How far do you let your dogs go?

[CharBroiled]

Since my Sportdog vs Garmin thread almost got hijacked...I figured let's have the debate.
What breed of dogs are you hunting over?
How far out do you let them range? Plus, let's see the boys and girls for a dog tax!

Socks is a GSP and he's a big runner. I have no problems letting him range out to 150ish as he makes long casts then will check-in with me. He's ridiculously patient (playing fetch can be a pain as he will stare at the ball until he's ready to get it) so he'll hold until I get there. He's 2.5 and it will be our third season in the field.

 

[Tomahawker]

Hunt over ES, she’s in turbo mode most of the day. I don’t like her out past 50 yds which means I have the controller in hand most of the time. She listens and is obedient but it can be tiring. IMHO it depends on the dog. Does she creep?, does she bump birds? Does she miss birds behind her? Does she hold point? Does she know there’s no birds near and can’t understand why you don’t know that? Man if they could talk! My experience has been more missed opportunities as a result of birds being flushed ahead out of range than anything else, regardless of which dog I’m hunting with. As a result I want a dog within 50. Where I hunt in Ohio the cover is generally small and linear along waterways or a square of about 20-30 acres. I can see in the big sky country with thousands of acres wide open where a big runner (who holds point!) is what you want but that’s not in the cards for me. Kinda looking forward to the day she slows down. She’s 9 and still sets the field on fire first go. Did pick up a 7 yr old gsp who was given to me because she hunts too close. Can’t wait to try her out and set the controller down.

 

[Hunt1GSP]

I have two GSP’s. Depends on the cover. Out west the older one (he’s 8) can get out 300 yds plus and I have no issue with him. He will stand till I get there. In my home state of Minnesota, I keep him around 100yds or less.
Last year was the young one’s (he is almost 2) first season, so I kept him under 100 so I could keep an eye on him. This year he will get more room to run.

 

[Limitless]

Honey is a cross between an English setter and a german wirehaired pointer. She knows best and I usually let her do whatever she feels she should be doing. Sometimes, if the birds are jumpy, I will try to keep her a little closer. She generally stays within 50 yards or so, but if she gets on a runner/mover, she'll go out past 100. If the bird holds, she will hold. She will also often wait for me to catch up if she knows there are birds in a thicket, with her waiting for me on the edge. This pertains to Minnesota and South Dakota pheasant hunting. In the ruffed grouse woods, I try to keep her closer because of wolves.

 

[matto]

I have two vizslas. The radius alarm on my alpha is set at 200 yards and rarely goes off. If it were 50 yards I think I'd hear it a lot. 100 and I'd probably hear it once or twice a day. As others have said, they'll hold point as long as the birds hold. Both of them will bump a bird now and again from pressuring them too much, but I'll live with that. At times it can be a challenge to keep up when they are doing the "dance"--point, trail, point, trail, etc.

 

[Dakotazeb]

Bree is a big runner but a lot depends on what I'm hunting and where. Monday we were out hunting Sharpies in the hills NE of Watertown. When she's in those big open pastures she just rolls. Nothing for her to be out 200-300 yds. Sometimes even more. Pheasant hunting in heavier cover I try to keep her within 50-100 yds. but at times that can be difficult. I'd be lost without my Garmin Alpha when she is in heavier cover. Due to old age I can't cover as much ground as I use to thus I want the dog to get out and cover it for me. Yes, she will bump a bird once in a while but mostly will hold point for me to get there. BTW, Bree is 9 now and hasn't slowed down a bit. Wish I could say the same for myself.

 

[Kansasoutdoorsman]

I absolutely love hunting behind close working labs. This is my three-year-old and she doesn’t get outside of 15 yards and doesn’t really miss a bird. You can tell the second she’s on something it’s so much fun to watch.

 

[Jpace]

I posted on the previous tread and was just commenting on my gps set up and did not intend to side track the tread. I run GSPs My breeder has always told me that you can make the dog hunt close but can not make them hunt big. I hunt a lot of public ground and do quite well( bird finds not killed). I do not shoot unpointed birds. But do not target pheasants. I limit my dogs distance on cover and dangers in the area I am in. That said there is no limit on the range I would allow the dogs to go as long as they stay on a line out front That said each dog has to earn my trust before they are allowed to leave my sight. I know some might think that is not the right way or i are missing something but that is how my grandpa hunted and how I grew up hunting And throughly enjoy every second I get to walk behind my dogs. The female I have now about 1000-1200 she will turn back on her own. The female I had before would go till u turned her sometimes well over a mile.

 

[Kansan]

I run labs, and they’re seldom out of gun range.

 

[GladHunter]

My breeder has always told me that you can make the dog hunt close but can not make them hunt big.

I've run into the same thing, just like a rope. Easy enough to pull it them in closer, pretty hard to push them out further though.

 

[Goosemaster]

Black lab English.I usually just let him go,I usually get shots. I have worked with him a little bit on retrieving, but not much. He has a great nose. My 12-year-old yellow lab is retired but still tags along behind me and sometimes flushes birds out in front of me. I have to be careful with her, because she has gotten stuck a few times and actually fallen a few times.

 

[Goosemaster]

Hunting dogs are first and foremost family pets. You do not put them in cages. They are family pets. They sleep on the couch.

 

[Dakotazeb]

Hunting dogs are first and foremost family pets. You do not put them in cages. They are family pets. They sleep on the couch.

My dog is certainly a "family pet" She has full run of the house and can sleep on any chair, couch or bed she desires. I have a wire crate in the den next to my desk and as I type this she is sleeping in the crate. The crate door is open and she can leave it if she wants. But traveling is different deal. When traveling, whether it's hunting or our annual trip for the winter to and from Arizona she is in a crate/kennel in our SUV. She is very content and happy there and it's also a safety factor when traveling. So I do not agree with your statement "You do not put them in cages".

 

[BRITTMAN]

My Britts use their big kennel in our dining room as a place to go chill ... sometimes they get off the couch and head to the back of kennel for some total quiet time.

 

[benelli-banger]

I run labs, they’re seldom in gun range…

 

[CRP]

I've always run labs. Point them into the wind and stay with them is how I learned to hunt and still do. While in a perfect world, they would never get too far ahead, it does happen. If you know your dog, and they get birdy on a hot scent, you just need to be there when the bird flushes. I use a Tri-Tronics (Garmin now) collar with a vibe and tone, as well as the shock. If my dog gets a little far out, I'll just tap the tone or vibe and he knows to turn around and come back.

Yelling at the dogs to come back while working a field is as bad as slamming truck doors or human voices to wild birds. Another bad habit I've seen in the field is hunter's constantly zapping dogs with the e-collar due to ranging too far or getting birdy too far. That's a good way to ruin a dog in short order. There is no substitute for working the discipline with the dogs in the off-season, rather than forced to during the hunt.

 

[Frangler]

When I was younger I would try to keep my first gsp around 100 yards I suppose. This was before garmin gps etc… she was amazing and I shot a lot of roosters, quail and blue grouse over her. Since that sweet gsp which is dead and gone I’ve mad a point to no restrict the range of my dogs which have all been gsp’s and trust them to find and point birds. Trust is the key word, I’ve had all of them bust birds out of range blah blah blah blah blah!! Those are growing pains that are necessary in my opinion because they all grow in to bird finding machines eventually that will hold birds at what every range they decide to stretch out to. They should adjust to the cover which most dogs naturally will because thicker cover will slow them down and thinner cover is easier to scent which should push them farther from you. Trust the dogs and the process and the training and you will be rewarded.

 

[Goosemaster]

I just let my dog go, and yes he does flush birds out of range, but I've shot a boatload of birds in my life, and I'm willing to let some go. We do get birds to get up in range that certainly does happen. I hunt solo a lot, and if I do hunt with other people, I try to put them out there and then I work towards them and flush birds to them, so they will get some passing shots.

 

[Mosby]

I have a female GSP and a male Vizsla. I normally let my Vizsla find his own range. He works cover and the wind well and checks in on me frequently. Seldom goes out more than 150 yds. He has a good nose and I trust him. He doesn't bump a lot of birds. I can go through a field with him and never say a word.

My GSP on the other hand is a bit nuts and loves to run. I normally have my remote set on her collar so I can stop her quickly. She will go out as far as I will let her and is a bird bumping machine. She does recall to tone and I use it frequently. I don't hunt her if I am hunting with friends but she does find birds and retrieves well but my Vizsla is the better hunting dog.

 

[carptom1]

Thanks for starting this as has been written “ how far do you let your dog range “ is a loaded question. It depends on amount of birds, cover and age of the hunter. I have only owned English Pointers, Labs and now a Pudelpointer. So my range has varied. We kept the English Pointers as close as we could see them. In a cut wheat stubble field in Western Kansas that might mean 150 yards, in a dirty one maybe 50. This was before electronics. The next 25 years I hunted flushing labs and had a couple of really good ones. If I wanted shots I had to hustle to keep up at times. We shot a lot of birds and I learned to trust the dog. At 50 or so I realized my Running Man days were over. I have owned a Pudelpointer now for 3 years and am generally happy. In lighter cover I let her get out 100 yards or a little more. She is fairly steady. Honestly with the bad knees 200-300 yards seems like a long ways to hustle. She is pretty steady and it kind of just happened. She lives in the house but does kennel at night as my wife has a couple cats and we are still not sure she might dispatch them under the right circumstances, then I may be in the kennel or worse