My questions are, what can we do about this dog's aggression towards my kids and I, and is this normal for a German Wire-hair. I have seen the dog growl and nip at my husband too, but he says the dog is just communicating his desires and isn't aggressive. The breeder says we have done something wrong and the dog is perfectly normal and that a good hunting dog has to have some aggression. He has even suggested that we may have abused the dog, which is totally false.

Toni C., Grand Rapids.

Answer: I receive frequent complaints concerning two breeders here in Michigan. One is this German Wire-haired Pointer breeder, who is well-known among Wire-haired Pointer enthusiasts for having mentally unstable dogs and dogs that bite people, including their owners. The second is an English Setter breeder from lower Michigan who is also infamous with the Setter enthusiasts. I will not call either by name for fear of adding to their vast name recognition.

Paid advertising should not be used as a gauge for quality. In most cases when it concerns people who have been in the business for many years, it is needed to continually find new customers. You would think that someone who has been in the field for twenty to thirty years would have a large enough customer base to draw from it without spending thousands of dollars every year on advertising.

Moving on to the aggression issue, let me say that a good bird dog doesn't need any human or canine aggression. Human aggression is when is dog is aggressive towards humans. In the old days, the German breeders wanted a dog to guard the farm and family as well as hunt. In fact, the breeder you dealt with is now telling customers that his dogs are guard dogs as well as hunting dogs. It's a point that he leaves out with many new puppy buyers. This is merely an attempt to cover up the problems in his line of dogs.

Many German Wire-haired Pointers have problems with aggression, which is a throwback to the old days. However, most of today's breeders are working towards producing friendlier dogs that make better citizens in today's society. A dog which displays this aggression towards you and your kids, after being raised in your house, is unacceptable by anyone's standards. The old rule on German Wire-haired Pointers is that they should be completely reliable with family but aren't to be trusted with visitors.

Do not trust this dog around your kids! You and your kids are obviously in danger from this animal. Your husband is having his ear bent by this unscrupulous breeder and is in total denial concerning the dog's mental status. Do not take this advice lightly! If your husband wants to risk being injured by this animal, fine, but protect yourself and your children at all costs. I have dealt firsthand with this breeder, have owned dogs from his kennel, and trained (or attempted to train) dogs from his bloodlines. I will not take dogs from his kennel in for training because of the same problems. I have owned several dogs from this kennel, none of which were of sound temperament or had stable personalities. In fact, one of the dogs returned to him, a female, was so man-shy that she would run and hide anytime she saw anyone except for my son and I. This dog also had no desire to hunt. Her desire for game would be scored a 0 and her search pattern would also score a 0, at fifteen months of age.

“Desire” and “search” are two categories of judging used in the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association. This is the venue that this breeder is trying to promote his dogs in.

Ever since I returned the problem dog, the breeder has been telling people that I abused her, claiming that this is her problem. I have heard this from more than one dissatisfied customer of his that has called me for help with their aggressive animal. I wrote a letter to this breeder concerning his slanderous remarks, which he has not found the courage to respond to. Now, to top off all of this negative behavior, I recently discovered he is breeding this problem dog and selling pups from her. It is a shame that we don't have a system in place to deal with unscrupulous breeders. your husband will eventually put the dog down once it starts attacking him.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Tony M., Marquette.

Answer: This is a very subjective topic that I don't think has one correct answer. But since you asked for my opinion, I feel qualified to give at least that. First, let me say that as a trainer, I operate under the English standard of ‘training to the owner's specifications,' meaning to train the dog to hunt as the owner wants him to hunt. For my own dogs, I prefer a dog that hunts for me out of love and the desire to be with me. I want a dog that works hard, digs into thick cover and isn't afraid to range out from me but will take direction from me. In pointers, I look for a dog that has a good pointing instinct but not so much that it won't work a running bird. I want a dog that is quiet and clean in the kennel and is friendly with people and other dogs. I think the basics for a good dog are the same, whether it be a pointer or a flusher.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Dan O., Grosse Point Park.

Answer: Think baseball for a moment. Think about batting against high school pitchers compared to batting against professional pitchers. The pen bird was probably dizzied and put to sleep in an entirely strange location that it had never seen before. Transversely, the wild bird was born, raised, and schooled on how to survive in the area you found him, an area that the dog probably has had very little experience in. Considering that you had hunted on several different weekends I don't think scent is the issue here although scenting conditions do play a major role in a dog's ability to find game.

A wild bird knows its surroundings, knows the escape routes, and remembers what escapes worked in their last encounter with a ground predator. By the time our hunting season has opened, a wild bird has had numerous contacts with predators and has gone through an education process with their parents on how to survive. This education takes place every night and day of their lives, 24/7. Your poor dog, in comparison, has had approximately the equivalent of two weeks of training, 24/7.

Much is said about the fact that it takes four to five years to make a good grouse dog. A dog needs to mature and settle down, and it needs many contacts with grouse to ‘learn the birds' and how to handle them. I believe that if you hunt often and are able to put your dog into good numbers of grouse, you can have a good, savvy grouse dog after three seasons. Many trainers forget that after July 15th, you can run your dogs on wild birds. One last point to remember, grouse and woodcock both have legs and will run. I have seen grouse in public hunting areas, like the ones you are hunting, run like pheasants. I have seen woodcock run like pen-raised quail.

I believe a dog that is ‘steadied' too much and not allowed to work a running bird will produce very few birds for the gun. I also believe a pointing dog needs to be ‘whoa' trained so that it obeys the ‘whoa' command under any circumstance. A good hunting dog needs to be able to make some decisions on their own and understand that an error has been made if they flush the bird without being commanded to do so. Your dog is still going through her education process. Remember to give the dog plenty of wild bird contact to finish the training.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Carrying water for the dog is a good idea, although planning your hunt near water is better if the temps are going to be above seventy, especially if it is sunny. Giving a dog an occasional drink will help to sustain them on a warm day but will not protect them from heat stroke if the day is hot and humid or even warm and sunny. Dogs do not have sweat glands like you and I and therefore cannot sweat to cool themselves down. Panting is their way of trying to cool off.

I understand the problems involved with keeping a house dog clean enough to bring back into the house after a hunt. And I have seen my share of owners discouraging their dogs from lying down in water when out running. But the bottom line is, you need to accept the fact that the dog will need bathing when you get home. By lying down in water, the dog is doing what our bodies do naturally. Wetting the exterior so that evaporation cools the interior. I train all my dogs to lay in water whenever possible.

In the warm months of summer, our farm drys up. The small ponds and floodings, as well as a small creek that passes through our property, usually dry up in July. To combat the dangers of overheating, we have watering stations every two-hundred yards or so throughout the farm. Livestock watering tanks, the size used for sheep, work well for us. They are low enough to allow the dog to jump in and out on their own. We change the water twice weekly and on the hot days, the dogs will run from station to station.

Some dogs, especially the pointing dogs, don't particularly like going into water and must be taught. Most of them, once introduced to laying in water on a hot day, will then take the dip quite readily. The dog that is water-shy will have a much more difficult time managing its body temperature in the heat.

A dog starting to suffer from heat stroke will become wobbly on its feel and have trouble walking. Loss of motor function is a clear sign of danger. This dog should be taken to a shaded area and allowed to recover. The best-case scenario would be to take the dog to a stream or a pond and have it lay in the water, out of the sun. Simply drinking water will not suffice. If the dog's gums are gray instead of pink, the danger is even greater because this indicates a loss of circulation and the dog's system may be shutting down. Heat stroke may not kill the dog but one episode will predispose the dog to future heat related problems. If a dog does collapse and stops breathing, CPR should be administered as soon as possible. Talk to your vet about proper CPR methods and remember, get the dog to shade and water. I have seen dogs die from heat, not my own, and I have seen dogs that had collapsed from the heat and stop breathing be revived only to be put down later because of brain damage.

Keep an eye on your four legged hunting partner on the hot days. If your dog is going to shaded areas and laying down, panting heavily and reluctant to move on, it may be telling you, ‘I'm too HOT!' Don't expect the dog to regulate its activity for the conditions. Some dogs will, but many dogs will work at the same pace even in the heat.

Also, remember that it is illegal to discharge a firearm within a hundred and fifty yards of a boat launch.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Edgar P., Saginaw.

Answer:  All right, Edgar!  Don't let your wife dictate to you what kind of hunting dog you are going to buy. You tell her that you will get what ever kind of dog you want or else. Or else? Or else you get the kind she wants. Tough call here, buddy. You have a wife who has put up with your hunting dogs, and you, for years and now her only stipulation is short coat verses long coat. How about getting your next Brit's hair cut once in awhile? Or better yet, how about brushing the dog every so often?

Are you ready for more ‘Linblade Logic'? Does coat make a difference? Try this test. Put on your hunting boots and your boxer shorts, nothing more. The boxer shorts are included only to keep you out of jail for indecent exposure. Now go a brushy wooded area with lots of nice raspberry bushes, thorn-apple and multi-floral rose bushes, and run through the brush for three to four hours. Now, if you are really lucky, there may also be stable flies, deer flies, black flies and maybe a mosquito or two. Tough but not too tough? Try it for three days in a row. Or better still, try it in the winter.

In the dog world, there are exceptions to every rule, so it is possible to find a short-coated dog  somewhere that is oblivious to all of these pitfalls. After you complete the demonstration, the answer should be evident. If you do go with a short-coated dog, do it a favor and buy two things, a belly-saver for the summer and a neoprene vest for the worst winter days.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

James K., Royal Oak.

Answer: I don't think most of these high-priced breeds are worth half of what the breeders are asking. Many of them are bred from show lines that happen to have some field instincts. The breeder will run their dogs through the American Kennel Club Hunt Test program at the Junior level, which is the lowest level field title in AKC competition, and then tell puppy buyers they have field titles on their dogs. A dog can be any age and compete for a JH (Junior Hunter) title. All a dog needs to do to pass the Junior level is run around and act like it is hunting, not be afraid of a cap gun, and point a bird for several seconds. Hardly a gauge for a quality field dog.

Every year, I encounter people who have purchased one of these high-priced pups thinking that an AKC recommendation and a pile of money is all it takes to get a good bird dog puppy. Would you spend $1,200 for an eight-week-old puppy simply because it was different?

The list of breeds that we here at Wing Shooters have had the most problems with when it comes to desire to hunt and the ability to be trained are the same list of dogs that come from the high priced breeds. Some breeds, Weimaraners in particular, refuse sight unseen because their lines are so weak on hunting instincts and are so problematic. In the last 25 years, I have seen maybe six Weims that could be classified as good bird dogs. It was so bad that I joined the Weimaraner Club to see what they had. You won't see many North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) titles in the Weim ranks. Mostly, there's breed-specific AKC titles. I am not a fan of AKC and see them as nothing more than a money-making dog registration company with little concern for quality dogs. Their main focus is on making money from their own events. In the world of hunting setters, the AKC register is the weakest in the world.

Those of you who know me know that I don't back down from a fight and I am not afraid to speak the truth. I am not concerned with titles or competitions because our emphasis is on companion hunting dogs and you cannot determine a good hunting dog in forty-five minutes when the average hunt will last three to four hours. I have seen some of the highest-titled dogs that were awful to hunt behind. Unfortunately, we are seeing more people who rarely hunt but are constantly training for one title or another. The motivation is typically ego-driven and has nothing to do with enjoying your dog's company.

I don't care what breed or what breeder you choose. You will be able to find someone who loves it and claims it is a great hunter, and buying a puppy can be like buying a used car, so don't expect to get all the facts from the person selling you the pup. Breeders who charge large sums for pups are, in many cases, motivated by money and can be inflicted by what I call kennel blindness. They refuse to see the faults and short-comings of their particular group of dogs and their breed of choice in general. To get the real story, you need to talk to a professional trainer. Find one who has many years of experience with many different breeds and try to stay away from someone who calls themselves a breeder/trainer, as they will just try to sell you their breed.

Let me close this out by saying a good dog is a good dog. I have seen wonderful dogs from all the bird-hunting breeds, but I cannot ignore the fact that some breeds produce far more problem dogs than they should.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

I spend about six weeks a year hunting wild birds and prior to opening my own shooting preserve, I would hunt another eight to ten times a year on a preserve. That puts me in the field, hunting the dog, fifty to sixty days a year. I doubt there are many people devoted enough or lucky enough to be able to spend that much time hunting their dogs. Now, look at the other side of the coin. I'm spending around three hundred days a year with the dog when we are not hunting. The average dog owner will probably spend fifteen to twenty days a year hunting their dog. They want a dog that is a capable hunter, but a good companion for the family in the off-season. A dog that is a great companion but only a so-so hunter will be a joy to own eighty percent of the time. A dog that is a truly great hunter, but is a howling, spastic bundle of nerves around the house will be a royal pain in the neck for the three hundred days a year that you're not hunting it.  When choosing your next dog, remember that companionship in the off-season is also part of owning a hunting dog. 

For the sake of this discussion, let's say that a dog is three years old and the training has been completed. The bulk of your off-season time with the dog will be spent conditioning rather than training, and let's hope that you own a dog that doesn't need to be retrained every fall. Now, the dog is a good hunter and the majority of the training work has been completed, so what's left between you and your dog? Those of you who enjoy competing will enter a bunch of events and try to put some titles on the dog. The serious hunters who compete will look for competition that matches what they are looking for in a hunting dog. A horseback field trial on flat, open grassland where the handler flushes the bird, fires a cap gun, and moves on will hardly match the closer-working needs of a grouse hunter. A dog three hundred yards away from the handler in the grouse woods is basically lost. Now I'm sure I will be getting letters from a few indignant souls who claim they run horseback field trials with the same dog they grouse-hunt with. 

I have seen my share of confused animals wired up to a shock collar and forced to stay close to the same handler who, several weeks before, was telling the dog to run big and wide. On several occasions, I have had people show up on my preserve with horseback dogs. The first words out of their mouths is how great a hunter the dog is and how they like the way it works. Now, out comes the shock collar as the handler complains the cover is too thick.

I met one such expert who had been training for twenty years. He had trained only his own dogs during this time and had only had four dogs. Now, here is a self-appointed expert, one all his friends were sure was “well-seasoned,” who had actually only trained four dogs in the last twenty years. After getting shocked several times, his nine-year-old dog stayed within ten yards of him the whole time and proceeded to chew up every bird it got its teeth on. Hunting dog? Not hardly.

I had another horseback trainer show up, an older fellow who I think did possess knowledge rather then merely opinions. He took one look around at the grouse woods-type cover and small fields with brushy fence lines and knew he would not be able to run his young, big-running dogs. Instead he went to his trailer and got an old, retired dog that was, what I call, broke to death.

Anyone who spends anytime hunting wild pheasants knows that a pointing dog that goes on point at the first sign, [or maybe I should say scent], of a pheasant and then holds that point, even though the dogs knows the bird has moved off, will produce very few birds for the gunner. In the competition world, a pointing dog is not allowed to work a moving bird. In the hunting world, a dog that does not work a running bird will spend most of its days pointing old scent. The dog must know that if the bird flushes, he has committed an error. He must try to pin the bird, staying in touch with the runner while giving it enough breathing room where it does not feel pressured to the point of flushing.

Now this old pointer had a good nose and pointed his birds at a good twenty yards. The wind was blowing, the birds were running and the gunners spent most of their time trying to locate the running pheasants while the dog stood motionless. Twelve birds were released and they shot one. Thankfully, the hunters did not blame the poor old dog because he was doing just what he had been taught. The hunters blamed the pheasants for not sitting tight on a windy day. They never once realized their folly was in the training of the dog. This dog was not allowed to think for himself or to work the birds, trying to pin them. I brought out two experienced bird-finders to help salvage the hunt. We had walked through all the sets where the birds were released with the old trial dog. These pen birds were now educated to the fact that humans and dogs were pursuing them and would require a thinking dog to pin the birds down so the shooter could flush them. The dogs went on point time and time again, but not with the intensity of having a bird sitting for them. I would then release the dogs to pin the running bird down. These birds had just spent the last two hours running circles around the gunners. The dogs either pinned the birds or stopped to the flush as the nervous pheasants flushed in gun range. Nine more birds were shot and retrieved to hand.

The point here is that some of the competition events being held hinder a hunting dog's ability to put game in the bag. People have confused the issues for the sake of their event and lost sight as to why a person goes hunting with a dog. Locate and point birds, help to pin them down, find and retrieve the game after the shot. I have seen plenty of good bird-finders who, after the shot, never gave a second look as to where the dead or crippled game landed. That is only half the job.

There are some people who do not wish to compete with their dogs. They would rather spend the off-season enjoying other sports. They have purchased the dog as a pet and a hunter to meet their own specific needs. A seventy-year-old man may not care what the judges like. He knows what he needs from a dog in the field. There are a lot of people who find competition tiresome and frustrating and would rather spend their field time going for long, relaxing walks. These same people tend to view hunting as a chance to relax and enjoy the outdoors. The taking of game is not more important to them than the camaraderie of friends and enjoyment of being outdoors and seeing game. This is by far the largest group of hunting dog owners.

There are many ideas in the world of training dogs that are based on opinions rather than sound training techniques. Some of these ideas were put forth years ago by different experts and remain unchallenged. One thing I have noticed in the dog world is the tendency of people to put someone on the pedestal and let this elevated person dictate to the rest. I have often compared this phenomenon to a group of sheep blindly following the goat with a bell.

First, let me say that there is always more than one way to accomplish a task. In the dog world, there rarely, if ever, is a situation that is always or never possible. So beware of the person who states that 'never' can you do something or that you must 'always' do something one way or another. Animals, like people, can come in completely different emotional packages that require completely different approaches to solving their learning problems. Training is teaching, and proper teaching results in learning.

“You must never hit a dog.”  Here is a controversial topic. Corporal punishment should not be your first line of communication. I have talked to my share of amateur trainers who proclaim that you should never physically reprimand a dog. There is that word “never” again. I have found that the best way for me to deal with aggression is with aggression. The psychologists in our midst will say that aggression only breeds more aggression. Now, let me give you some examples that I have found where physical punishment acts as a deterrent to aggressive behavior.

You have a fourteen-month-old male dog who is becoming more and more vocal and rough with other dogs when on exercise runs. He growls and snarls while attempting to dominate the other dogs. In my opinion, this may be an alpha dog. He may have aspirations on being the pack leader. I find that order in kept in my kennel if I maintain the pack leader status. If aggressive or violent behavior arises, I find that a quick and sharp response by the handler often ends this type of behavior for good. Wishy-washy or weak-handed responses do little to discourage the aggression. I teach a command of “stop it” and it means just that. I would first tell the dog to “stop it,” make eye contact, and posture with my body to let him know that I am the leader. If the dog continues in being aggressive with his running-mates, I will lay a riding crop across his backside while he is in the middle of an aggressive act. After doing so, I repeat the “stop it” command and my posturing.

“Never teach your pointing dog to sit.” I have heard my share of people, mostly in the competition world, who I consider knowledgeable trainers, telling some novice that you should never teach your pointing dog to sit. The reasoning behind this theory is that dog will sit when whoaing on birds. I teach all of my dogs to sit and have never had a dog sit down while pointing birds. Those of you in the NAVHDA (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association) world of training are required to teach your pointing dogs to sit. I have greater problems with dog owners getting involved with obedience classes that teach a dog to sit when it is on lead and the owner stops walking. If this is done before the bird work, I end up with a dog who sits when on the check cord during the ‘whoa' training and subsequent bird work. I also find the ‘heel' training is better taught after the bird work is complete.

“Check cords have to be fifty feet long.” The fifty-foot check cord was originated by horseback trainers. On horseback, the handler will need a fifteen-to-twenty foot length of cord to let the dog stay out from under the horse. On foot, fifty feet of rope can be a problem by getting tangled around the handler and anything else in the area. I find thirty feet to be plenty.

“A good hunting dog can't be a pet.” This should sound ridiculous to most of you. At least any of you with some sense. But really, I have had handlers try and tell me that letting their kids play with the dog will ruin its desire to work. a few years ago, I worked on a young setter for a fellow. It was a nice dog, nothing great, but a very gentle and what I would consider soft animal. The handler was a demanding bonehead with a macho complex. I completed the training and called the owner to come out and see the dog's progress. The dog held point, was steady to the flush, and retrieved on-hand. I explained to the owner about the dog's sensitivities and suggested we introduce the dog to pheasants in a training exercises before the pheasant season. The owner refused the offer, which later proved to be the undoing of the dog. Several weeks later, the bonehead's wife called me. She was upset as to why her children weren't allowed to play with the dog. If anything, the dog needed some fun and playing with the kids would have been great.

“A hunting dog should not live in the house.” There is some discussion as to whether being in a house hurts a dog's scenting capacity or not. I have found no evidence to substantiate this.

“All dogs should be trained with a spiked training collar.” First, put the spiked collar around your own neck. Now give a tug on the check cord. This is punishment. Do your training with a standard choke chain. If, after the commands are taught, the dog refuses to obey the commands, then switch to a spike collar. Remember to use less force with a spike collar than with the choke chain. Only about one in ten dogs I work with need a spiked training collar.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

When the bird numbers are low, interest in keeping a hunting god seems to be low also. I have talked to old-timers who complain that there are not enough birds to warrant feeding a dog all year. They site the boom years in the 50s and 60s as being the standard to judge numbers by. But, let's face it, we will probably never see pheasants at those number again. With the encroachment of housing subdivisions and shopping malls being built in what was once open land, the face of our state is ever-changing.

But for every pessimist who leaves the sport of bird hunting, a new and younger optimist seems to pop up. Look at the new chapters of Pheasants Forever and the Ruffed Grouse Society that are starting up. And it seems like the Ducks Unlimited has started chapters up all across southern Michigan. The Department of Natural Resource's Hunter Access Program, or HAP, combined with the thousands of acres of public land still afford plenty of places to hunt. More and more people are deciding to purchase a dog from sporting lines to accompany them in the field during hunting season.

Springtime seems to be the most active time for puppy sales. Just check the classified ad section of your local sporting magazines or paper and you will see what I mean. If your family has decided to purchase a puppy this spring, do not rush into the sale without first doing your homework. Remember that a cute little puppy will turn into an adult dog that will probably live for fourteen or fifteen years.

The first question a prospective owner needs to think about is what type of dog he or she needs. The best way to decide this is to go to your local library and find a book on sporting dogs. The book should give you a little background on the breed, what they were bred to hunt for, and the average size and weight of the grown animal. Let's look at some of the more popular breeds.

If you hunt ducks exclusively, the retrievers such as Labradors, Chesapeake's, Flat Coats or Curly Coats come to mind. There are several spaniel breeds that do a good job on the water also. The English Springer Spaniel, the Boykin, and the American Water Spaniel are all readily available. If you hunt upland birds exclusively, one of the setter lines may interest you. There are English, Irish, and the Gordon. English Pointers are very popular, especially in the South.

If your hunting interests vary, and depending on the day, you may be hunting the marsh in the morning for ducks and then hunting the farm fields in the evening for pheasants, you may decide on one of the more versatile breeds. The versatile breeds are pointing breed dogs that are used on land and in water. They include Brittany Spaniels, German Short-haired, German Wire-haired or Drahthaar, and the Vizsla. This is not to say that retrievers or flushing spaniels can't hunt upland birds, or that setters and pointers will not hunt ducks. I know a fellow who hunted pheasant with a beagle and managed to do quite well.

I love the setters for upland hunting, but as a whole they are not being bred for water work, with very few handling water retrieving at the level of retrievers , and visa versa on an all-day upland hunt. This is a rule of thumb, not an absolute truth. I have seen retrievers that handle upland hunting very well and the flushing spaniels are definitely being bred to hunt the uplands as well as ducks. But the bottom line is to find a breeder who hunts their dogs under the same conditions that you plan on hunting.

My preference is towards the pointing breeds. I enjoy the drama of the pointing dog as it finds game scent and slams into a rock-solid point, all of its muscles quivering with excitement and anticipation. By using a pointing dog, the excitement of each find and flush is drawn out by the dog holding point. With the flusher or retriever, there is a similar heightening of anticipation as the dog makes game, but the flush happens much quicker.

Problems inherent to the pointing breeds are a lack of desire to retrieve in some lines and dogs that either self-hunt or range at great distances. I am asked quite often about how far out from the handler a dog should range. There is no set answer to this question. You will find that the more experience a person has with pointing dogs, the greater the acceptable range will be. That is to a point, as I do not want my dogs ranging over two hundred yards in Michigan-type cover and I prefer my dogs at the fifty to sixty-yard range in the woods. A good part of the enjoyment of the hunt for me is in watching my dogs work.

I have friends who want their dogs ranging at great distances with the belief that they will find more birds. They buy the loudest beeper collars they can find in order to hear where the dogs are and they spend most of their days afield searching for their dogs and listening for the sound of the beeper. The novice hunter will be concerned when their dog is out of sight. Your average first-time pointing dog owner will find his field time much more enjoyable if he has a dog that hunts with him, checking back in from time to time. A high-spirited competition-line dog can be very hard to control because of the bred-in desire to run wide.

A strictly show-bred dog may not have the desire to hunt hard for extended periods of time. If the emphasis by the breeder has been on show looks and not field ability, you may end up with what is called a boot-polisher. This is a dog that lacks the drive to search for birds and spends most of its time walking by the owner's side and playing. But then again, if your hunting time consists of two or three one-day outings a year and the rest of the dog's time is spent as a family pet, this type of dog might be better suited to your needs. I have seen my share of first-time dog owners who purchased a pup from champion field lines and could never figure out how to handle the dog once out in the field.

No matter what your choice, whether flusher or pointer, hard-charger or easy-going, a healthy pup is a must. Check to see if the parents have had hip x-rays done for hip dysplaysia. Check to see if the pup's teeth mesh properly and if the males have both testicles. If only one testicle is present, surgery may be needed. Do the pup's legs seem to be straight or bowed? Avoid any overly-aggressive or overly-shy pups. And finally, take a long look at both parents. If possible, have the breeder take you to the field with the parents and see how they hunt. Then compare this to how you would like your pup to hunt. A well-bred pup will set you back a few bucks. When you combine this with the first year's vet bills and training costs, you can easily spend a thousand dollars or more.

Buying a pup is a risk, as even the most conscientious breeders will have the occasional problem pup. Take your time to make your selection carefully and you can reduce the risks considerably.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Name withheld by request, Traverse City.

Answer: Sorry, but I don't think your dog will out-grow his aggression problem. I know this breeder very well and have seen many poorly-bred dogs from his kennel. This breeder has a standard answer to any problems his dogs may have. Blame the owner. I bought a dog from him once. The female wouldn't hunt, she showed no interest in birds at eighteen months of age, and she was scared to death of her own shadow. I returned the dog to him to have her evaluated. He claimed that I'd beaten the dog and was too harsh while training. The only problem with this is that I hadn't started to train this dog. My method is to first build game desire and then begin training. If there's no desire for game, there's no training. This dog had never been disciplined for anything.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Name withheld by request.

Answer: In the wolf world, youngsters, or cubs as wolf offspring are called, can do no wrong. If one of the lower members of the pack were to reprimand or hurt one of the cubs, he would be expelled from the pack and possibly killed by the others. This isn't true for dogs. Let's look at some of the reasons why.

First, if the wolf cubs are bothering an adult, the adult can escape the cubs and leave the area. Dogs in an enclosure or house can't. Secondly, wolves feed at the kill site, far from the den site. Your dogs had food present with no supervision. ‘Food aggression' with strange dogs isn't unusual. This pup was probably used to eating out of the same bowl as his littermates. Thirdly, wolves know the parents of the cubs, namely the alpha male and female of the pack. They're also with the cubs from birth. I think the outcome may be similar if a strange cub were placed in the pack's den site.

New pups must be supervises with older dogs and even much older pups. This puppy was placed in with an already-established pack, your two dogs. My guess would be that after dark, the puppy, which is used to sleeping with his mother and littermates, got cold and tried to get in with one of the other dogs. This could've triggered a ‘territorial aggression' response. Older dogs may not have the same desire to play or snuggle up with the new mini-version of themselves. English Setters aren't known for aggression and if you're seeing no changes in your two older dogs, I'd assume that this is an isolated incident.

I'd also be even more careful about introducing a new pup now because of this incident. Build a separate pen for the newcomer until he has time to grow some and to interact with the other two. Run the three together and you may see who the aggressor is in your group. I know of another fellow with English Setters who placed a new pup in an airline crate in the back of his SUV for the ride to his cabin up north. The older dog got tired of being pester by the pup and bit him several times, causing some expensive vet bills.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Chris H., Whitmore Lake.

Answer: So far so good. Now you need to buy five or six birds to release in front of her while encouraging her to chase and catch them. I would recommend using Chuckar Partridge because they aren't native to Michigan and they have fewer regulations. It sounds like the dog has some predatory instincts that you may be able to transfer to birds. I'd release the Chuckars one at a time and spin the first one to get it dizzy before dropping it in front of the dog.

If the dog grabs the first bird before it has time to recover and fly, praise her and call her to you. Do not grab for the bird. If she wants to run with it, be patient. If she won't come to you with the bird, do not chase her. Better to call her into your house or have her load into your vehicle then take the bird, all the while praising her. If she doesn't grab the first bird, dizzy and drop the second. Hopefully she'll have chased one of the two birds as they recovered and flew off.

Now, with bird three, cut (with scissors) the seven primary wing feathers on one side. Don't dizzy this bird bird before releasing. If the dog refuses to catch this bird, release the fourth bird without dizzying or wing-clipping it. Shoot is on the flush. Repeat this again with the fifth bird. If this demonstration doesn't entice your dog to pursue, catch, and carry the birds, we'll need to approach her from a different angle.

For the uninformed, Standard Poodles were originally bred to retrieve waterfowl. The cut you see on the show dogs is an exaggeration of the old style, whose main purpose was buoyancy. Their tight-knit hair, like many of the water spaniels, gave them good protection from the cold water. There is a resurgence in interest in the Poodle as a retriever and we're starting to see them entered in some of the retriever tests and competitions. What we need now are more people breeding for hunting, rather than the current dog show focus.

Now for that different angle. There are two motivations for a retriever to hunt. One is game and the other is retrieving. I have seen some very nice waterfowling dogs who weren't worth their weight in dog crap when it came to upland hunting at a young age. These dogs were all about retrieving and they had very little interest in birds. But, once they were able to connect the shooting of a bird with retrieving, their upland hunting picked up. I was having trouble working a pointing Lab one time and was conferring with the owner on why I couldn't get the dog to show interest in birds. He then referred me to the breeder who referred me to her trainer. This fellow lived on the west coast and had trained some highly-titled Labs of both flushing and pointing types. He explained to me that you need to first do the retrieving work, then force-break the dog. Next, you switch to dead birds and finally live birds. I told him that every good dog I've ever trained had desire for birds prior to it's first birthday. This dog was eighteen months old and the owner had done extensive retrieving work prior to coming to me. I sent the dog home and told the owner that his money would be better spent on a new puppy.

The point here is to peal the dog's desire for retrieving by playing with a tennis ball or a flying saucer toy, and then try to transfer that desire over to birds. The pitfall of trying to get a Standard Poodle for hunting is finding a person that breeds for hunting. A dog from show lines may not have any hunting instincts, and therefore not feel compelled to pursue game. This is true with many breeds in the show lines. Parents from hunting backgrounds tend to throw pups that hunt and are a better barometer to gauge working abilities then even the bloodlines. If you're interested in finding working bloodlines of Poodles, contact me.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

The pointer that didn't obey in the grouse woods should be tuned up before the opener. The missed shots on landing geese at thirty yards should have put you on a sporting clay course this summer, trying to figure out how such a simple shot had failed to connect. Or maybe your retriever bounded out of his hiding spot just as the geese cupped their wings on the approach, setting their feet to land in your field, and then flaring off at the sight of the dog.

The term ‘bird hunter' usually describes upland hunting, while duck and goose hunting is described as waterfowling. I understand the differences, but I still consider it bird hunting, whether I'm in the marsh or in the uplands.

One thing many of us fail to do is to bring a camera on our trips to the field. By carrying one of the small, disposable 35 millimeters, you'll be able to record the memorable events of your season. Be sure to get one with a flash, so that even in failing light, your picture will be recorded. A non-hunting friend may be talked into video taping an excursion for future viewing. We used to video a spring preserve hunt, complete with audio comments by whomever was operating the camera at the time. September is also the time to make sure that your gear is in good, working order. Don't wait for opening morning to check things out.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

Don T., Canton.

Answer: I occasionally get questions that are outside of the scope of dog training but still warrant an answer. I don't think that I'm the right person to debate the ‘best pheasant hunting area in the west' since I haven't hunted Montana or North Dakota. I think this question might be better-put to Tom Huggler, who has traveled and written extensively about it. You should check out his pheasant hunting books and videos for more insight into western hunting. I've had some incredible hunts in South Dakota, which featured a picture of Tom on their hunting rules and regulations pamphlet.

Now, let me comment on some of your other points. I think that if you're going to hunt public lands, you should go during the first two weeks of the season. After the first couple of weeks, the hunting will be tougher because of fewer birds, plain and simple. Even large areas such as the National Grasslands Area that hold good numbers of pheasants will require walking great distances to get to undisturbed areas. Hunting right-of-way areas by roads can be productive when good roosting cover or a food source is near by. We've always hooked up with a cattle ranch that allows hunting for a per-day fee and we did well. One November after a blizzard blew through, we flushed an easy 2,000 birds from an apple orchard within three hours of hunting. Granted, some of these were prairie chicken and sharptail grouse, which made for a nice mixed bag.

If you're lucky enough to get into a large number of birds, you may experience other problems that you might've never considered. A friend of mine came back from a western pheasant hunt, complaining that there were too many birds. Say what?! Take a pointing dog out to a field with two or three hundred pheasant running around and see what happens. Usually, it's one of two thing. Either mass pandemonium, or the poor dog locks up and won't move. After all, there's pheasant scent everywhere in front of him. So I guess what I'm trying to say is to try and experience both the huge flocks in well-populated areas, as well as straggler-hunting for the occasional bird along ditches, fence lines, or road right-of-ways.

Now, as far as pen-reared birds go, you won't find many release-and-hunt farms out there. Many of the shooting preserves offer good shooting on birds liberated into the wild flocks months before you show up to hunt, thus ensuring quality shooting. Good luck.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

The technological break-throughs that we are experiencing today can astound you if you are a low-tech person like me. I was first introduced to computers twenty-six years ago as a freshman journalism student at EMU's student newspaper, the Echo. This unit was the size of the desk I now sit at and could accomplish half of what my little laptop can today. The original IBM computers were the size of your average bedroom compared to this unit which fits in my briefcase with plenty of room to spare. Now, you may wonder where the heck I'm going with all of this. Dog training, of course.

Yes, dog training. The trainer now entering the twenty-first century has more training aides and tools at their disposal than ever thought possible. The electronic training collars of today are the lightest weight, smallest size, and most innovative ever thought possible. And even better, as the technology advances, prices are dropping. The first training collars in the early 1960s were large units with one setting: HOT. With relatively short range and only one setting, these units were known as ‘shock collars,' and rightly so. Their uses were limited to breaking dogs from running deer and recapturing runaways.

Now, let's step into the nineties. Tri-Tronics has, in the past, led the way in developing new training collars and advancing the technological need for training collars rather than just high-voltage shock collars. Their quality is excellent the equipment is reliable, but innovation is passing them by. There is a new company called Innotek on the market that has taken the forefront in advanced technology. Innovative technology is in their name and definitely shows in their products.

I recently visited Innotek headquarters in Garrett, Indiana and met with their Senior Sales Engineer, Lance Tracy. Lance had previously worked as a Product Manager at the sub-contractor level before coming to work for Innotek directly. This young company, Innotek, started in the dog product market in 1997, near the twenty million mark. As we toured the facility, one of the first things I noticed was the camaraderie of the staff. This is a relatively small company with a staff that is able to work together through the entire process of manufacturing all the way through to shipping. They are consolidating their entire process under one roof to better manage product quality. Repairs are also done in-house, with a same-day turn-around time. This means that if your unit needs repair, they will repair and ship it back to you on the day they receive it, when possible.

I own and use several Innotek products that are on the cutting edge in design and new technology. The Track and Train system works off of the Command series transmitter. It is a combination of electronic trainer and beeper collars. This allows the use of a single collar for both features and can run two dogs on the same system. This system will also accommodate over a dozen launchers and pop-up backing units, a facsimile of a dog on point, to teach honoring of another dog on point.

I also have purchased one of their ‘Free Spirit' training collars that features a compact receiver unit, 3 ounces, that is about the size of the old Matchbox car boxes. How many of you remember Matchbox cars? Maybe I'm dating myself, huh? The thing I like the best about this unit is that the transmitter, the part I have to carry, is the size of a book of matches. I carry the transmitter on a lanyard the same as my whistle. Losing the transmitter, as with the competitors' large-style, pop-bottle-sized units, is no longer a concern. And both of the collar receivers are a hundred percent waterproof. Innotek also makes backyard containment systems that can cover up to 25 acres off of one home-based system at remarkably low prices, as well as many more units than I am able to cover here. Innotek is by far the mos innovative company in the dog training market today, and most certainly will continue using advancing technology to assist the trainers and hunters of the future.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

In case number one, a fellow bought a six-month-old English Setter that had supposedly had four months of training. The buyer had intended to use the dog during a South Dakota pheasant. Before paying for the dog, the seller had set a bird and walked the pup into it as the buyer observed. The pup pointed the bird and was steady to the flush. No shots were fired. You probably know where I am going with this. The buyer had attempted to contact me before the sale and shortly afterwards. Unfortunately I was not in town. I spent twenty-one days in October hunting grouse across the northern two-thirds of the state. I was unable to view the dog until November. The buyer said he thought the dog was gun shy, saying he had set a quail in one of his fields and walked the dog into it. Upon the flush, he shot a .410, killing the quail. At the shot the dog ran hell bent for the barn and hid. The buyer also noticed the dog would be frightened when his neighbor was target shooting with a .22 at a distance of over a hundred yards. The dog was aloof, almost shy when it arrived at my farm. It was spooked by my burn barrel and quad runners and did not wish to be petted by me. We took the dog for a walk through the preserve, at which time it did not appear to be hunting.

First, let me say a normal six-month-old English Setter pup is happy to meet people and should not be spooked by common things around the house. This dog had no interest in me even though I smelled like birds and dogs, since this was at the end of my work day.

Second, let me say that there are a few ‘seminar-givers'. I hesitate to call them trainers. They are telling people they need to start training pointing dog pups for the field at ten or twelve weeks. Young pups at three or four months of age do not have the attention span to do anything for more then a few minutes. And if you put a young pup in a pen full of flushing, squawking birds you will be running the risk of scaring the hell out of the pup. Young pups need to be developed over time as they mature, not rushed into adult situations or pressured to be under complete control all the times. Children and puppies need time to play and have fun on a regular basis for normal development. As I have said in past columns, introduce the pup to new things, let it have fun. Then, at about six to eight months, start your formal training.

The lesson with this dog was ‘always shoot over a started dog.' Shoot a bunch. If the seller doesn't like it, he's hiding something.

The second situation was a six-month-old pointing Lab. This dog was purchased for upland hunting. Once again, the seller claimed the dog had four months of training, two months with birds and two months without.Now, I understand that does used strictly for duck hunting are started very young on obedience drills. This is not the case with pointing dogs, simply because a pointing dog needs to have independence to search the fields. A pointing dog that never ventures more than ten or fifteen yards from the handler will not be effective at finding game.

A sure sign of a novice pointing dog owner is a dog that will not move out and hunt away from the handler. I was at a NAVHDA event about three years ado. During the Natural Ability portion of the test for dogs six to sixteen months old, I watched from the gallery as a breeder of German Short-haired Pointers ran one of his customer's dogs on the upland portion of the test. The dog showed little confidence, had its tail tucked between its legs most of the time, and refused to go more than fifteen to twenty yards from the handler. Not knowing the dog's owner was standing next to me, I explained to the gallery that this dog would be scored down because of this. I knew that the judges did not like to see dogs being pressured and basically over-trained at a young age.

After the test, as we were waiting for the scores to be read, the breeder sat down next to me and introduced himself. I explained to him his mistakes and assured him that as he gained more experience, with pointing dogs, he would become more comfortable with the dogs that ranged out, at least to the edge of shotgun range. He wanted to argue the point and proceeded to try to convince me that he was an experience dog handler.

The senior judge started his speech by saying that they do not like to see young dogs in this state. He went on to criticize ‘professional trainers' competeing in the NAVHDA tests as handlers for clients. I turned to the breeder and explained that he was the person they were talking about. He proceeded to argue his point foolishly with the senior judge. After he was finished, I approached the judge and asked him what his complaint was about how the dogs I had brought were handled. “Charlie, you know we don't have any problems with you,” was his reply, at which time I admonished him for making blank statements considering all professional trainers, at least in my presence.

The pointing Lab in question did not search the field when given the chance. It stayed with us and walked around, showing no interest in finding birds even though I gave it a freshly shot pheasant to play with before our walk. It would not heel on a leash and would not retrieve a pheasant shot during the walk without lots of coaxing. During the entire time I was evaluating this pup, the new owner was making excuses. I asked if the dog's parents' eyes, elbows or hips had been certified. He did not know. I asked how many birds and what type had been shot during training. He did not know. I asked what training had been done. He did not know. I could not see more then about a week's worth of training on the dog. It reacted to the ‘whoa' command but did not whoa. It was a nice pup, appeared to be well-bred, but I could not see where $1,400 worth of training was done, especially four months of training on a six-month-old dog.

When buying a started dog, ask specific questions, see the dog in action, and shoot a shotgun to see what kind of reaction the dog has. I always want to see the parents work and always ask for a two-week trial period. If the breeder is reputable and his dogs are any good, this should not be a problem.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training

This scenario is played out thousands of times each fall as upland bird hunters with pointing dogs take to the field. Anyone who owns a pointing dog has felt the frustration of keeping track of their dog in the thick cover or in early season. The practice of placing bells on the dogs in order to keep track of them in thick cover started in this country. I have talked with bird hunters and pointing dog owners from England and Scotland who considered this practice odd. That is, until we went grouse hunting in one of Michigan's aspen thickets in mid-September.

I know very few pointing dog owners who do not use some type of noise-maker on their dog. The pointing dogs were not bred to hunt within shotgun range all the time, like the flushing breeds. In fact, that is one of the things I like about the pointers. They cover the ground as I relax and watch. When I am hunting with one of my flushers, I have to stay alert to the dog's reaction to bird scent and I have to keep him withing shotgun range at all times. A well-trained pointer should reach out and cover ground while periodically checking in. And, of course, hold his point until the gunner arrives.

I spend over three hundred days a year running hunt dogs. The constant jingle of the bell is annoying to me. Before I purchased my first beeper collar, the old Tracker model, I would lay in bed at night and still hear the bell. The other problem I have with bells is that when the dog goes on point, the bell falls silent. In the situation described  earlier, a bell would be of little assistance in locating the dog on point. Please don't write to tell me of the one or two instances where the bell was superior to a beeper. I have been there, done that, seen it. Day in and day out, a beeper is far superior and if you keep reading, you will find out why.

As some of you may know, I own a small shooting preserve outside of Ann Arbor. We are open seven days a week from September 15th until April 15th, except for Christmas Day. I am an avid grouse and woodcock hunter and spend most of my vacation time hunting over dogs. I am also a professional gun dog trainer. I say this for the sake of you opinionated weekend warriors who feel a need to write me about your limited field experiences and opinions that dispute my findings. Save your stamps. I won't be printing your letters in my column.

For those of you who find the electronic sound of the better annoying and the sound of the bell comforting, God bless and good luck. At least you know what you like. Keep forcing your dog to hunt within gun range and keep searching for it when on point.

Now, for those who may use a beeper collar or might be receptive to one, here are the results of a comparison study I have conducted. I tested seven collars from five manufacturers over the course of sixty days of hunting, using five different dogs.

The manufacturers were: Tri-Tronics, Innotek, T.E. Scott, Lovett, and Michigan's own ATS-Sonic. Four of the models used a design where a speaker is mounted on the top of the collar, facing up. They were the Tri-Tronic, Innotek, Lovett, and the ATS-Sonic Pro XT. The rest had speakers mounted below the dog's neck (both T.E. Scott models and the ATS-Sonic Pro XL). Two of the collars had rechargeable batteries; The Tri-Tronics and the Innotek beeper-only collar. The breeds of dog used were English Pointer, English Setter, Brittany Spaniel, German Wire-haired Pointer, and German Short-haired Pointer.

The top-mounted speakers are designed for open country. The speaker is pointed up, making it easier to hear over long distances. The bottom-mounted speaker's beep does not carry as far, but I've found it easier to locate the dog in thicker cover or wooded areas. I have found both styles work well for me in any type of cover.

I didn't like the rechargeable units simply because recharging required taking the collar off the dog and out of commission until the charging process was complete. Also, the recharger added considerable cost to the purchase price. I found the battery life of all the non-rechargeable units to be satisfactory and of no real expense as far as batteries were concerned. If I am in the field when the rechargeable unit needs charging, I lose that unit for the day. The rechargeable units' battery lives were satisfactory.

In today's world, we have many rechargeable electronic things. Cell phones, electronic training collars, beeper collars, and so on. This is where the ‘oops factor' comes in. I mistakenly plugged one of the rechargeable beeper collars into the wrong charger. This resulted in damage to the collar that was beyond my ability to repair, and it was sent back to the manufacturer.

I tested two T.E. Scott models, their old model and the newest. Both were satisfactory. The older was one of my favorites going in to the test. I have used it for several years without much difficulty. It has a post on-off switch that rotates to adjust setting. I usually place the collar on the dog with the post facing its neck. If the post was facing out, the heavy cover would, at times, shut it off. The newest unit is redesigned to prevent this from happening. I didn't feel that the new unit was a well-built as the older one. These units are adjustable.

The Lovett model is the one I have used quite a bit and do like. It has the hawk-scream feature that I find amusing. I have never heard a hawk sound anything like the sound this beeper makes when in hawk mode. This unit has several tone and mode adjustments.

The Tri-Tronics was the most expensive beeper-only unit. It is a good, solid unit, as I have found all of Tri-Tronic's products to be. Tri-Tronics is the Cadillac os dog training equipment. My problem with that is, a Chevy at half the price suits me fine. I am not concerned with impressing anyone with how much money I have paid for equipment. If I can find the same quality for half the price, I will use that instead. Lovett, Innotek, and ATS-Sonic had good quality for much less money and with many more adjustable features.

The Innotek Command Series Model 1600 has the most feature and was the most expensive unit tested because it included an electronic training collar on the beeper collar. This unit is not rechargeable. They do sell a rechargeable beeper-only collar that I have used and found to be very reliable. For those of you who have dogs which require electronic collars when in the field, the Innotek Track and Train collar is worth looking at. It beats having two collar-units on a dog, and the Command Series 1600 has a locater button that, when touched, gives off a single beep to help locate a running dog with out having a constant beeping tone. I hunt several dogs at a time and it is nice to have different tones on different dogs. Because of this, I own several different makes of beeper collars. The Command series will also operate launchers, two different training collars and backing devises off of the same transmitter. The only problem I had with the Innotek unit was the sound of the beeper. I call it a chirp, rather then a beep. After a few days of hunting, I did become accustomed to the chirping instead of a beep.

For a straight beeper-only collar, the ATS-Sonic, made here in Michigan, was my favorite. I own one of the older model Pro units. I liked the tone but little else about the older unit. The new design is far superior, both in the ease of changing batteries and in customizing the frequency and volume of the tone. ATS-Sonic offers a wide array of models and prices that fit into anyone budget. The battery life of both the Pro/XL bottom-mounted speaker, and the Pro/XT top-mounted speaker was excellent. The units are well-built with screw-off caps for battery replacement and magnetic on/off switches. My Pro/XL unit is a vital part of my hunting equipment. The lower tone of these units is easier to hear if, like me, you have suffered any hearing lose over the years. I also was able to mount my Pro/XL on one of my training collars, thus eliminating the need for two collars on the dog.

If you have never hunted with a beeper collar, it is worth a try. Once you are accustomed to using one, going without one will be like trying to hunt with your eyes closed. If the sound bothers you, buy an adjustable one that can be set on point only. If you prefer a bell, use one with the point only signal and you will never have to search for a dog on point again.

Innotek 1-800-826-5527

Tri-Tronics 1-800-456-4343

ATS Sonic 1-800-247-7453

Lovett 1-800-446-1093

T.E. Scott 1-800-966-3647

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training