My dog is a 70lb lab mutt. Real smart and trainable, has some killer instinct and loves to small game hunt with me. Not that he's any good or that I know how to train a hunting dog, but I take him along anyway because he's a dog and should do manly shit between the wife spoiling him at the house.

Being some form of mutt, he has ZERO undercoat. The lab in him makes him dry in about 5 minutes after he shakes in the summer, but he's just not cut out for the winter here in Ohio. Last year we found a horse blanket style coat at rura king that worked well enough for city or open country use. It velcrod around the neck and velcro strapped right in front of his penis. Blaze orange with reflective pinstripes. Half decent nylon shell with a fleece lining (orange camo inside). Was waterproof with some silicone spray.

He finally got it lost in the brush yesterday... it was bound to happen. Between the loose fit and being breakaway.

What I'm looking for now is something designed for lab body styles, insulated, that provides protection in desnse brush (lots of thorns around here). Preferably waterproof so the snow doesn't melt on his back or we can strap it on real quick to keep him dry in the rain. And in a hiviz for orange camo pattern. Something that fits snug would be great.

I see stuff designed for water dogs, the neoprene vests, but question how well they hold up in brush and how warm they are. I see lots of city dog stuff, that looks like it would keep him warm/dry, but offer no protection and be shredded after our first day in the field (not to mention city colors).

I'm willing to sacrifice hiviz for a regular camo pattern if it's tough and warm/dry. Obviously hunting upland small game on public land orange would be great though.

What do you guys use for your dogs? Am I the only one in a situation like this?

Obligatory pics of dag. Please do not forward to ATF.
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I can't speak to the jackets, however the items I've brought my dog from Ruffwear are very well made.

Good to hear. Looks like they make good stuff.

Have you tried their boots?

No, I haven't tried the boots, my pups got a pfd for long trips in the canoe and a pack so she can carry water and a bit of food.

These may work, 5mm thick with a zipper.

https://www.gundogsupply.com/avery-boaters-dog-parka-blades.html

neoprene is your ticket. it will keep their core warmer than anything else I've found and handle abuse. For colder days my britney wears a neoprene vest for upland birds. Handles thorns and burs really well

Edit: they make blaze orange neoprene vests also

Edit 2: blaze orange vest

Edit 3: sorry for all the edits, doing this on my phone. For warmer days she wears This great for brush protection

Thanks guys.

Probably missed that one on cabellas because its OOS and they display the camo version.

Delete. Double tap.

Ended up getting the Avery 5mm from midway.

Of course fit is subjective, and he's a mutt so no too much expectation. It's really loose around the neck, and really tight around the chest. I've had him out below freezing and he was just fine. I'd stick my hand under there and feel it being plenty warm. He even jumped into a frigid stream and it did the trick. In a few minutes he was still wet, but had warm water.

The other day we took him out (4 miles on the boots, must've been 6+ on the paws), sat home a day and then went about the same route. His arm pits got tore up, rubbed raw. Not bad enough to bleed, but obviously walking funny and not too happy.

When he heals up we're going to trim the arm holes a bit, and cut the neck down a half inch so it doesn't scoop so much water/debris.

The zipper seems sturdy, fairly easy to put on, and the hand holes worked very well to pick him up with no obvious discomfort to him.

I would definitely recommend it, just be cautious of the arm pits on the first couple uses. I don't think it would be an issue for stand hunting, but again keeo an eye on fido's pits for upland use.