Beeper collars - how to?

[10Key]

Alright, so we have the stim collar figured out, which has been a blessing in both hunting and non-hunting situations numerous times in the past couple of weeks. Now I am struggling on how to introduce/train with the beeper collar. Thus far, I have messed with the different sounds around the dog, had him wear it and had it switched on while he is wearing it...bottom line is, he doesn't like the noise it makes whether it is set to beep or hawk scream. I will add that I don't have it beeping during hunt mode, only when on point. We tried it for the second time in the field yesterday and when Chukar would stop to investigate a smell or flash-point and the beeper would beep, Chukar would turn and run at me. I immediately switched it off and we continued on.

So, how do I make the transition to make Chukar "ignore" the beep and not freak out when it sounds off? I really want to be able to use it, especially for quail season when we hunt large expanses of sage and I lose visual contact with him quite often.

[BIGINNER]

i'll mark this thread for myself as well,  i haven't used the beeper on my dog yet,  but i know for sure that he'll not like it and will run to me right away when it goes off.

[jetjockey]

If your sold on a beeper collar, then I guess they work.  But last year I hunted a quail plantation down here in Georgia and in the field next to me was a couple guys hunting with beeper collars.  I was probably 300-400 yards away and I could hear them.  It literally drove me nuts the entire hunt.  If I have to hunt next to guys with beepers this year at the same plantation, Ill ask the guy wo runs it to put me on a different field.  Im not listening to that for 4 hours again.  IMO part of hunting is the joy of being outdoors and hearing the outdoors.  Beepers absolutely ruin a hunt to me.  But that's my opinion only, I know some guys like them.  I'd save the money and get a garmin Astro. You get so much more info about your dog, and you don't have to hear the beeper all day.  I can tell you exactly where my dog is up to 1-2 miles and I know exactly what its doing. 

[bobcat]

It's not so bad if you have it set to beep only when the dog is on point.

[10Key]

jetjockey: I wholeheartedly agree with you in respect to the noise that beeper collars pollute a field with, but as bobcat said, when they are set to beep/hawk scream only on point, they aren't that bad. In fact, they are the only option for someone that wants to keep track of their dog (especially one that ranges big) and minimize missed points when a GPS tracker just isn't feasible.

[SkookumJeff]

I can tell you what I did with my beeper collar.  I introduced it the same way I introduced firearms, slowly and a little at a time. 

The beeper is LOUD so I taped mine up with electrical tape, I think I even put some cotton balls in.  I muffled the sound as much as I could to reduce it's volume.  Then I started using the beeper and when my dog became accustomed to the sound of the beeper, I slowly opened up the beeper bit by bit to increase the volume.  At each volume level I let my dog get accustomed to the beeper at that volume level, same as I did with gunshots.  Eventually he got comfortable with the beeper at each volume level until eventually I opened up the beeper completely.  Today it doesn't bother him one bit. 

These days I mostly use my beeper to let me know when my dog is on point.  If we're in thick cover and I haven't seen him in awhile, I will occasionally use ONE BEEP to let me know where he is.  My dog has learned to check in at the sound of the beeper when he's not on point.  When he IS on point, dynamite explosions wouldn't cause him to move, let alone a beeper.  He's rock solid on point until I release him or the bird runs...whichever comes first LOL....

Skook.

[bobcat]

He's rock solid on point until I release him or the bird runs...whichever comes first LOL....

     That's funny. In my experience, the birds run first about 99% of the time. Only exception was if I were on a release site (which wasn't often).