Hey guys, I know I'm new here, but rest assured, I am not a troll. My lady and I came up with what we think could be a great idea for hunters who use dogs, either for bird retrieval or chasing/tracking animals like hog dogs or blood trackers. I've never had it happen to my dog, knock on wood, but I've heard of several folks who have had dogs dehydrate and overheat while hunting early dove season and other seasons. We have come up with an idea for a product that will HELP to keep the dogs cool, hydration would still be an important thing for the hunter to keep in mind, but this product should be a benefit in keeping the dogs cool while waiting for you to do your part. Basically, it is a pad that the dog sits or lays on that would cool him. Would you folks be interested in such a product? Do you think I can market it? At what price point would you lose interest, keeping in mind that the materials alone would run roughly +/- 30 dollars, plus our time to make them? Of course before trying to sell them here, we would become sponsors of the site, something for nothingjust ain't right.

Good idea, but might want to google "dog cooling blanket". Looks like a lot of competition.

Agreed DoubleB20, but I have yet to find one (limited searching though) that is marketed to hunters, with camo fabrics, durable enough to be tossed on the dirt/weeds etc. I also think I can beat the prices I've seen listed, maybe not by much, but beat them none the less. I've also considered making them in vest form, rather than bed/blanket form. One problem I see with the vest is the added weight the dog would be carrying around, but I think the cooling benefits would be more than enough to offset the added weight. It's like a set of aftermarket sweat glands for your favorite hunting buddy.

how much, what size, how durable, and for me, a hog hunter, a vest is out of the question because my catch dogs already wear a vest, and I don't want one on my bay dogs. I could be interested in some sort of pad to throw in the dog box and cool them down after a hunt or if one gets hot. How do I cool it down? How long does the pad stay cool? not trying to troubleshoot. just questions I'd ask before I bought.

Catchrcall, all very good questions. For a pad, you would soak it in cool water before the hunt, put it in a large plastic back and toss it in the cooler. Not sure how long it will stay cool yet, need to make some test samples first, but I've read as long as four hours. The idea is evaporative cooling though, so as long as it has water in it, it should be cooling the dog down.....the product inside says it will return to its dry state in 3-4 days. The company that makes the gel had some vests made up for soldiers in Iraq to wear under their body armor, so I would think that the catch dogs could wear it under their cut vests too, plus there is evidence that the gel will help to absorb impacts so it might be an added "cushion" to protect your dogs, just a thought. I also was shown a vest design on another forum that only covers the underside of the dog, which is the best area for cooling anyway, and one of the hog doggers there said that he thought it would fit "between" th cut vest. I'm not very familiar with hog dog gear, so I'm not sure what he means, but basically the design he showed me was a pad that was strapped to the dog's underside (ribcage, chest and belly area) with nylon webbing straps. If the cut vest goes over the dog's back, that design wouldn't interfear much at all.

It would be something I would consider.

I'd be concerned about the evaporative cooling, since that normally means humidity, which under the right conditions can make it worse for your dog. Just like you don't kennel a wet dog when its hotter than hades out, the humidity will kill them.

The gel works well, but not for long, I was a test subject in '05 for those vests. For us they spent more time in the cooler than on us.

Good luck on your idea, I'd be interested if you come up with something that at leasst helps my girls

Thanks for your insight TreeBass. I don't know about the vests going under the body armor, just something I read. I do know that we made some neck wraps up and they are a life saver. I'm thinking I make two, keep one in the cooler and one on my neck, when the one I'm wearing stops helping, I switch. May not be that feasible for the dog bedding/vest idea, but just a thought. As far as going under the cut vests, that would be similar to the vest you would have worn under body armor and may have the same humidity problems you mentioned. I'm also thinkin of making a vest for the human hunter out of mesh, like a dove vest, with the cooling tubes sewn in. I would think that as long as you have airflow, you would be doing well, but like you said, once you get the water evaporating into a confined space like a kennel or under a vest, you might be treading on thin ice. I'm glad you brought that up, it's something I hadn't thought about yet. Thanks.

Anything that adds humidity would eliminate the dog training crowd. They would want something they can put in the dog boxes.

Also might need to consider toxicity and what happens if the dog chews it.

It sounds like a logical idea, but a messy and humid one. It sounds like a lot of wet, muddy, and humid dog boxes and a whole extra cooler, if i'm reading everything right, for the dog cooler thing. Ed is right, humidity is going to eliminate the dog training crowd, it just adds unnessacary heat to a dog box.

my dog boxes are all open anyway, made out of expanded metal or hog/goat panel, so humidity is not an issue. If I could keep the dogs from chewing them, the pads he's talking about would probably work for me. as it is, I sometimes freeze two liter bottles or milk jugs full of water and hang them in the dog boxes or trailer with them to help keep them cool.

The material is non-toxic, so that should not be an issue. The fabric they are made of would just have to be very tough and durable. Not to keep the dog from getting to the gel, but just to make the product more durable. Still a work in progress, we'll see if it goes anywhere.

this is the kind of dog box I'm talking about. They also come in slip ins for a truck bed.

Yeah, I can see how humidity in that thing would be a big issue, although, it does appear to have an A/C unit on top, or at least a vent fan. Nice setup. I'm more interested in making the blankets or vests for the dog to use while actually int he field hunting. I know some of you guys have pointers that are always on the move, and some probably have enough birds on the fly that you keep Fido pretty busy, but for guys like me, my dog may sit next to me for a pretty decent amount of time before I see a bird, then I actually have to hit it before he has to go to work. Of course, all this is assuming my dog(s) actually do any real work this year. Last year was their first year and I didn't see a single bird to shoot at, much less down one for them to retrieve.

got it, I'm just trying to steer you towards the biggest potential market for gear like that.

Understood and I appreciate your insight. Looks like it may be next year before I get around to marketing these, going to make one or two for my dogs this year and see how they work, then go from there. By the time I have a stock of them made and ready to market, it'll be winter and demand will slump.