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21st Century Dog Training Series - Tracking Equipment
from:One of the most impressive things to be introduced into dog
training has been the ability to track your dogs by either radio
frequency equipment or by the newest GPS. When I was training,
and this will probably put a date on me, the only way you had to
train a big running dog was by putting spotters at different
places along a section of land or by using horses and scouts.
Well, for various reasons the horseback idea wasn't really
viable so therefore you had to have some really great friends
with enormous senses of humor. Now with the introduction of
tracking equipment you are able to spend a lot more time
actually training your dog not hunting for them. Almost all
Field Trialers know what I'm talking about and a lot of the
everyday hunters who hunt heavy cover.
My Brother In-Law had a little Springer Spaniel, and I mean
little. That dog could not have weighed in at 25 lbs. if you
hung a bucket of rocks from her collar. Well there was just no
way you were going to hunt her and keep her out of the cover.
Which for all intents and purposes, if your dog won't hit the
cover, leave it home and go with a friend. Now there isn't
anything wrong with a dog that hunts the edges, but at some
point they have to show the desire to get into it and get it
done. Anyway back to point. Once this little gal got into the
cover or high CRP you could not tell where she was. You
couldn't see her, you couldn't hear her so it was extremely
hard to stay with her. There is nothing more frustrating to be
out of position when your dog flushes. I always hunted pointers
but the same frustrations apply when hunting heavy cover or
large tracts of ground.
The tracking systems have made things much easier and sooo much
less frustrating. The radio frequency systems were the first to
come on the scene. I have had several customers tell me that the
systems they purchased have made their hunting in rough terrain,
high cover or very large areas easy. The only draw back to the
radio frequency systems, in my opinion, is that you have to
always be fiddling with buttons (dials). Now that doesn't make
them any less proficient in finding and tracking your dog but
there is still a lot of fiddling as far as I'm concerned. Now,
the NEW GPS Tracking Systems that have just been introduced into
the training arena are just absolutely unbelievable. You are
able to track several dogs at once. Course you could track
several dogs at once with the radio frequency systems also. But
with the GPS you can keep track of locations, game, and your
dogs actual trail. You are able to hunt areas that you have
never hunted before no matter how large because you can set the
GPS up to know exactly where you are and how to get back. One of
the best units that I have been associated with and have actual
feedback on is the Garmin Astro Combo. There are a couple of
others out there but I recommend the Garmin because GPS is what
they do.
In closing I would like to say that it makes no difference
whether you are a Pro or Novice. These tracking systems can
really help to make your hunting experience more pleasurable and
rewarding. Let's face it. The days of you and I going out and
just picking a place to hunt have come to pass. We have to
travel further and hunt larger areas (Public Hunting Reserves)
or private Hunting Preserves. The last thing you want to do is
spend several hours looking for your dog. Even close working
dogs can get separated from their owners when working high or
dense cover. Yes there are those who have dogs that never get
lost. I don't know any of them but I guess there are some. But
having a tacking system will most assuredly help not only with
your hunt but with your training as well.
About the author: John Wahl
Semi-retired factory worker. Trained, bred and fieldtrialed
German Shorthaired Pointers for a number of years with young
dogs being my area of choice. I like the outdoors, fishing,
golf. I like travel and I like sitting on the porch watching
time go by.
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