Dogs: Why do they have so much bling?

chadsbritt

chadsbritt

New member
Wow! What's with all the bling (collars) I see on some dogs these days? I recently hunted with a guy that had three collars on his dogs; the standard "e-collar," a GPS tracking collar, and a beeper collar. I understand all three of them serve a purpose, but come on, are all three really necessary? I couldn't tell if I had lassie or the terminator in front of me. :eek:

What does everyone else think? Are guys going overboard these days? Maybe I'm just out of touch with reality. All I have is an e-collar and my dogs normal hunter orange collar with his tags on it.
 
All I've ever needed in the past is the orange collar with names/ph #s on it. Never used an e-collar on any GSP I've had since 1971. (Did use one on my wife's Lab). But now, My 12 yr old GSP is going deaf, like me, and I just got a GPS collar and tested it today. I delayed a trip to Kansas this week to order and get the collar. Will head up Monday for a couple of days. This old boy may be getting deaf but he hunts, hunts, hunts! I don't want to quit just because I'm getting old and he sure doesn't either! But I don't want him lost.
 
I think your two collars are overboard.

Then again, I really don't care how many collars a guy uses.
 
i've got a Dogtra 2502 2 dog set, beeper and e collar unit all in one, they wear that and a regular collar for lead attachment, that is it, they are micro chipped and have never been lost....keeping it simple makes sense to me.
 
I agree Chad, Ken has a very keen sense of humor........Bob
 
chadsbritt said:
Wow! What's with all the bling (collars) I see on some dogs these days? I recently hunted with a guy that had three collars on his dogs; the standard "e-collar," a GPS tracking collar, and a beeper collar. I understand all three of them serve a purpose, but come on, are all three really necessary? I couldn't tell if I had lassie or the terminator in front of me. :eek:

What does everyone else think? Are guys going overboard these days? Maybe I'm just out of touch with reality. All I have is an e-collar and my dogs normal hunter orange collar with his tags on it.
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I'd be scared too if someone let his dog or dogs out and see a bunch of collars on- afraid I'd put mine away and move on

then again- I have each Britt's normal collar on- tag stating reward, needs daily meds, reward, and my number- but it's hard to turn mine into a bird field without the Garmin tracker-

shock collar on when hunting- not a very good dog
 
Collar Bling

I live in Timber Wolf country. I run these dogs year round. The cover is heavy
and there are many wolves here. I need to know where my dog is when out of sight, & What direction dog is in. I also need the means to be able to call them in
when there is a threat.
The number of collars on a dog does not make the dog good or bad anymore
than something I wear makes me good or bad. Two of my 3 dogs probably don't need an e-collar when in "Safe" country. The third has so much desire that
it would be tough to control him. That one does not usually need much stimulation but needs to know it is available.
I do not use my voice to direct my dogs or for call backs (unless there is no other option). I use an e-collar that has both a beeper option and a vibrate option. There is no talking or yelling, or whistling to the dog unless we are returning to the starting point or "walking out" from a hunt. Hunting late season Phez. the quieter I can be the better. I vibrate the collar for the dogs attention and use a hand signal to cast them or to call them in.
Knock on wood---I have not lost a dog yet. Nor have I had an encounter with timber wolves yet. I see them fairly regularly during the year when out with the dogs but they usually keep a distance. I have been successful this way & will continue to work this way. If it isn't broke - don't fix it.
 
have always said- if you have a good dog hunt it without the shock collar on-
good dog would have manners when out with other dogs without the shock collar-

I talk to mine, use a whistle- haven't seen these wild pheasants get up and leave the fields because of it
 
Shadow said:
I talk to mine, use a whistle- haven't seen these wild pheasants get up and leave the fields because of it
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The whistle thing would not work this time of year in my location. If you piss too load the birds spook.
 
Shadow said:
glad you think so- I've been hunting the same pieces of property since opening- mine lock up- I come in from infront- I can talk and blow the whistle- hen/rooster is still there- care to see if I'm full of it
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I am glad that it works out for you, good for you. It would not work here when the birds start to group up and get jumpy. I can understand why guys would chose to signal their dogs with a tone or vibrate.
 
Shadow said:
depending- a real good pointing dog can find, point, and hold till flush-
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Glad they work great for you. When guys are sneaking up to a small cattail slough were 20-30 birds are parked they don't want to make any noise getting there. When they do get there they don't want to have to walk in the slough and flush the birds themselves they want to send in the "monsters" so they have a chance at shooting birds.

Your style of hunting a whistle or hand signals might work great if other guys want to use a collar and vibrate or tone there dogs to control them good for them. One style does not fit all. I personally use mental telepathy with my dogs to control them.
 
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Let's get back to neck wear. I have my dogs wear their e-collars whenever we go afield. Training, exercise or hunting. Many times I don't even turn them on. But they love to wear them, so I let them...........Bob
 
bobeyerite said:
Let's get back to neck wear. I have my dogs wear their e-collars whenever we go afield. Training, exercise or hunting. Many times I don't even turn them on. But they love to wear them, so I let them...........Bob
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Mine are the same way Bob, they stick there head out for them.:thumbsup:
 
Shadow having a shock collar on doesn't make or break the dog its our personal preference as to what the owner wants to do and if he chooses to use them then thats that i'm not sure where you grew up but where I did insulting a mans bird dog is almost worse than sleeping with his wife and by sayin a shockcollar means the dog isn't very good well thats an insult I have collars only use them on 1 male dog to break the rabbit craze but he is still just as good as the rest of my dogs who don't need it and if you think my dogs are no good due to collar use ask a couple of these guys on here that have hunted behind them recently PM me and I will give you the names
 
moellermd said:
Glad they work great for you. When guys are sneaking up to a small cattail slough were 20-30 birds are parked they don't want to make any noise getting there. When they do get there they don't want to have to walk in the slough and flush the birds themselves they want to send in the "monsters" so they have a chance at shooting birds.

Your style of hunting a whistle or hand signals might work great if other guys want to use a collar and vibrate or tone there dogs to control them good for them. One style does not fit all. I personally use mental telepathy with my dogs to control them.
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I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy.:D Mental telepathy, You are the greatest. LOL.
 
I use a beeper collar, with a small bell attached as a backup. Here in the WI grouse woods sometimes you can't see your dog from 10 yards away. My dogs range 30-40 yards and the steady "on-point" tone is a great assist. The dogs get used to that collar meaning "it's time to go to work". Their attitude changes immediately when the collar is brought out.

I've used e-collars for some training on my last two dogs, but they were only used a couple times and were never worn hunting. I think they can be a useful tool to get the message across, but worry about some folks who over use them. I also think the vibrate mode could be a great tool to "Whistle" the dog without making any sound. My setters are whistle trained and I've not had a lot of problem with either the beeper collar or whistle scaring birds. I like to be as quiet as possible, the human voice will scare birds and don't like to use the whistle too much. I think a good dog doesn't need a lot of hacking, whether the handler yelling or constantly blowing on a whistle.

I've had a few occassions where I wished another guy had a training collar on his dog, but what those dogs really lacked was enough time spent in the training field. Repetition and consistency from the owner makes good dogs.
 
My dogs just get a little jingle bell when we go into taller cover otherwise they wear the same collar they wear all the time.
 
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