The Alpha has many bells and whistles it is just figuring them out and then remembering that is harder then it should be. That is the main complaint about the alpha. The small screen is the 2nd most common complaint.
I am quite sure the buttons still work but you can't switch dogs without unlocking the screen first. Some say you can program the buttons to correspond to different dogs. All in all the alpha is really difficult to use.
When starting bird work some believe letting them chase helps to instill "drive". It may well do that but it is also one thing to correct later.
So many things in dog training have positive and negative effect. One has to decide how to go about everything. And then after all is planned and put...
Sorry for your loss. The escape artist all too often hurt themselves. I had one of my own and kept one for a friend for a few months. Those were interesting times.