I have a 3 yr old black lab and was wondering about getting a chest protector. He doesn’t have a lot of hair on his chest and the last couple of seasons I have put vasaline on his chest but have to reapply it often, it seems to help but it is kinda a pain. Does any one have experience with them.
Thanks.
I have my lab wear one pheasant hunting and duck hunting and it doesn’t bother him at all. The sizing is tricky on those things so measure carefully. The vests tend to not fit perfectly so some trimming will probably have to be done. Both of mine are Cabela’s brand and I have no complaints.
I picked this style up at Cabelas also. They have held up well, going on the second year with them.
get one, we hunt private land and my unc’s lab and friends brittany both have chest protectors. the first year we were up there, the brittany ran head first into a barb wire… she had a 1″ gash just inside her shoulder… now we wont go upland hunting without one on our puppies. plus its nice cuz the sides and top of the vests are blaze, so its that much easier to see them working in tall grass. 
my unc had to custom fit one brand (i cant remember which) — cuz the waist was long and would chafe his labs member. no one likes to run with a sore unit!!!
I also use the nylon one from Cabeleas. Wouldnt go without it.
I have one also, but only used it when we were on multiple day hunts. Just a warning, Your dog may walk funny when you first put it on him/her, but after they are use to it they forget it is on. I used to let mine wear it around the house for a little bit the day before.
EDIT: I also had to modify mine to allow “more freedom” on the underside of my Male dog. 
Good point Rob. I too let my dog get used to it by wearing it around the house. Now she associates it with hunting and gets excited when I pull it out. Same with shock collar if you can belive that!!
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Good point Rob. I too let my dog get used to it by wearing it around the house. Now she associates it with hunting and gets excited when I pull it out. Same with shock collar if you can belive that!!
Its amazing how they get used to things. When I grab the shock collar my dog freaks out because she knows we are going to go somewhere either to train, run, or hunt.
I have a floating vest for her that took a little getting used to considering I rarely use it, but now she doesn’t even notice it.
hmm. Got me thinking about what she associates with hunting. If she see’s or hears any of these things its go time. Gun, gun case, shock collar, vest, turning onto a gravel road, rattling the door on her kennel. She comes flying to that sound anywhere in the house. And of course gunfire. That what I can remember for now.
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turning onto a gravel road
Ain’t that the truth. Rufus could be in a dead sleep in the back of the truck and he hears that first granule move and he pops up to check it out. 
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