E-Collars .... features you want !

Hey ! Thinking of getting an ecollar for my Griffon .

Thinking of the Tritronics G3 Upland , I think this one has the ability to shut or turn on the beeper at a distance . Is this a feature you want ... Any imput appreciated , as always . Gonna get it from phil here ...

Thanks

Skip it. Buy Sport 70 G2. It has 1 mile range, the ability to turn on and off the beeper, with 7 constant levels. The 1 mile range comes in handy when hunting in the woods or hills and the terrain is limiting your range.

www.collarclinic.com is a good site for refurbished collars for cheap.

Buy Tri-Tronics also. I have never had a problem with them fixing or replacing anything. I broke an antena and dropped it in the lake. Tri-Tronics replaced it no questions asked.

I have owned the Tri-Tronics Upland with the remote beepers and now have the Pro 500. The remote beepers were something I found appealing. They were very loud and not the least bit melodic. Turning them on when a dog was on point spooked the birds on at least two occasions that I know of - maybe more that I don't. They also had the effect of startling the dogs when suddenly activated. If I need a beeper I run a seperate one with adjustable run duration or point only mode.

The variable intensity momentary stimulation levels is important for how most folks use the collar when running pointing dogs.

The 1 mile range is under ideal conditions - it is restricted severely anywhere a person is likely to be hunting birds. The same restriction is in effect for the collar with an advertised 300 yard range. That may seem like a lot until heavy bush or a rise in the terrain restricts its range to under 50 yards and then it is ineffective.

Tri-tronics is the most durable and supported collar that I have seen. The Innotek is not worth strapping on a dog. I know some folks that like the Dogtra.

Winch...does your Griffon actually range that far that you need to have a beeper on him? Must have some of Ryans GSP in him if he does. I've only ever used collars on my Griffons for aversion training, they hunt close enough so that I can just talk or whistle to them. Tri-tronics does make good collars (a friend of mine's Setter works great with his) Nice toy to have if you want more toys though.

Bird Hunter I agree and disagree with your statment about the beeper scaring birds.

I agree that if you turn it on when onpoint it does scare the bird but it is not ment to be turned on when the dog is onpoint it is ment to be turned on when the dog enters heavy cover or when its let out of the truck. I have found hunting pheasants with the beeper the hawk cry holds birds and I get a better success rate of birds holding then when I dont use it.

However when i hunt partridge I leave it at home and go with a bell. The beeper seem to spook the partridge and im too far away from my dog to get a shot off. Maybe shorthair is hitting all my spots with his 2 dogs and his beepers I dont know. But anyone who I have talked to that actually gives them a go over pheasants wont go back to a bell..

I also like the Tone function on the ecollars I have my dogs trained to come back to the tone this way I am not annoying the other hunter or calling back all dogs when I want one to come back. If you want to locate a dog intead of using the beeper just use the tone function.

I should also mention that is introduced to the dog correctly you will never need your collar in the field. I use it at home doing simple yard work and have never needed it in the field. But if you dont introduce it right and the dog figures out its the collar that is giving him the corrections you will have a dog that will only listen when that collar is on him.

Ryan...this past year was the first time I heard a collar screech like a hawk!!! I had no fricken idea were the noise was coming from and felt like a goof when I realized the sound was coming from my friends dog collar!! First time hunting with him and his English, the dog...probably like yours...was off into the next 1/4 section, easy for my fleet footed friend to make up that distance, but for a old flat foot like me it was a bad thing! Anyway, the screeching hawk must have scared the huns to death, cause we were (actually he was, I was still humping it) right on top of the birds when they flushed. After a couple of time out I noted that the collar worked on huns, sharpies and roosters, all with the same 'holding' effect. Mind you, the screeching noise ****ed off my old Griffon, nearly tore both the collar and the dogs head off at one point. A good innovation if worked properly.
Also, excellent point regarding not needing the collar once your dog is trained up. I've seen guys tape some batteries around a regular collar just to 'simulate' a shock collar, dogs would'nt listen otherwise.

Interesting topic. I imported and sold the Sonic beepers when beepers were new to the market. They had models with all the sounds. I tried them all. I have found over the years that some dogs are better at making birds hold than other dogs. If I put the hawk scream beeper on one dog the birds held tight, if I put it on the other dog they didn't. But they still held tight for the first dog without the beeper. I came to the conclusion that the hawk scream wasn't the deciding factor.

just had a perverse thought... do you think there is a subgroup of consumers for this product in the S&M crowd? I mean, they like collars, they like pain... it seems a natural. :lol

Scott you've been at this dog thing a long time, and know that there are Far too many variables to make such a definitive conclusion. Weather/wind, cover, dog distance from bird(s), predators in a given area, dogs abilities and # of times the bird(s) have been hunted I'm sure are some of the factors to consider...but it'll be an awfull waste of time/money if you find out that the sound your particular collar emitts just does not work for you and your dog(s) at all. Having said that, when my 'uncollared' Griffon and the 'screeched' up English were hunting together, the hawk 'screech' made no comparable difference in holding birds...it did howver **** my dog off... I must also add however, that the particular area we hunted is 'infested' with flying predators.
Now if they could only manufature a collar for duck dogs that call duck and geese...and makes coffe.

I have a cell phone ringer thats a mallard and another thats a goose. Im always praying for a phone call when im hunting :lol

I'm not sure I understand your post ex811. Did the hawk scream hold birds or did it not? Your two posts suggest different conclusions. I have been at this a little while, and while I do recognize that there are a good number of variables that can cause one to never say never, I gave the hawk scream a pretty thorough try and could not say that any dog was more successful, under any conditions, at having birds hold with the scream than they were without it. In the end I found I preferred the Sonic Pro with the triple tone because it was more melodious and easier to listen to. I would run it on point only most of the time - then I lost it. Now I only have a Sentry 16 and I prefer it on the point only giving a bobwhite call - it is the least effective for range but the easiest to listen to.

I guess we are saying the same thing Scott, toys are nice to have, but they are not really necessary in the end...it's the dogs natural ability and how you honed the dogs ability to work in a manner suitable and desirable to meet your needs/wants and hunting skill/practices. If that enables or requires you to use every new electronic device on the market, so be it. Talking about wants, I want one of those phones Ryan...we'd be racking up the minutes in duck season!

I think I jsut downloaded the ring tone.