Shock Collars

[goosebruce]

Goofyest thing I did that I think helped more than anything hunting....
I took rowdy as a puppy to baseball pratices and games. He'd sit quietly, behind home plate backstop, and watch kids run and yell and throw a ball. And he'd sit. First for 5 minutes, then to parking lot for a few bumpers, then for 15, then for a whole pratice or ball game. No noise, just watch the kids and ball, and then go work, then back to watching. This dog watches the skies for HOURS. He never tires of it, he never makes a sound. Days without a fetch, or 5 minutes after one... he's in his box, staring at sky. No petting, no whining, he will finally eat a snack in the blind, but hes watching as soon as he gulps it down. Now, I've never seen an book or a video that advocated taking your pup to the ball park, but it seemed to me a perfect time to sit with my dog, with long periods of inactivty he needed to stay focused on, and then work, then go back to it. I was there, it was easy for him to be there, and it paid off in spades. Made him a pleasure in the blind from day one, a dog that you forget he's there, until you need to see in his eyes where the birds are coming from, or he's released and all hell breaks loose.

With thought, and co-operation from your family, it's incredible how many activites can be helpful in your day to day life, with no extra effort put forth, just thinking of the dog. By the same token, bad habits can be learned just as quickly, and gotta be stopped before they take root. Never let pooch do anything you don't want for a habit. travis

[gator]

hey gb, that's some good advice...always count on you to shed some light...i was gonna say similiar stuff about sitting in kennel, and letting him know that the ONLY way he gets to do the fun stuff is if he does the not-so-fun (to him anyway) stuff...i gotta question for you though...i'm having a time w/ gauge wanting to whine when hunting...i don't have a blind and hunt timber and brakes mostly and if water is too deep (which is the case on a few holes i hunt), i put him back on the nearest dry ground to wait for me to call him...problem is, he whines some and b/c i'm not right there, i'm having a terrible time trying to correct it...this is something i saw earlier and need something to try if i'm not right in the vicinity...haven't scolded too much cause i don't think that he would know what i was mad at seeing as to how i'm some piece from him....any thoughts...gator

[sportsman450]

Gator-You might want to try the bottom 1/2 of a climbing tree stand.
It may not actually solve the whining problem,but it may stop the symptom.

I hunt mostly woods too,and the tree stand has worked well.It is a little more trouble,but it's worth it.

[gator]

sportsman, that's a good idea and i've thought about it but on these brakes there's not any tree that i could put it on...they are surrounded by button willows/buck-brush and the cypress's are soooo big that my ole man won't fit on em cept maybe high high...the timber's not a problem as i can bring him right beside me and can correct it...it's the same situation micah was talking bout earlier, when he sees ducks he wants to whine...he's so ready to go...when he doesn't see em, he doesn't...i know it's something i have probably done or failed to do, but i just can't think of what or how to correct it from a distance...prob. just let my buds do the shooting and sit there w/ him but i mostly hunt alone so that's a no-go too...gator

[goosebruce]

First off, your hush has to mean something (or quiet, or whatever you use). He has to know it means not another peep, cause you don't have the chance to grab his muzzle. On a collar condtioned dog, it'd be prime for a collar correction on hush (btw, my next dog will be introduced to the collar on hush at such a young age, I'm planning on having to poke holes for it to fit on his itty bitty neck... my own kinda ideal, but I don't see the need to wait! Todays collars go low enough you can't feel them on your hand, and a ultra low nick on HUSH on a puppy in a crate should make it faster, and eaiser for a quiet dog, and a cc'ing dog!).

Next thing to do is... well, have someone sneak behind him. When he whines, you say hush, next peep outta him someone shakes him up from behind. Hope he aint the kinda dog that'd eat someone up, if he is, take dukdawgn that day with you! hehe. Thats exactly what we do when we got dogs fence fighting in the truck, or waiting until we're out in the field to make noise... creep up and rock their world. You aint gotta get violent, just in their face eyeball to eyeball, and let em know no noise will be tolerated. If hes quiet with you, and noisey when you cant get him, hes got the ideal, he just aint bought into it. A helper will be almost ness, or you walk back to him every time ducks working... and that aint gonna cut it.

#1 thing to keep dog quiet is that EVERY single hush is enforced. If you hollar out the door to dog in kennel HUSH, you better be ready to go get him if he keeps it up. Any command really, the key to it is 100% complience, never give it if you can't enforce it. Dogs are really good at figgering out when rules apply and when they don't... so you have to make them always apply, and the dogs quit trying.

Whatever you do, don't let him make noise one day, then hammer him the next cause your friends rag you about it... I hate that. be fair to dog, establish a standard, and stick with it.

Make sure that tree stand is covered... that expanded metal will rip a toenail off quick like. I bought a cheapie gorrial stand at bass pro for 40 bucks, and zip tied an old floor mat to it, and viola, a custom dog stand. It's strapped to the telephone pole in my back yard so far... but hey, if we ever get some ducks in the trees, I'm ready. travis

[digger]

Buy a rachet strap what ever length you need to go around tree hook to stand tightn up.

[gator]

thanks for those thoughts guys...and goose, i hadn't thought of the sneak approach, good one...gator

[chance]

gator---I built a stand that I use when hunting my dog while standing in water. Have left her on front end of boat but wasn't real satisfied with that. Used a 24"X24" piece of plywood covered with astro turf. I attached a homemade bracket to each corner allowing me to put legs on that were detachable so I could transport it in the boat easier. Made legs adjustable in height. Used a piece of 1/2" conduit inside a 3/4" conduit and put holes in so I could adjust the height. Then used some 90 degree stuff that I found at hardware store to steady up the legs. Needed that even when pushed into mud. Works pretty good. This keeps my dog at my side so that I can control he better while hunting.
For $150 you can buy out of Macks that works real well too and lite enough to carry. If you keep your dog in close enough to correct you can stop the whining. My old dog Rocky used to get real loud when I feed chattered. Holding his mouth while saying "Quiet" enough times and he finally got the message.

[goosebruce]

Now we hold glenns mouth and say quiet when he duck calls! bwhahahahahahah.

Hunted last weekend in a sitution a dog wasn't pratical... and I got to say, it sucked. Hunting without a dog just isn't the same.

Anyone here have a dog stand that hooks to the boat? So dogs outside boat, where he can see and not get water into boat? Wondering bout rigging up a gig like that, that hangs over boats side, but comes in for running boat. We don't boat hunt much, but when we do, I'd sure like to have a gig for the dogs. travis

[gator]

your probably talking bout making one yourself and i don't know much bout that (don't have a boat), but i have seen some in some mags like macks and such i believe...gator

[goosebruce]

I ain't opposed to buying anything... cept the gig's i seen been huge trifold ramps that bolt onto the boat, not what i'm wanting. Anyone got one of the avery gigs they got in catalogs? How does it seem to work? travis

[gator]

yeah, that avery thang is the one i'm talking bout if it's the one that almost looks like a deer stand bottom...can't remember which mag it was exactly but i think it was macks...i know i ain't being much help cause i know you've seen the same thing but i would like to hear what you end up doing as i will one day soon need one myself...gator

[Super Black Eagle]

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