# Cool Zone Dog Vests



## kpolley (Jun 5, 2007)

Has anyone had any experience in using cool zone vests on their dog while training. Wanting input from more just than the casual user. Do these things hold up to daily use while training for HT/FT. What about water work? Feel free to pm if comments are too negative.

Thanks
Kevin


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm thinking of getting a couple for the dog box (medium pads)...any thoughts would be greatly appreciated on them!


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## Jim Harvey (Feb 7, 2007)

Kevin, I have been using them for 7 years now. They hold up through anything I throw at them take my word on it. (photo of one in HEAT thread) You will break a bladder or two but that is a small price to pay for what you get. I keep 2-3 extra bladders with me at all times. We run big FT marks with them. They are not for use in the water in my book. With my experience they tend to keep a dogs CORE temp close to 1 1/2 degrees cooler during a set up. That difference between 104.5 and 106 is a big deal to me and my dog.. I have done a lot of testing on them.

Lainee, the pads are something different altogether. I have not used them because my goal was to keep the dog CORE temp down to begin with and that is what happens with the vest. The pad attempts to cool a hot dog off. I am trying to keep that same dog from getting hot beforehand. I hope that makes sense?


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## EdA (May 13, 2003)

Jim Harvey said:


> Jeff, I have been using them for 7 years now. They hold up through anything I throw at them take my word on it. (photo of one in HEAT thread) You will break a bladder or two but it that is a small price to pay for what you get. I keep 2-3 extra bladders with me at all times. We run big FT marks with them. They are not for use in the water. With my experience they tend to keep a dog CORE temp close to 1 1/2 degrees cooler during a set up. That difference between 104.5 and 106 is a big deal to me and my dog.. I have done a lot of testing on them.
> 
> Lainee, the pads are something different all toghter. I have not used them because my goal was to keep the dog CORE temp down to begin with and that is what happens with the vest. The pad attempts to cool a hot dog off. I am trying to keep that same dog from getting hot beforehand. I hope that makes sense?


do you one for each dog or one that you move from dog to dog?


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

Jim Harvey said:


> Lainee, the pads are something different all toghter. I have not used them because my goal was to keep the dog CORE temp down to begin with and that is what happens with the vest. The pad attempts to cool a hot dog off. I am trying to keep that same dog from getting hot beforehand. I hope that makes sense?


No that makes sense - I'm looking for one to put in the back of the truck where my "old man" travels - he doesn't do much but hang out, but the heat really aggrivates his breathing (LarPar surgery 2 years ago). Plus to use mostly at FTs when the dogs are on the truck and its blazing hot outside.


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## Jim Harvey (Feb 7, 2007)

Lainee what about this? http://www.amazon.com/Canine-Cooler-Bed-Choose-size/dp/B00080M3XO

I have used these for years with great success.

I am firm believer in the coolzone products, but the probelm I see with theirs is that is has to be recharged all the time.

The Kanine cooler does not have to be recharged. My dogs have loved this product they really work. Cheaper too,....


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## Jim Harvey (Feb 7, 2007)

Ed, if your dogs were similar in size it could work!

But the bladders (cooling material) would need to be replaced or recharged. If you had 2-3 different bladders it could work.

I have one dog that runs HOT he has his own vest.


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

I sent an email to the coolzone people and they sell extra bladders and they are easily recharged in the ice cooler, which I would have by default - figured I could have a few spares in the cooler. I'm gonna order one for this weekend (Ft. Collins FT is historically a hot one) and see how pooh pooh head likes it. I'll post up a review if I can get it in time. 

Also not sure about the other product you posted - how doggie proof are they? Are they non-toxic...need to research those a little more, besides whats a little bit of money to keep my old man comfy?


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## DoubleHaul (Jul 22, 2008)

Can you stick your packs in a cooler with ice to recharge them in the field?


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## MikeBoley (Dec 26, 2003)

Jim, how long does the bladder stay charged? Sounds like a great thing for dove hunting.


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

They last for about 4 hours according to the representative I just talked to.

Yes you can recharge them in your cooler, but you want the bladders to lay flat.

I just ordered the pad for the old man. They offer extra bladders but you need to call them, they are not on the website. I'll post up a review after I use it for a couple FTs.


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## Jim Harvey (Feb 7, 2007)

Mike, it depends how active the dog is (the heat from the animal causes the bladder to melt quicker the hotter the dog is).

I have used them for seven years and the vest last between 15 and 35 minutes but that is with a VERY ACTIVE dog. During a hunting situation I think it could last much longer since the animal is not continouosly moving like he would during a training set up. 

I could see it being GREAT for dove hunting.

All you have to do is recharge the bladder in the field. That takes about 15 minutes.


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## Jim Harvey (Feb 7, 2007)

DoubleHaul said:


> Can you stick your packs in a cooler with ice to recharge them in the field?


Sure can it only takes about 15-18 to recharge the pack. It is best to have a large cooler and good amount of ice though, the bladders for the matts are quite large.


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## Thomas D (Jan 27, 2003)

I have one of the crate pads and they work great. All non toxic. Lasts about 3 hours. Like anything else, I suppose a chewer could do some damage to it.

http://coolzonedog.com/


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## kpolley (Jun 5, 2007)

Their is a camo version not shown on their website. I think this would be perfect for for dove seaon. Also the rep stated the dogs can swim in them and sent me a picture. she said the material will absorb water but the cooling paks actually provided some bouyancy and therefore the dog seem to get more floatation and have to work less. Sounds like this may be a way to help beat the heat. If I get one I will provide feedback also.


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

They are currently being added to our webstore for our Canadian customers.


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## Mary Lynn Metras (Jul 6, 2010)

The Snows said:


> They are currently being added to our webstore for our Canadian customers.


When? 
Please let me know.


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## verne socks (Feb 11, 2010)

Jim Harvey said:


> Sure can it only takes about 15-18 to recharge the pack. It is best to have a large cooler and good amount of ice though, the bladders for the matts are quite large.


Jim, do you leave vest on and change packs or take on/off between runs?


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## Jim Harvey (Feb 7, 2007)

Vern, upon finishing any setup I will remove the vest from the dog as soon as he delivers the last bird. At that time I am done with the vest. There are two reasons why I do this: 

1) I am still probably going to cool dog off via evaporative cooling as soon as I can. (I could not get to the dogs belly with vest on) 

2) For my intended purpose the vests cooling material (Exotherm) has expired. Plus, dog needs rest and a cooling down period and I can cool a dog down quicker without the expired vest on. Yes, it only lasted maybe 15 or so minutes but you have to remember this vest has been on a dog running all out with his afterburners on for the last 5-8 minutes. That kind of activity tends to eat up the cooling ability much faster than a dog that is not as active.

When the exotherm is charged, it is whitish in color and is hard. The heat from the dog is absorbed into the exotherm in the vest; that absorption of heat is what keeps the dog cooler. As that happens the now semi hard exotherm slowly turns to a liquid state and its cooling ability slowly begins to decline. 

If you had another set of bladders in your cooler, charged and ready to go you could transfer them over and use the vest again for another dog. 

I hope this helps.


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## verne socks (Feb 11, 2010)

Just ordered the vest in large for my 75 lb male - he tends to run hot and not pace himself....can't get to the birds fast enough or back for another! I use fans and shade to cool him and have to limit his retrieves, even in water this year. Might even be worse as he thrashes on way to the bird so a long swim is tough on him. Hoping to gain some additional help with the vest and another set of bladders....we will see! Thanks


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

I got my pad this past week and used it this weekend at the FT, although I did not need it everyday. I also used it during the week and I believe it works as advertised - one evening it was 92 degrees outside and normally when it's hot like that Flash will paw at his pillow and get it all bunched up in an attempt to find a cool spot to lay...of course he was doing this before I remembered to put the pad in the back seat for him. Once it was in place he laid down and was comfortable. It had to be keeping him at a cool enough temperature as he was not panting and show signs of the heat bothering him. At the FT he was sacked out and comfortable. So for now I'm very, very pleased with the results. I've only used a handful of times so my initial review is favorable, but I still want to see how it performs over a little longer period of time. I am going to invest in a smaller set of pads for the actual dog holes for the rest of my guys. 

This coming weekend will probably be pretty hot at the FT, I'm expecting to see just how well the pad works in a more extreme temperature setting, plus see how quickly the bladders recharge.


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

Lainee,

With regards to recharging the Unipak ..... while in the field the fastest method is to submerge the packs in a suitable container filled with plenty of ice and water, keeping the packs as flat as possible. Submerge the packs for approx. 10-20 minutes until they are solid white. 

Where refrigeration is available, lay them flat on the refrigerator shelf. Note that charging in the refrigerator usually requires more time than the quick ice and water method.


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

The Snows said:


> Lainee,
> 
> With regards to recharging the Unipak ..... while in the field the fastest method is to submerge the packs in a suitable container filled with plenty of ice and water, keeping the packs as flat as possible. Submerge the packs for approx. 10-20 minutes until they are solid white.
> 
> Where refrigeration is available, lay them flat on the refrigerator shelf. Note that charging in the refrigerator usually requires more time than the quick ice and water method.


Yup...I didn't need to recharge them this past weekend while in actual use, at night I did recharge them in the fridge in our trailer...the bladders are designed in a way that I was able to "fold" them in half and recharge that way, so you don't need a huge cooler to recharge on the go - I think the idea behind "laying them flat" is so you don't end up with all the liquid in one area of the bladder and when it hardens it is not distributed evenly (make sense?)...

I also bought the large pad - it is subdivided into 3 sections (approximately 1'x2') - I think just a single section of the pad would be ideal for the kennel holes (their small sized pad)...I don't think (after using the large one with Flash) that you need to cover the entire area where the dog is laying down, just provide a "spot" that is cool. The other thing is that they don't feel FREEZING cold to the touch, but a nice cool temperature. I'm half tempted to buy one for me to throw in my chair when sitting in the gallery, too!


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

FOM said:


> The other thing is that they don't feel FREEZING cold to the touch, but a nice cool temperature. I'm half tempted to buy one for me to throw in my chair when sitting in the gallery, too!


That's the neat thing about this technology .... better than soak-in water products as the water will only evaporate when the humidity levels are cold, they are messy and the damp cloth can breed bacteria. The ice and gel packs that are chilled in a freezer end up extremely cold and could cause frostbite if it is in close contact to your dog's skin. 

The medium pad (which is two sections) is 19" x 25", the small pad (which is only one section) is 19" x 12".

And yes ..... you will be happy to know they do have a "cool seat"!


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## verne socks (Feb 11, 2010)

I just looked at my Unipak pads that are in storage now in basement. The gel is "hard" on many of the bladder sections. Any ideas why this happened? These are not cheap and were only used about a month last summer....


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

verne socks said:


> I just looked at my Unipak pads that are in storage now in basement. The gel is "hard" on many of the bladder sections. Any ideas why this happened? These are not cheap and were only used about a month last summer....


Is your basement where they are stored "cool"? If the unipaks are kept in a cooler environment they will automatically recharge and therefore are ready to use. If they are "hard" they are ready to go! The pads will recharge in a refrigerator, ice water or even in the cool air of an air-conditioned vehicle. The unipaks for the vests and the cooling pads can be recharged for an unlimited number of times.


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## verne socks (Feb 11, 2010)

I get what you are saying but not sure that is the case. Basement is finished and 65 degrees.....Will bring them upstairs where a little warmer to see what happens. Thanks!


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## verne socks (Feb 11, 2010)

The Snows said:


> Is your basement where they are stored "cool"? If the unipaks are kept in a cooler environment they will sutomatically recharge and therefor are ready to use. If they are "hard" they are ready to go! The pads will recharge in a refrigerator, ice water or even in the cool air of an air-conditioned vehicle. The unipaks for the vests and the cooling pads can be recharged for an unlimited number of times.


Brought them upstairs and soaked them in warm water.........no change.


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

verne socks said:


> Brought them upstairs and soaked them in warm water.........no change.


The Exotherm technology that is held within the UniPaks is designed to charge or harden at a temperature + or - 65F. If stored in an area where the temperature hovers in that range (or slightly below) allows that the UniPak would stay charged while stored. When charged, the product is designed to virtually draw the heat out of the body it is in contact with and as it does this, it discharges or melts the UniPak. This cooling technology was originally designed for humans (military and law enforcement) and was then applied to canines.

The product is designed to remain charged for several hours, and will only start to discharge or "melt' (as it draws the heat out of the wearer) when it comes in direct contact with a body temperature of approx. 100F (canines or humans). This discharge or melting may take several hours (at 100F) depending upon activity level of the canine (or human) that is wearing the vest. When fully discharged, the UniPak turns totally to liquid, and all that is needed is a short period of time (minutes not hours) in a refrigerator (not freezer), cold cooler water or even an air conditioned vehicle to recharge the paks. For additional information on how the product works, Dennis Voigt has a complete review on the product in the Spring 2013 issue of Retrievers ONLINE.

Have sent you a PM.


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## verne socks (Feb 11, 2010)

Update: It took a lot longer than I would have figured - so much for being an engineer! Unipaks are back to liquid again so all appears well. 
Apparently from being stored in a 65 degree basement was enough to keep them charged & hard. 
Sue from Dakota Retrievers was very helpful in talking to the manufacture for me. Thanks!


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

verne socks said:


> Update: It took a lot longer than I would have figured - so much for being an engineer! Unipaks are back to liquid again so all appears well.
> Apparently from being stored in a 65 degree basement was enough to keep them charged & hard.
> Sue from Dakota Retrievers was very helpful in talking to the manufacture for me. Thanks!


Verne, what did you have to do?


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## verne socks (Feb 11, 2010)

huntinman said:


> Verne, what did you have to do?


I first tried soaking in warm water but saw no immediate change. Finally left upstairs in warm room for almost two days!


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

verne socks said:


> I first tried soaking in warm water but saw no immediate change. Finally left upstairs in warm room for almost two days!


Guess that shows the material will actually provide cooling for a good long period of time.


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## Erin O'Brien (Mar 5, 2010)

I tried getting a cooling vest from Cool Zone and when I called they said they weren't making them anymore. I just ordered one from here: http://www.coolvest.com/rpcm_cooling_vest/dogs-equine/ and found a coupon JL-10 . They looked similar to the vests from cool zone. It's been hot here and I've had to skip a lot of days. Has anyone ever used these vests? Reviews?


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## Maxs Mom (Sep 17, 2009)

I have the RCMP vest for my dogs. Sounds exactly the same. I love mine. 

We put it away for the winter in our basement. When I got them out this year, the packs were charged and ready to go. 

I need to look into the mats


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## Jennifer Henion (Jan 1, 2012)

Maxs Mom said:


> I have the RCMP vest for my dogs. Sounds exactly the same. I love mine.
> 
> We put it away for the winter in our basement. When I got them out this year, the packs were charged and ready to go.
> 
> I need to look into the mats


I think you mean RPCM, rather than RCMP. Although I see how hard it is to write those four letters in the correct order: I just typed them wrong here and had to correct it!


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

Unfortunately Cool Zone is no longer manufacturing vests or cooling pads. We do have some of the vests and cooling pads still available.


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## Maxs Mom (Sep 17, 2009)

Jennifer Henion said:


> I think you mean RPCM, rather than RCMP. Although I see how hard it is to write those four letters in the correct order: I just typed them wrong here and had to correct it!


DOH!!!! You don't think the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has cooling vests for sale???? Going off to hide in a corner now.......

Blame it on the IPhone.


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

UPDATE - As we head back into the warm weather we still have a couple of the Cool Zone vests available - clear-out priced!


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## freezeland (Nov 1, 2012)

The Snows said:


> UPDATE - As we head back into the warm weather we still have a couple of the Cool Zone vests available - clear-out priced!


Any vests still available? 

Does anyone have a good source for cooling vests by any manufacturer / retailer?


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## DoubleHaul (Jul 22, 2008)

I saw some recently. I'll try to find again. I don't have to use them often but sure do like having them in the truck just in case.


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## freezeland (Nov 1, 2012)

DoubleHaul said:


> I saw some recently. I'll try to find again. I don't have to use them often but sure do like having them in the truck just in case.


Thanks, It's pretty warm here and summer is just starting.


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## Erin O'Brien (Mar 5, 2010)

They still sell this one. Works great. 
http://www.coolvest.com/rpcm_cooling_vest/dogs-equine/

They had a coupon when I bought mine.


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## freezeland (Nov 1, 2012)

Erin O'Brien said:


> They still sell this one. Works great.
> http://www.coolvest.com/rpcm_cooling_vest/dogs-equine/
> 
> They had a coupon when I bought mine.



Thank you!! I see they have two sizes. Which did you get? Does the vest work well? I see it's pretty reasonably priced too. 

Thanks again.


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## Erin O'Brien (Mar 5, 2010)

Works great. We got the large and it fits my 55lb and 70lb females well. It's very adjustable so a larger dog would work too. She doesn't mind wearing it while running marks but it can be a little bulky. If it's not too hot I just put it on her after, but I found she stays much cooler wearing it while running. For water work, I put it on after. It's not super cold so doesn't cool too fast. It recharges quickly in a cooler too. I keep mine in the fridge when not using it.


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## The Snows (Jul 19, 2004)

We still have the vests available in Medium and X-Large. Also spare cooling packs for anyone with an existing vest or wanting to create a cooling pad.


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