Let's See Your Dogs!!

Meet Denali, (Bernese Mountain Dog) the latest addition to my furry family. Brought him home last night to surprise the wife . We have been looking for a few months since the loss of our boy Kipper and she just wouldn't make up her mind what kind to rescue this time. So I made up her mind for her. He Joins Marlin (lab), Axel (Aussie) and Remington (Pyrenees/Lab) in creating the hairy tumble-weeds and bringing even more love into our home.

 

Any input on ecollars?

Thinking about getting a Sportdog 425 since I don't really need too far of a range. It'll be more for obedience training than hunting, but eventually I'd like for him to be able to wander instead of always being on a leash.

 

My next dog with be a Ridgeback or Plotthound. Beautiful pup.

 

Well, had one for the old dog, only used it a handful of times. Never used it on the new dog.
They can be good if your pup is really having a hard time focusing on you and are off being a little crazy. I really only used it in more sketchy situations where I needed her attention immediately and she wasn't responding. But normally whenever she had it on she was incredibly well behaved.. .to the point I stopped charging it, then stopped using it all together.

For the new dog I just trained with a 30' lead. Worked well, and its an ongoing process. Never put the e-collar on him.

Some people really hate them and think they're cruel. In my opinion, if you do get one, you better damn well test it on yourself and know how it feels before you use it on the pup. Test most of the levels, and definitely the highest setting so you know how it is, and it really should be a last resort. But, the dog does learn really quick with it.
Just my 2 cents

 

My girlfriends American Bulldog is so strong and thick skulled she had a hard time controlling him and getting him to listen. I think the collar saved his life because she was really getting frustrated. She only had to shock him once and now he's a great listener with just the collar on. Sometimes she says BEEP and he just does what you say. He knows how to act right he just didn't want to before. Highly recommended. Would you rather give a dog away or have it put down or get a collar so it will act right? My lab on the other hand doesn't need a collar he's well behaved.

 

My dog will freak out and go deaf when he sees a lot of thing(dogs, squirrels, bunnies, skateboarders...) which isn't great because they are everywhere where we live. It's gotten to the point that we go for walks late at night because we're less likely to see them at night.

We've used other collars (choke, prong, head) and while they helped in the beginning he didn't "learn" anything and would always go back to his old ways. I know ecollars are another training aid and not an overnight fix but I'm hoping that it can actually get him to finally learn.

 

I have the Garmin Tri-Tronics Pro 550. Because it's what my trainer uses and I got used to it. It is what most pros use.
Garmin also has the e-collars with GPS. That may be good for you to track your dog.

A note:
Be VERRY careful using the e-collar. Educate yourself. They are an awesome tool used correctly. And can be devastating if used improperly. NEVER use the e-collar to discipline your dog.
Always begin with the lowest settings. And work up to the level necessary.

I wouldn't have a dog in the field (upland birds) without an e-collar. Invaluable tool.

 

Great source for e-collars:
http://www.googleadservices.com/pag...OBwsQ0QwIGg&adurl=http://www.gundogsupply.com

Steve is genuine and is well respected in the dog training/hunting/hunt test culture.

 

Yup, I'd never turn it all the way up and zap him first to prove a point or anything. Just the lowest setting needed to get him to stop whatever he's doing. Since he'd be on leash and with an ecollar, if the ecollar isn't working I'd remove him from the situation.

I'd buy it from him for sure. The Sportdog 425 is the same price from him compared to everywhere else, but he has a 40min ecollar training (more like training the human) video included with a collar purchase.

 

I use the Garmin Delta Sport XC. I went with Garmin simply because of the TriTronics reputation. I love the collar, and the added bark limiter. I only use the bark limiter on my house dog because he barks to alert us when our kids get out of bed... That was fine when they were three, but it's down right annoying now.

I run the same setup with my Lab for waterfowl hunting. She started wearing it every time we went out at about three months old, and I never even turned it on until she was seven months old. She now associates it with fun and I don't think she will get collar wise.

Collar conditioning should be the final stages of obiedence, imagine it as nothing more than a tug on an invisible leash. Proper training should allow your dog to be controlled off-leash without the need of a collar. My dog walks at heel unless given the "have-fun" command which lets her know she has free roam.. Not saying my dog is awesome, but it's simply basic OB.

PM me if you have questions. I myself am far from a pro trainer, but I have the luxury of having one as a mentor.

Trey

 

Also,
Some old timers say an ecollar isn't needed.... They are critical to having a truly finished dog. My dog will never be in the marsh without one... Too many gators

Trey

 

Second thought I'm looking at Garmin Delta XC. Do you find that the bark limiter actually works? Wondering if it's worth the $50 op top of the Delta XC.

 

Dang man I couldn't imagine duck hunting with gators around. Can you shoot the gators if they come around? No gators in the NW!

 

I got it because I wanted the extra 1/4 mile range, as well as an added 18 levels of stimulation. Truth be told, it's still 18 levels, there is simply a high and low nick at each setting. Granted, I don't use any higher than the third setting but I have had to light her up once. Bark limiter was an added bonus.. I don't use it for the dog I bought the collar for. If you have a barking problem then absolutely. It works

You can't shoot them "legally". I've only ever shot at one because I was in a field with about a foot of water and just me on a barstool in some brush... As the sun rose I heard her growling and she was about ten feet from me and I was in her den... Genuinely the scariest thing I've experienced in my entire lift..It's more rare than you think during the season. They don't really mess with you unless you set up in their den... They're all over but pretty dormant. We've stepped on them a time or two and they didn't budge. With that, I will never use her during early teal which usually falls during the end of September... The same time gator season is in effect. I got this one in the exact same spot I hunt during duck season... Funny thing is we don't hunt in the boat. We ditch the boat and wade.

You up for a hunt swap?

 

Damn that is a big gator! The shows on TV make then seem like they are pretty aggressive creatures but you know how TV is. I would for sure be down. It's up in Western WA where are you out of? I hunt tidal flats there's literally flocks of 1000's out where I go. You'll get 60-100 ducks buzz your decoys sometimes it's cool.

 

Great post

 

he got to the recliner 1st

 

Beautiful dog. Did you go through a breeder located in WA?

 

Thanks man I appreciate it. Yes I bought him from a guy who had 2 labs at home and decided to have a litter. He's an amazing duck hunting dog his drive to retrieve is impressive. I'm having a litter actually soon with my uncles dog if anyone is interested.