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Waterdog!!

Old 01-09-2007, 12:41 PM
  #11  
 
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Location: ALBERTA CANADA
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

Shammy thats really my problem with those things,, the guys who get them alot of the times are where the real problem lies. I know there are lots of trainers that swear by them.But if a dog that is going to be used for hunting once or twice a week and it is trained right from the get-go, there is no need for them in most situations. Even a 3 year old dog can be trained to be usable,,as long as he already has the basic sit, stay, etc. commands down already,, and someone is willing too put in the time. and im not talking playing fetch with a tennis ball.

Unfortunately our duck season closed on dec.20 and goose on jan.4(garbage goose limits, soI dont target them). We are coverred up thick with everything from mallards and blacks too the biggest numbers of divers Ive seen all year,, and more geese than you could shake a flag at! I had a very good year, I was right at 90 birds for the year and only had 1 skunk and only 10 birds were divers and those were cans and reds.

No water is frozen over,, maybe some small ponds are, absolutely no snow cover on the fields, and no one is shooting at them anymore. If it stays like this, you wont be getting anything more from this area.
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Old 01-12-2007, 08:12 AM
  #12  
 
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Location: Trenton, SC
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

You are right e-collars are no good unless used correctly. Which most people don't do. And not to be a smart allec or anything, but I'd probably be pretty ticked off if you threw my $200 remote in the lake.
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Old 01-12-2007, 05:58 PM
  #13  
 
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

I pitched it,, reached into my wallet and handed him the $200, and we started shooting ducks.. Really what else could have I done?? we were an hour from home, and I rode in his truck that morning!
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Old 01-16-2007, 06:03 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

Swampthing,

You are dead on. If you spend the time each day 15min there is no need for the collar. With that being said I own collar but havent used it in years, I figure that most of my dogs faults are actually my own. If a guy would work his dog during commercial breaks every day it would be one hell of a dog. My dog usually retreives about 200-500 birds a year and im about as lazy as they come when it comes to training so i chalk almost all of it up to good basics and natural desire.
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Old 01-16-2007, 08:31 PM
  #15  
Typical Buck
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: golden co
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

E- Collars are a useful tool, like everything else it depends on how you use them. Just like guns. Dogs must be properly collar condition either have a pro do it or learn how to yourself with the correct instruction.
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Old 01-17-2007, 09:01 PM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 24
Default RE: Waterdog!!

My family has run an upland bird hunting buisness for years, and we train all our own dogs blah blah blah. we never use collars until the dogs start testing us. usually once a year, halway through the season. We'll get a dog that decides to strets the limits a little too much, and you zap him with very little power, not even enough to make him yelp, and its all good for the rest of the year. BUT if you think about it, how did you learn when you were a kid? When i was a boy, and i did something wrong, i got whooped... sometimes pain is the best teacher in my opinion.
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Old 01-18-2007, 05:51 PM
  #17  
Spike
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

Maybe in the hands of the right person they're okay, but I had a potentially great dog ruined by one.

I was self-training my first lab, and at eight months old he was already working hand signals and most of the basics. His one problem was that when he made a retrieve, he would drop the object (dummy, bird, etc.) on the ground at my feet instead of holding unril commanded to release. For a working dog, I had no problems with that, but I was interested in field trials and thought he showed potential.

I sent him to a professional trainer, who shocked him into oblivion. After 30 days, my dog had dropped from 70 pounds to about 55 and was terrified of people. it took me over 2 years to gain his trust back. He's a decent dog, but has never rounded into really good hunting material because he cannot take any real pressure in a training session without cowering down. (By pressure, I mean raising my voice- not even to a yell, just a louder, firmer voice).

I shudder to think what might have happened if I hadn't got a phone call from someone warning me as to what was happening. Thankfully, the other six dogs in his care were picked up by the Humane Society.

I know I'm going to get a lot of responses about how this is a trainer problem and not a collar problem. I do say this though- if you are going to use a collar, know how to use it correctly. If you are sending your dog to a trainer, get references and know that they know to use a collar correctly.

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Old 01-18-2007, 06:27 PM
  #18  
Typical Buck
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

ORIGINAL: dhrnrcpa

Maybe in the hands of the right person they're okay, but I had a potentially great dog ruined by one.

I was self-training my first lab, and at eight months old he was already working hand signals and most of the basics. His one problem was that when he made a retrieve, he would drop the object (dummy, bird, etc.) on the ground at my feet instead of holding unril commanded to release. For a working dog, I had no problems with that, but I was interested in field trials and thought he showed potential.

I sent him to a professional trainer, who shocked him into oblivion. After 30 days, my dog had dropped from 70 pounds to about 55 and was terrified of people. it took me over 2 years to gain his trust back. He's a decent dog, but has never rounded into really good hunting material because he cannot take any real pressure in a training session without cowering down. (By pressure, I mean raising my voice- not even to a yell, just a louder, firmer voice).

I shudder to think what might have happened if I hadn't got a phone call from someone warning me as to what was happening. Thankfully, the other six dogs in his care were picked up by the Humane Society.

I know I'm going to get a lot of responses about how this is a trainer problem and not a collar problem. I do say this though- if you are going to use a collar, know how to use it correctly. If you are sending your dog to a trainer, get references and know that they know to use a collar correctly.
Sounds like you took your dog to godawful "trainer" who has no business training dogs and I have met a few myself. The best advice I would give anyonewould be towork/watch the trainer a couple of times BEFORE putting your dog with them and asking around about the trainer (word gets around in the dog community). The great majority of trainers use the collar and know HOW to use it properly, it is the owners job to find competent trainers.
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Old 01-20-2007, 09:34 AM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

those training collars are for certain dogs witha certain attitude and they need to be started on the dogs young if they are needed at all, if you think you can just order it and throw it on your dog especially a 3 yr old with no training then save your money and send it back. first off to train a dog u need to be trained yourself, and my old man always told me you dont train the dog you train yourself to know how to get the dog to do what you want, i have only trained 5 dogs in my life, three labs a chessie and a nova scotia toller the labs were a peice of cake the male chessie was a bit of a knot head but he matured and was awesome the toller i have now hes 4 yrs old and was the hardest dog to train, a pro tld me i was wasting my time but 4 yrs later with training 4 - 5 days a week for 15 20 minutes hes a good dog he doesn't break and can do multiples and im pretty confident that by next yr he will know some hand signals, you might as well start all over a 3 yr old thats never hunted isn't going to hunt how you want him to and if you put that collar on him and think that will make him hunt all your going to have is a lab that flinches when you sneeze
i'll tell you what if your that stupid then your better off buying a started dog and having a pro finish him
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Old 01-20-2007, 05:35 PM
  #20  
Fork Horn
 
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Location: Estill Springs TN USA
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Default RE: Waterdog!!

Not much need for name calling.
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