyhow, what I can tell you is this: If a dog has an absolute aversion to cold water there's no way in hell you're going to make a cold water dog out of it. I've forced them by collar and every other means and it just doesn't work. Maybe the dog's trying to tell you something, like it's not that it doesn't want to retrieve, it's that it is physically unable to do so. The quickest way to totally ruin the dog and stop it from retrieving is to throw it into the water.
When I was a trainer and guide, a fellow had a blind about 100 yards from mine. He had two really nice yellows. All fall the dog's did great until the water turned cold. Then he'd shoot a duck, command fetch, and both dogs would run to the edge of the lake and sit. He'd wade out in chest waders, cast a mepps spinner and retrieve the ducks. One of the funnier things I ever wittnessed.


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## bloodnguts (Nov 22, 2005)

I was in N. Dakota opening week of the 2005 season with my yellow lab that was 8 months old at the time. It was fairly warm and he retrieved everything he could see out over open water. This year I was out there from 10-21 through 10-29, and the air and water temperatures were much colder, with quite a bit of ice on the lakes. Man was I disappointed when my dog would pace back and forth on the shoreline, looking at the ducks, but he would just not throw the switch and dive in after them. After a lot of coaxing and encouragement, he would finally go in and get the close ducks that were less than thirty yards out. What drove me crazy was when he would finally go after a duck that was floating 75 yards out there, and turn back when he reached within twenty or so yards of the duck. I know he saw the ducks, but I was just thinking he must have lacked confidence making longer retrieves out over deep, cold water. He also had a neoprane vest on. The few pheasants and huns I shot that week, he chased down and retrieved with great enthusiasm. Maybe there is something to the yellow lab not handling the cold like the blacks, I don't know.


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## tumblebuck (Feb 17, 2004)

> Maybe there is something to the yellow lab not handling the cold like the blacks, I don't know.


BS. I have a yellow I'll put up against any black in cold water, any weather.

It's confidence and drive. You can instill confidence. You can't teach drive (desire).


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## tb (Jul 26, 2002)

Cold water really takes a toll on dogs. One important thing is to feed them high quality dog food and lots of it during the season. Keep the dog in good physicall shape all year long and start the increased feeding prior to the season.


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## Jungda99 (Nov 17, 2006)

What is considered a "high quality" food? I have talked to many people/vets that say just look at the ingrediants and the first thing listed. But what is a brand of high quality food. I don't notice much difference from one bag to the next. IF you know of one name brand that is very good and the price/bag that would be great. thanks


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## Jungda99 (Nov 17, 2006)

I too took my dog pheasant hunting in SD the week after duck hunting and she retrieved 95% of the 90 birds shot that week even with 3 other dogs hunting beside her. She loves to retrieve when we shoot and nothing falls she sits and whines and crys when she doens't get to go. She even did that when she wouldn't go in the water. She acted ****** off when the birds didnt' fall. Maybe she did have a hidden injury that I wasn't aware of.


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## tb (Jul 26, 2002)

I'm no expert on dog food, but I put food in 3 categories. The worst is the stuff like "old roy" from Walmart. Never, ever feed a dog that type of crap. Then you have your average stuff, which is actually pretty good. Purina is ok. Then you have your super-premiun food, which I would definitely use if my dogs were balking at cold water. These are your Eukanuba, Science diet, etc. I'm using Purina One Large Breed for my dogs now and they seem to be doing ok. Its a lot like everything else, what you pay for is what you get.


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Not all yellows tumblebuck, just some of them. I've seen great yellows in cold water and yellows that refused it. Most of these that refused had great confidence, desire, and had been forced. I'm convinced until someone proves otherwise, that the statement is factual. I rarely saw the problem with blacks.


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