Shocking Experience

[labman]

Well I decided to take a chance and take my 6 month old lab Sage pheasant hunting.So I took him to a public area where the State releases farm raised pheasants twice a week.Not exactly hunting,but I thought is was a good close to home way to train him in case I do choose to hunt wild ones some day.
Opening morning 8 o'clock, hundreds of hunters in orange marching in from all directions,whistles blowing,dogs barking,hunters yelling,and then the shooting began.Sage and I looked at each other and thought what the heck are we doing in the middle of this combat zone? I wished we both had purchased Kevlar vests the day before.Well with all the confusion for my young pup we decided to find a safe spot away from the free-for-all.
That was probably the best part of our hunt.Although we did meet a few good guys that were respectable to others and their dogs,there were a few that really did ruin it for me.I was surprised how many hunters used "Shock Collars" on their dogs.I'm not sure how many volts one of those lets off,but when these poor dogs got zapped they sure yelped and almost put them to the ground.And these dogs were getting zapped all the time.I thought to myself these guys need to be the ones wearing the shock collar.Over the years i've trained some very good hunting dogs without using pain,so I just don't understand this .And if that wasn't enough,I saw a couple guys beating the living heck out of their dogs for whatever reason ....i'm sorry i just needed to vent a little...

 

[HoundedByHounds]

VERY common to use hobbling, e collar etc for training gun dogs from what I hear.

I won't even think about defending it, but I do know that a dog that's not 100% trained, stands a real chance of being shot by a hunter by accident, or crossing a road and becoming roadkill. Or any other number of nasty accidents. Hunting is rough sometimes...but I don't do it so I won't comment further.

Sorry you had a bad day out there!

 

[labman]

I guess that makes more sense if it saves the dogs life then,but their should be some limits.
It's just not for me,I'll just have to choose a less populated area to hunt next time.

 

[FoxyWench]

ive known many hunting dogs that are 100% reliable without the use of shock collars, theres no excuse for it, especially turned up so high that it makes them almost hit the ground...
thats ridiculous.

you can train a dog to be 100% reliable in the feild with no need for "shock therapy" (as ive heard some call it) where im from its considered barbaric!

 

[Jean Luc Picardy]

I guess when you have a place that is no more than a glorified 'trout farm' you're going to get the lowest of the low as far as hunters go.

I have a hunting dog, I don't hunt and have no intention of doing so, but I do know 2 hunters that I respect. They and their dogs track their quarry through all sorts of terrain. It's a skill and an honour for them to hunt. Never would they inflict pain on their dogs to make up for being lazy.

Wow, this really pis$es me off.

 

[HoundedByHounds]

Someone's using the collars..because there are an absolute boatload available specifically for gun dogs....that's all I'm sayin. These things are too expensive to make if no one's using them.
http://www.lcsupply.com/

 

[Zoom]

Just about every hunter I know has trained their dog with shock collars. It greatly upsets me, but since I don't hunt, I don't get listened to very often.

The best I can do is show of my Lab's recall that was trained without any adversives at all.

 

[smkie]

i could tell you horror stories of the things i have seen at field trials and training with "hunters". Lets just say that is why i advocate the longer road, it does take longer but so can be do able without all that. It boils my blood.

 

[Xerxes]

Funny thing is, just like people think puppies come understanding things like staying off the furniture, don't poo in the house, and don't chew on electrical cords, alot of hunters think that hunting dogs instinctively know how to flush, retrieve or point. It does take time and patience to train a dog.

 

[labman]

Well i'll tell ya,the vivid memory of that day in the field and one i'll NEVER EVER forget was when a nice yellow Lab came up to greet me with a big smile on her face not more than three feet away a guy yells to his hunting partener OK ZAP HER! at the same time as I reached my hand out to give her a little pat on the head she hit the ground yelping from the shock...it's just not right...

 

[smkie]

yup and you ought to see those men when the dog doesn't respond the way they wanted it to in front of their buddies. I cannot tell you how bad it can be when they are embarrassed AND mad. I have walked off the field refusing to train with certain people. I knew not to be a part of that even when i was 13 and they professed to knowing what they were doing. My old boss never did that crap. If the dog wasn't having 50 percent of the fun, we weren't doing it. People can laugh at my training victor to carry his bucket for halloween and to pass out valentine cards when the time comes, but i promise you, he has been "force trained" without the force. No ear pinching, no e collars, no prongs. He is such a better dog for it. IT is no different then not eating the bird (his treats are in the bucket) then learning to deliver to hand.

 

[mrose_s]

god that sounds awful

I have a huge ineterest in pointers and setters and would love to own a GSP, red setter and an english setter one day. Would love to teach them to point and "set" (sorry have no idea about the correct terminology as I won't get a gundog for probably 10 years atleast) eventhought I don't hunt.