Most Labs will swim in water way too cold for a human with no ill effects and will break ice to get downed game. The advent of the neoprene dog jackets has been a great boon to cold weather work. They protect the dogs chest from ice and other damage, provide floatation and are a bunch warmer than without. Jacket or not, if the water is not frozen, I would not be concerned about the dog doing retrieves, if it is frozen then I would not work a young dog without a jacket and unless I could break up the ice prior to them going into the water. If you can't get out and break the ice, I would shoot over fields only. Far to fond of the dog to put them into frozen ponds. When we were young we didn't think about it much, as I got older the birds just weren't worth being hard on the dog, even though the dog wanted to go every time. Age old story, you need to be smarter than the dog.
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