pointers and heavy cover

[ungrounded]

So I have a Britt that I'm going to get trained for hunting up in whatcom county.  I'm thinking of hunting for grouse but also release sites for pheasants.  I was wondering how people do up here with pointing dogs and heavy cover like black berry bushes?   

[Timberstalker]

I run my shorthair through heavy cover and berry bushes over here on the Eastside.  It is tough on them.  Pay attention to them and don't tear them up.  They will hunt until they are bloody and raw (if you let them).  Even with a vest they will get rubbed up and cuts.  Condition them and get them accustomed to it.  Your dog will do fine.

[Stilly bay]

are you asking about finding your dog in heavy cover once he is on point?

[AspenBud]

If it's a high drive dog the cover won't matter to it. They'll gladly shred themselves finding birds. Your bigger concern will be in making sure your dog knows how to handle in the woods. Real easy for them to get turned around and lost since sound travels differently in the woods than a field.

Release site pheasant may also cause your dog some problems with grouse. It's the old pen raised versus wild bird problem...and in general, grouse behave differently and their habitat presents different challenges for a pointer.

[KFhunter]

Britts tend to want to roam far but can be trained for a foot hunter as well, if it's going to be a grouse dog you'll want it to work pretty close.

A bell can work as long as the dog never gets out of earshot (pretty easy for a britt to do) or you can use a beeper. 

Beepers take some training and getting used too, mine still hates her beeper as much as I let her wear it she freaking hates it.   I even taped it up, shoved it full of cotton too. I pretty much gave up on the beeper/hawk scream.

Another option is the garmin astro's but they are $$$

[Stilly bay]

Beepers take some training and getting used too, mine still hates her beeper as much as I let her wear it she freaking hates it.   I even taped it up, shoved it full of cotton too. I pretty much gave up on the beeper/hawk scream.

Another option is the garmin astro's but they are $$$

I hate beepers too. Nothing like a nice quiet day in the woods interrupted by the something that sounds like truck backing up... or something that sounds more like a sound effect to a video game than a hawk.

If your going to use a beeper you will have to introduce it to your dog slowly -kinda like gunfire- or else your dog will be beeper shy. don't just take it out of the box and strap it  on your mutt before a hunt. let the poor dog wrap his mind around the fact that loud obnoxious thing will be strapped around his neck just behind his sensitive ears.

Get an astro. They are only expensive until  you use one, and then you will discover they are cheap at any price. finding your dog quicker will result in more birds in the bag and less time looking for your dog if he gets lost, or caught in a trap or you name it.

If it's a high drive dog the cover won't matter to it. They'll gladly shred themselves finding birds. Your bigger concern will be in making sure your dog knows how to handle in the woods. Real easy for them to get turned around and lost since sound travels differently in the woods than a field.

Release site pheasant may also cause your dog some problems with grouse. It's the old pen raised versus wild bird problem...and in general, grouse behave differently and their habitat presents different challenges for a pointer.

As far as attacking cover your dog will stick to the roads if that is what you train him to do. if you actually get off the road and into the cover while training your dog will do the same while hunting, it doesn't really matter on how much drive he has. a road running dog with a lot of drive will just run further down the road or trail before he turns around or catches scent.

A lot of people think if  your really serious about grouse you shouldn't run a dog on a release site until he was close to mature, those people are usually from places where grouse are hunted really hard by people with dogs  grouse over here are about as dumb or smart as most release site roosters and  usually only flutter up into a tree if they are poorly handled by a dog.

[AspenBud]

Beepers take some training and getting used too, mine still hates her beeper as much as I let her wear it she freaking hates it.   I even taped it up, shoved it full of cotton too. I pretty much gave up on the beeper/hawk scream.

Another option is the garmin astro's but they are $$$

I hate beepers too. Nothing like a nice quiet day in the woods interrupted by the something that sounds like truck backing up... or something that sounds more like a sound effect to a video game than a hawk.

If your going to use a beeper you will have to introduce it to your dog slowly -kinda like gunfire- or else your dog will be beeper shy. don't just take it out of the box and strap it  on your mutt before a hunt. let the poor dog wrap his mind around the fact that loud obnoxious thing will be strapped around his neck just behind his sensitive ears.

Get an astro. They are only expensive until  you use one, and then you will discover they are cheap at any price. finding your dog quicker will result in more birds in the bag and less time looking for your dog if he gets lost, or caught in a trap or you name it.

I'd recommend a Garmin Astro or Alpha to anyone going into the woods with a dog. That said, nothing beats a beeper in point mode and nothing beats a Northwoods bell from Lion Country Supply in case the beeper and the Garmin fail...and yes, I've had both the Garmin Astro and a TriTronics beeper fail at the same time one day, and it happened to be on an occasion where I got over confident and didn't stick a bell on the dog, who happens to be a big runner and who got himself lost. 2 1/2 hours later I found the dog. 

On a release site I'll just go with a Garmin Astro. Grouse, it's a beeper and the Astro minimum. Buy the long range antennas for the Garmin product.

If it's a high drive dog the cover won't matter to it. They'll gladly shred themselves finding birds. Your bigger concern will be in making sure your dog knows how to handle in the woods. Real easy for them to get turned around and lost since sound travels differently in the woods than a field.

Release site pheasant may also cause your dog some problems with grouse. It's the old pen raised versus wild bird problem...and in general, grouse behave differently and their habitat presents different challenges for a pointer.

grouse over here are about as dumb or smart as most release site roosters and  usually only flutter up into a tree if they are poorly handled by a dog.

Don't get my hopes up like that.   

[Stilly bay]

I'd recommend a Garmin Astro or Alpha to anyone going into the woods with a dog. That said, nothing beats a beeper in point mode and nothing beats a Northwoods bell from Lion Country Supply in case the beeper and the Garmin fail...and yes, I've had both the Garmin Astro and a TriTronics beeper fail at the same time one day, and it happened to be on an occasion where I got over confident and didn't stick a bell on the dog, who happens to be a big runner and who got himself lost. 2 1/2 hours later I found the dog. 

 Is that why they started breeding pit bulls into some EP lines? So they would have enough neck muscle to accommodate all that hardware? 

What is nice about the Tritronics beeper is you can have it on point only mode like you mentioned or have it set to only go off when you want it to, kinda like a car alarm.
That feature IMO makes it an invaluable tool for heavy cover or big woods, even if I never use the pointing function.

[AspenBud]

I'd recommend a Garmin Astro or Alpha to anyone going into the woods with a dog. That said, nothing beats a beeper in point mode and nothing beats a Northwoods bell from Lion Country Supply in case the beeper and the Garmin fail...and yes, I've had both the Garmin Astro and a TriTronics beeper fail at the same time one day, and it happened to be on an occasion where I got over confident and didn't stick a bell on the dog, who happens to be a big runner and who got himself lost. 2 1/2 hours later I found the dog. 

 Is that why they started breeding pit bulls into some EP lines? So they would have enough neck muscle to accommodate all that hardware? 

What is nice about the Tritronics beeper is you can have it on point only mode like you mentioned or have it set to only go off when you want it to, kinda like a car alarm.
That feature IMO makes it an invaluable tool for heavy cover or big woods, even if I never use the pointing function.

You mean bull terrier.   

Lovett's beepers are worth looking at too. I actually think they're more rugged than the TriTronics beepers.

[Stilly bay]

can you active them remotely?

[AspenBud]

can you active them remotely?

It depends on the model. They have a beeper/trainer combo that has that option, but most of their stand alones don't. I bought the TT beeper even though I use Dogtra e-collars for that reason actually. Looking ahead i probably won't buy Dogtra again.

Here is the Lovett's website if you're curious...

http://www.dogbeepers.com/
 

[bracer40]

Another issue to keep in mind is, is your dog going to chase deer/elk? When mine was young and before he was trained not to chase them, he went on a few romps that separated us for well over an hour. Thought I was going to lose him both times. Soon after I took steps to teach him it was NOT OK to chase those big, smelly animals (one of the rare times the long distance collar got turned up to max strength)...............................and I bought a Garmin as he ranges pretty big in open country.

[LiveandLearn]

I use a beeper in point mode. The mode on my beeper can be changed with the remote on the fly. It also has a manual locate feature.