Field Gear

Pampered Partners

Bird hunting is a spectacular sport, not a spectator sport. Doing it right means getting leg cramps and sore feet. It’s the only outdoor pursuit I know that demands protection from the 700 kinds of thorns, pickers and burs waiting to pierce and tear. A warm place to dry out after a day of sleet or snow is as close to nirvana as can be hoped for in this life. What could be better than a comfy bed to stretch out in and let those punished leg muscles stop twitching? Only then do the dreams about today’s coveys and tomorrow’s rises come.
    By the way, I’m not thinking about you or me. I’m writing about our bird dogs—those faithful friends that make upland gunning the sport we so cherish. What are we doing to make those partners happy and content? To make them love us all the more and be eager to hit the field or marsh tomorrow?
    I’ve written extensively about products that make life easier for our canine pals—everything from truck-loading ramps to first aid in the field to dog boots and nutritional aids. Following are four new items that, at the very least, are canine-approved. My setter Sherlock will be almost 15 by the time you read this; his son, Blake, will be six. They have helped me test these latest finds.

Skid Plate from Mendota Products
I first saw a chest protector some 20 years ago at a gamebird farm when a cocker spaniel wearing a hunter-orange vest burst from the grain sorghum. What’s up with that? I wondered. Later, back at the clubhouse, the dog’s owner explained. “She’s built low to the ground,” he said, “and she’s still swollen from lactating. Her pups are only a few weeks old. I couldn’t hunt her without some protection.”
    Fast-forward two decades. Protective vests have grown in popularity and usefulness (see “Duds for Dogs,” p. 88). Duck and goose hunters rely on them to keep their retrievers warm on bitterly cold days in the blind. Upland gunners like them not only for insurance against injury, but also to improve the visibility of their dogs. When you can’t hear the beeper collar on a windy day or see your dog when the cover is thick and the sky is sullen, dressing your dog in an orange vest can help solve the problem.
    Mendota Products makes several good vests to consider. On Sherlock, I tested the Skid Plate, a garment of Cordura nylon that protected his stomach, chest and sides. He didn’t mind wearing it at all. Available in sizes S through XL, the Skid Plate comes in hunter orange or Advantage Wet-lands camo. It’s open on the back to prevent the dog from overheating, and it snaps together with three quick-release plastic buckles. The SRP is $34.99.
    The company also makes the Canine Field Jacket, which contains 100-gram Thinsulate insulation sandwiched between a ripstop inner liner and an outer shell of 1,000-denier Cordura. It sells for $46.95. You can get it in the same sizes and patterns as the Skid Plate, although the hunter-orange model comes with reflective trim. That’s an important feature if you walk your dog at night, especially in the city. If that is the case, consider buying the non-insulated Visi-Vest for half the price ($24.99). It’s available only in hunter orange, contains 3M Scotchlite reflective material, and comes in sizes S through L.
    Mendota Products, Inc.; 800-224-1121; www.mendotaproducts.com.

Mud River Kennel Cover
If lightweight plastic airfreight kennels had been available when I first began to hunt birds and waterfowl, I probably couldn’t have afforded them. We bought cheap wire enclosures or made our own wooden boxes and drilled big holes in the sides for ventilation. I remember recycling wire shelving from an old refrigerator and placing the racks in those early built-it-myself projects. The racks, which were slightly raised, helped my wet dogs dry out. On cold days I simply covered the boxes with blankets or discarded sleeping bags.
    All that effort to make dogs comfortable is unnecessary today, thanks to a superior kennel cover from Mud River Dog Products. Think about it: Your bird dogs probably spend as much time in the portable crate as they do actually hunting. A well-rested, comfortable dog is ready to go, and when the dog is done for the day, what better reward than to return it to the place it knows is safe and secure?
    There’s a lot to like in the new Mud River cover. First, it’s easy to install, thanks to M through XL sizes. You can measure the dimensions of your portable kennel and then go to the company’s Website to find the exact-size cover you need. That’s what I did when I ordered one in Large for my Air Porter plastic kennel, which is 36" (l) x 26" (w) x 26" (h). I’ve tested a few covers through the years, and none have fit more snugly.
    Second, the cover has sturdy front and rear flexible handles on top that allow you to pick it up—kennel and all—and move it around or carry it off. Third, the protective bottom is made of hard rubber, which eliminates sliding on slick truck beds.
    A good start gets even better. Four large steel rings allow secure tie-down, if needed, in a boat, aircraft or vehicle. You can clip items like leashes, spare keys or whistles/lanyards to these rings so they don’t get lost or misplaced. You also can put these and other larger items such as e-collar transmitters, dog treats, training bumpers, rubber decoy gloves and so on into your choice of nine pockets. Company owner Bryan Griggs is a former design technician for Nike and Columbia Sportswear. Griggs created five elasticized pockets across the rear of the cover, then he generously added four more pockets, each with a Velcro-secure flap, to the corners along the sides.
    It’s easy to get a dog in and out of the kennel, thanks to left- and right-side zippers that effortlessly get the cover flap over the door and out of the way so you can open it. The flap also contains Velcro fasteners that let you roll it up and secure it on warm days.
    The windows are secure, too, thanks to three plastic buckle snaps on each panel. On warm days or nights you can tear the panels from their Velcro fastenings, fold them once and store them atop the box in a special pocket for that purpose. “You know how a whiffle ball whistles when air rushes through the perforations?” Griggs said. “That’s what happens in an open-bed pickup when you remove the window coverings and drive off. The built-in rubber mesh on our panels helps reduce the whining sound.”
    The cover itself is made from two layers of 600-denier nylon that are heat-fused after quilted MicroLite3 insulation has been added. This insulation is a bird-nest design of three synthetic fibers woven together. As I write this from my Michigan home, we’ve experienced a few zero-degree days of late. I believe Griggs when he says a portable kennel with his zipped-shut cover installed will be 30˚ to 40˚ warmer than with no cover at all. My old setter would agree.
    The cover costs $119 for Medium, $129 for Large and $139 for Extra Large.
    Mud River Dog Products; 479-927-2447; www.mudriverdogproducts.com.

Dawg Tired Premium Dog Beds
Equal time for indoors. If your dog spends any time in the house, it will find a favorite rug or piece of furniture where, if you let it, it will stretch out and drift off into dreamland. I read somewhere that a dog with nothing to do can sleep up to 22 hours every day. Make that 23 hours if the animal is pushing age 15.
    My setters live outside. Each has his own run within chain-linked fencing secured to my detached garage. Sleeping boxes are in the garage itself, with swinging Plexiglas doors allowing access. Although they’re “outside” dogs, I like to bring them inside now and then. As I write this, Sherlock is splayed out, like a lanky teen, on a beautiful, cushioned sleeping pad made by Dawg Tired Premium Dog Beds. Like Mud River, this company makes a product that gets it right. The materials used are top-rate, and options abound for shape, size, stuffing and fabric. Using the company Website, you can build your own bed. It’s fun to do, even if you’re not looking to buy now.
    Two months ago I ordered online a circular pad in size Large, which is 42" in diameter and recommended for 40- to 70-pound dogs (my setters weigh 50 to 55 pounds each). S (30"), M (36") and XL (48") are also available, and you can get all four sizes in rectangular shapes, too. Made from recycled plastic soda bottles, the poly-ester fill, called ComfyStuff, is soft and quiet and retains its spring longer than other fibers, according to the company. Those qualities appear to be true. When one of my dogs isn’t stretched out on the pad, my two children, ages 2 and 5, jump on it and use it as a chair for watching TV. The bed hasn’t broken down yet.
    For $5 more, you can upgrade to a box-style baffled insert. Depending on size, three or four tubes help keep the filling evenly distributed. You also can order cedar chips mixed in with the recycled fibers.
    Top and bottom fabric choices include canvas, denim, waxed cotton, fleece and several Woolrich patterns—all machine-washable if you follow company recommendations. For the top, I picked fleece because it is soft and the off-white “oatmeal” color wouldn’t show hair shedding from the setters. For the bottom, wanting a traditional look, I selected a red-plaid Woolrich pattern. Following the on-line prompts, I could see what the final product would look like before ordering. That was cool. A week later, it looked great on the family room floor before the fireplace.
    Consider a canvas bed if you plan to take it in your car or SUV. The waxed-cotton models are waterproof and ideal for wet retrievers and dirty dogs. Base price is $99. The model I built cost $149. Playing with the on-line options, I came up with an XL bed with upgraded stuffing and wool on wool for $174.
    Dawg Tired Premium Dog Beds, 608-767-3214; www.dawg-tired.com.

Heated Dog Bowl from Cozy Winters
Outside again. The night before I wrote this the temperature fell to minus 5°. Short of piling on the straw in their sleeping boxes, how can I assure my dogs are warm and comfortable in such frigid conditions? A company called Cozy Winters offers doghouse heaters, ice-free drinking bowls, and heated dog beds, pads, loungers and throws. Just before this past winter’s first cold snap, I ordered a Thermo-Bowl: Heated Dog Bowl. Available in 96-ounce (3/4 of a gallon) and 1-1/2 gallon sizes, this product has ended the drudgery of having to haul frozen buckets into the house to thaw. Gone are the days of chipping ice so my dogs can get a drink.
    The sturdy, hard-plastic bowl comes with a 5-1/2-foot electric cord that is wrapped with steel wire to prevent chewing, nicking and abrasion. A 25-watt heating element built into the bowl is UL listed to assure safety. Placing the bowl in the kennel run, I ran the cord up the fencing and secured it with a couple of nylon ties. Then I added an extension cord to get power from inside the garage. I wondered if the water would get so warm the dogs wouldn’t drink it. In reality, the tiny heating element keeps the water cool. The company claims that water will remain liquid all winter down to minus 20°. Mine has yet to freeze.
    List price is $29.95 for the smaller Thermo-Bowl and $34.95 for the larger. (At press time they were on sale on the company’s Website for $19.95 and $24.95.) Note to manufacturer: Add a handle to assist in changing water and carrying the bowl. Although relatively stable, the product also would benefit from a non-skid bottom.
Another Cozy Winters product I’m testing is the Hound Heater: Dog House Heater. I’ll review it in a future issue.
    Cozy Winters, 800-340-1528; www.cozywinters.com.

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