ONE of the great attractions of fieldsports is that, generally speaking, they are not affected too much by the weather. Bad light never stops play, and rarely does bad weather. We all remember those special days when a gale blew, the heavens opened or a blizzard turned the world white. Usually our canine companions carry on regardless, but there are days when it all becomes too much and they become cold dogs.

Many years ago, I was a member of a syndicate in the Sussex Weald. It was a stand one, walk-one shoot, though I usually walked all day because that’s what my spaniels liked doing. On one cold January Saturday, it started raining as we parked the cars; the rain increased steadily as the morning wore on, so by 11am my hat was sodden, my coat was starting to leak and I wasn’t really enjoying myself.

Cold springer spaniel

My springer was equally soaked. At the time, she was in her prime and her energy seemed unlimited, but then, quite suddenly, she collapsed. We were in the bottom of a muddy wood, with rivulets of water streaming around us. There was no time to think about what to do, for if she was going to survive it was apparent that I had to act quickly. I wrapped her in my Barbour, then carried her back to the car. It was a mile’s trudge over uneven, sodden ground, the going tricky enough without carrying 20kg of spaniel.

Labradors have a double coat which acts as insulation

Reviving warmth

Fortunately, I had a guest with me that day, and he carried my gun while I carried my dog. As soon as we got to the car, we towelled her off the best we could, then settled her in the passenger footwell for the drive home. Thankfully, the warmth from the heater soon started to revive her, and by the time we arrived home she was on her feet again, to my intense relief. She made a complete recovery and never had a similar problem again.

Why a cold dog might collapse

There are a few reasons why a dog might suddenly collapse. In the case of my spaniel, she had simply run out of energy and was overwhelmed by being so cold and wet. It is something that happens occasionally with working spaniels but rarely with labradors. The latter, of course, are not only bigger, so generally more robust, but have a thick double coat that insulates them. In contrast, spaniels are thin-skinned, so are more liable to suffer from sudden loss of body heat.

Spaniels are more liable to suffer from a sudden loss of heat

I have never had a similar experience since, but I have on occasion worked my spaniels in form-fitting neoprene coats that help insulate them. I wouldn’t recommend these coats for a dog that is hunting in brambles, but for a peg dog on a wet day, or a spaniel that goes wildfowling, they can be invaluable. They are small enough to pack in a gamebag, so should your dog look cold and miserable you can always put one on during the day.

High energy food

Another useful trick is to carry a high-energy food for your dog. One commercial product that I can recommend is Kronch Pemmikan. It comes in a slab, rather like a bar of chocolate, and has sufficient fat, protein and glucose to provide almost instant usable energy for a working dog. Gundog food specialist Skinner’s also offers handy energy bars to give a burst of nutrients to working dogs.

Snow

After working my dogs one day in heavy snow, I was prompted to buy snowshoes, or what might best be called paw protectors. No, this wasn’t to keep their feet warm, but because the snow balled and froze in their pads, something they clearly found uncomfortable, prompting frequent stops to try to gnaw away the offending ice. I reckoned that with snow boots on, they would be much better prepared for working.

 Some years ago, I spoke to a picker-up who was working his dogs on a commercial shoot in Scotland on a day of heavy snow. The difficulty, he told me, was that the shot pheasants were falling through the snow so couldn’t be found, even by his labradors. He felt that if you can’t retrieve birds, you shouldn’t shoot them, a sentiment with which I agree.

This article was originally published in 2023 and has been updated. 

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