I am going on my first duck hunting trip next week around Lafitte La. I have been told this time of the year gators are no problem. Just looking for some feed back becasue the last thing I want to do is come back with one less dog.

Gators eat dogs. Good luck

First and foremost gators are always a problem in south LA. It just matters the gator population in the area and what time of the year. With alligators being cold-blooded reptile naturally this time of the year the aggression will start getting toned down due to cooler air and cooler water. Basically a product of their environment. They tend to feed less frequently in winter months as well. Some gators will hibernate into underground holes and remain there throughout the winter. However, from time-to-time when we get a warm snap, I have seen gators in different places that I have hunted, but they generally do not pose a threat due to their small size and weather conditions. I feel if the gator is around 6-5' or smaller that they should not pose a problem as a full grown lab would be difficult to make a meal out of. It seems the general consensus is that gators start to become lethargic when the water temps are around 65 degrees consistently.

Hope this helps

I'm in setx and saw a good size gator moving around a lot Saturday.. And if you think keeping an eye on your dog will help a gator not eat it...

Scouted some marsh in se louisiana sat and saw 4 different gators.....only about 5' but enough for me to not take a chance

Temps aren't cold enough right now, they are active

Call Troy,,he choots em...

The first thing I do when I pull into a pond is shine a q beam and look for eyes. I'm not hunting too far from lafite and haven't seen many gators with the cold fronts pushing down. Doesn't mean their not here. Good Luck

We have seen em plenty in Nov. weather. I watched my padna step on one while picking up deeks. Never knew he was there until his tail came up and knocked my buddy down. A dog is an easy meal for a gator. Generally though, they are more scared of you unless you really piss em off like when a member on here got to close at wallisville and it bit his boat. Anybody got those pics?

A good rule of thumb is as your running to your spot, shine the banks. If you see turtles then there can be gators since they are both cold blooded and hibernate around similar temps. Doesn't meAn gators aren't out if you don't see em but I would keep the dog in the boat if you see em.

Gators stop feeding when their internal temperature gets beloww 80 degrees. At that point they can't digest what they eat. So, if the water is cold AND the air temperature is cold you are probably safe. On a warm day gators can come to the surface and get their temp up.
I only run my dog in deep water if the water temperature is less than 60 degrees and the air temperature is cold. A cloudy day is much better also. If an alligator is feeding he will have your dog before you can do anything about it.
Unfortunately, here in Florida, my dog sits at home more than he goes.

Buck

I was up at Dam-B the other night with a cold front and there were still alligators everywhere. You can't ever be too careful.