# Cold Weather Hunting



## Donck15 (Jun 7, 2015)

Hello to all,
Cooper (my 18 month old) and I are going for our last hunt of the year the week of Jan. 1. We're headed back to N. Dakota and really looking forward to it. I was hoping for some direction from this group on hunting in the potential 0 degree conditions. 

My biggest question is about his feet in the ice an snow. I've never used the boots before, but am wondering if they would be needed? Coop's feet are in good shape from this years hunting on many different terrains and temps. However, we've never hunted 5 or 6 days in the snow, and perhaps 0 degree weather. 

I would appreciate any advice.

Merry Christmas to all!
Craig


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Definitely get some musher's secret and use it with periodic re-applications during the day, including on his testicles to keep snow slipping off the feet and keep from caking and freezing his nuts. If you use boots, I'd recommend ordering some that are used by sled dog mushers - they run a couple-3 bucks a piece, made of fleece and get lots of spares. The rubber boots just clog up with snow and get really stiff in the hard cold.
I would suggest if it's a Vizsla and you're hunting for any extended time to put a well fitting neoprene vest on him and check often for snow pack in the vest. Snow could be quite deep, we've had a blizzard the past day and have drifts over 10 feet here in Northern SD today.
Also, make sure you can get him in out of the cold often - and bring towels to rub him down vigourously between runs removing the jacket and rubbing his coat and drying him. Let him warm up and increase his calorie intake by at least double. If you're cold, he's colder.
Most hunts this time of year are not with pointers but with flushers beating treelines where the birds are stacked in - you'll rarely get a point on a bird right now - too exposed and more a driven hunt situation. Labs and flushers are great for this - we leave the pointers lounging by the fire this time of year. 
If you do run him, Put a tracker on him - bells might work for a bit, but they'll eventually pack with snow or ice and stop ringing. Wind can create a white out very easily even if it's not snowing making it impossible to see your dog or him see you and make it hard to impossible for your dog to hear you. They can and do get lost and especially this time of year, it's not a good ending.
Lastly - and seriously - there is no hunt and no bird worth losing your dog over. If you've never been in this country during the winter it truly can get dangerous very quickly. You can also have a lot of fun hanging out by the fire with your pup safely on your lap.
Ken


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Thank you Ken, I was hoping someone up north would answer this question. The only other thing I would add is hydration. We think a lot about it in warm weather, but some can forget in the cold. Dogs still need plenty to drink when hunting in the cold.


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## Donck15 (Jun 7, 2015)

WillowyndRanch,
Thank you for the great info! I used every bit of it and your comments were very helpful. We got back a couple of weeks ago. (sorry so long to respond!) Got and used the musher's secret which worked very well. Cooper is a Vizsla, and my only hunting dog. Have to say we had a blast! 

Thank you again to all.

Happy New Year,
Craig


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