Electronic Collars for you and your dog!
Our Brittany, Sunny was an outstanding hunting dog and obedient companion. A day spent with her in the field was as good as it gets……..until I would loose her. She was a dog totally focused on the hunt. Once in awhile she’d get on a scent and suddenly she was on the go, oblivious to my whereabouts. She quit hunting for me, and started hunting for herself. No amount of calling her got her attention. Standing there yelling was not only fruitless, it was disturbing to the birds as well as my hunting partners.
Thank goodness, one day my hunting partner had an extra electronic collar on hand after I had become frustrated with the dog. I had battled using these thinking they were barbaric and cruel. I felt my dog was to well trained to stoop to using one of these. Well, my well trained dog was giving me fits!
After a quick lesson on using the collar, Sunny and I set out into the next field. I had the collar set low. We actually hunted a couple more fields before she once again got going on another scent and forgot about me. I called her back. She didn’t respond. I hit the button and it was just enough stimulation to get her to stop, look at me and come back and check in. The next time she got out ahead and didn’t respond to my call, she got hit again. I don’t think I ever had to hit the button again, that day or any day afterwards. We had years of happy hunting thanks to the collar.
Collars have come a long way since my days in the field with Sunny. With her and all the dogs we have had since Sunny, when the collar goes on, they are a different dog. They love getting those collars on because they know they are going to do something they love to do.
The collars we use pheasant hunting in South Dakota, are equipped with beepers. Beeper’s are essential for those who hunt with pointing dogs. There are 3 different ways we can use the beepers on the collars. They have a locate button. We use this when we can’t see our dogs in heavy cover or they have gone farther than they can hear us. The beeps range is about a mile, so we can get them to turn around without loosing our voice! There is a point only button. This steady beep will only go off when the dog is locked up on point. That one is music to our ears! Follow the beeping, find the dog and flush the bird! The third choice is a steady beep. We rarely use this as it’s just too much constant noise in the field. We use this mostly when walking corn plots as the noise, plus dog and people movement, helps to get the birds stirred up and flying, hopefully over our blockers.
99% of the time we get the results we want by just using the beepers. On those rare occassions when we’ve used the “zap” or “stimulation” it’s because we mean business and want an immediate response. Examples of those times have been when our dogs have: chased a deer, running after game towards the road, when they’ve encountered skunks and racoons in the field and when they’ve gotten aggressive with another dog. This gives us the final say! It sends a strong, no nonsense message to the dog that we are in control and we need their obedience and attention NOW.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen the overuse and abuse of electronic collars as well. There is really no excuse for this, as there are great training videos and instructions included in the package with the collars. There are also classes that use collars as part of their training.
We’ve also seen dogs that just don’t respond to the collar. They don’t respond to anything. Maybe the collar had been used incorrectly for too long. If that’s not the case then I’d get you and your dog into a good training program or if you have been trying to train your dog to no avail, then it’s time for a different dog!
We, at Maple River Pheasant Hunts, have electronic collars on our brittanys every time we enter the field. It’s an essential investment for us. There are a number of systems out there to fit your needs. They will cost you some money. However, a good system, with good care, should last for the life of your dog.
A day in the field, with your obedient dog, IS as good as it gets!