Today, we are learning more and more about training hunting dogs using the relatively new technology called electronic shock collars. These collars have changed the way that working dogs are trained, especially hunting dogs.

One of the greatest values these collars give to the trainer is the increase of interaction between the trainer and the dog. They allow for remote training, without a traditional leash, which greatly increases the options a trainer has in training a working or hunting dog. Let’s look at why these collars are so effective.

The main components of electronic training collars are transmitters and receivers. The transmitter is completely controlled by the trainer while the receiver is easily worn in a specially designed collar by the dog. For the trainer, correcting a dog whether at home, during a show or while your dog is hunting is done through sending a signal that issues a small electrical jolt to your dog. Before you become concerned let us put your mind at ease – these corrections do not cause pain to your dog, they merely provide a distraction so that your dog can be quickly corrected. It’s been well documented that those who use these electronic methods of training their dogs have had great success in training their dogs at a quicker pace and that the dog remembers the training for longer periods of time than other training methods.

When you are searching for an effective electronic training collar for your dog, you want one that is reliable and safe. Innotek is the premier electronic dog training collar supplier. Whether you need a backyard system that allows you to train more than one dog or you want a simple system to train your pet at home, Innotek has a product that will meet your needs.

Durability is a great trait of Innotek brand products, and you can also expec high quality which is guaranteed by the way of the best components. With the Innotek Ultra Smart Training collar, you can choose from 15 levels of stimulation, which will allow you to train more than one dog. It is also equipped with sounds in conjunction with electronic stimulation as a reminder for your dog.

Innotek UltraSmart training collars provide the best value through the IUT 300 series. This system is ideal for those who need to train two dogs at a time for field training or even show training where your dog needs to be able to be a reasonable distance from you. These collars work up to 300 yards away and still allow you to correct your dog with either the sound or electronic correction.

The IUT300 offers a number of features that are not available in any other collar including self diagnosis, electronic fit testing, battery strength display, a built in receiver and lithium ion technology that is not found in any other collar. In addition, the nine stimulation levels make this collar one of the most versatile for those owners who want the control of both electronic and sound correction.

If you are concerned about your dog’s hair being too long, the system also offers extra long probes, and there are some extras that you will not find in any other system including lanyards, test lights, and instructional DVD’s. Innotek is committed to ensuring that you and your dog are getting the most from their product when you select them to train your dog.

Training your hunting dogs to hunt, whether it’s for flushing, pointing, or retrieving, there are great tools at your disposal. Bird and Dummy Launchers are available with remote control devices that can be used together or separately to fill your training needs.

Remote Bird and Dummy Launchers

With both dummy launchers and bird launchers, a remote control can be used to train your dog without the need of an assistant. At one time, there was no remote control, meaning you would always need another person to help with the training which almost always leads to a distracted dog.

A bird launcher is designed to emit a number of sounds and beeps to help your dog learn the sounds that he will hear when he’s hunting with you. The type, be it a dummy launcher or bird launcher will be dependent on what kind of training your dog requires. And because your goal is to have a well-trained dog who will make a great hunting partner, launchers are perfect for the job.

Bumper Launchers

This is your secret weapon in teaching your dog to learn to retrieve came. The dummy launcher is for those who work alone and you allow you to launch your dummies at a height and distance that is far greater than throwing it yourself. This allows your dog to learn to retrieve game that is further away. This is especially helpful when you consider that if you were using hand launching followed by shooting; your dog would become accustomed to fetching game at close distances. One of the best features of the remote launchers is that you can use the accompanying sounds to train your dog to react as if he were hunting actual game (ducks, pheasant, etc.).

Bird Launchers

To train a pointer or flushing dog, bird launchers are almost essential. A significant advantage with these is the ability to set up multiple launchers in the field to simulate an actual hunting area. Dogs are natural hunters and honing those skills is most easily done by mimicking what their skills were bred for. Training a dog to honor another’s point for the flush and to be effective in finding and pointing are much more easily done while using a bird launcher. Pointing dog trainers have been using them for years and now flushing dog trainers are seeing the huge advantages these tools can offer as well. Using the low-ground spring latch, these launchers can effectively train for quail and pheasant as well as high-flying birds like fowl.

It’s summer and it seems like fleas are everywhere. Luckily, today’s pet owner has an arsenal of flea treatments at their disposal. Pyrethrin is a safe and widely used insecticide. Methoprene and Fenoxycarb are insect growth regulators (IGR) which prevent eggs and larvae from developing into pupae. Always treat bird dogs and their environment at the same time.

A flea’s life span can range from 2 weeks to 8 months. Because the pupa is wrapped within the protection of a cocoon, insecticides will not affect them one bit. This is why they are extremely difficult to kill, and also the reason why pet owners experience another flea outbreak just 2 weeks for the first treattment. As the pupa stage ends and the adult flea develops, you are left in the same position you began.

Flea Baths
Using a regular flea prevention shampoo can help with flea control. One thing to be careful about though is flea dips – especially if you have children in the house. Flea dips are very harsh and most leave a residue on your dog – they’re only recommended in cases of very extreme infestation and should be discussed with your veterinarian before use.

Spot On Medications
This type of flea treatment is administered between the shoulder blades of the pet. It’s a monthly treatment that will kill adult fleas for sure, and some brands will even prevent larvae and egg growth. These medications can only be used on dogs older than eight weeks. Water activities, like swimming or baths can make spot on medications less effective.

Pill Flea Treatment
Known for its effect as a “flea birth control”, this is also a monthly treatment. When the flea bites your dog, they become sterile and die without every laying eggs. When this happens, the fleas will die out completely, leaving you flea-free. Since this type of treatment can’t be washed off in water, it is great for pets that live indoors.

Natural Methods
Not everyone likes to use chemicals for flea control purposes. If this is the case, you should vacuum thoroughly as often as possible. In addition to carpets, vacuum furniture, pillows, and bedding. Properly discard the bag, or burn it, right away. Secondly, you should wash everything in the hot water cycle. Lastly, use dried pennyroyal, diactomaceous earth, or pyretthrum powder. Apply it on pet bedding and underneath cushions and mattresses. However, don’t use pennyroyal if your dog is pregnant. Repeat this process every few days.

Clean from inside out
Pet bedding, furniture, cushions, and thick carpets are fleas’ havens. Before treatment, always vacuum everything and everywhere in your home. Then, burn or properly discard vacuum bags immediately. Fleas love dust and hair, so this is important. It’s also important to wash all pet clothing and bedding in hot water. Insecticides are most effective on young, immature fleas.

Outside, fleas love wet, shady areas like dog houses, flower beds, and under decks or porches. Treat any location where your pet spends a lot of time. Fully mow and rake your yard. Get rid of leaves in flower beds and under bushes to increase the areas exposed to insecticides. The garage, basement and other places with non-carpeted floors should be thoroughly mopped to get rid of flea larvae hiding in crevices. Wash pet carriers and vacuum the car!

You can also choose a fogger or spray for your home, yard, and other areas, as they are very effective. You may need to repeat treatment in areas of severe infestation, usually every 2 or 3 weeks.

Flea bites cause all kinds of problems for pets and people. Intense itching can lead to skin problems, hair loss and infections. A bad infestation can lead to anemia and tapeworms. Allergies to flea saliva can cause flea dermatitis. Getting rid of a flea infestation is imperative for the health of your pet. Following these steps will help your pet and your home stay flea free.

There are lots of hunting dog supplies out there on the market, they range from dog crates, to dog collars, to electronic hearing protection. Make sure you do your research before you buy something to make sure it offers exactly what you want.

People who own hunting dogs seldom treat their dogs like the tools (that they were intended to be), instead they treat them like any other dog owner treats their dog, a loyal friend and companion. One of the things you’ll discover very quickly is that a gun dog makes a great pet, and like any other dog, training them to live in the home is a necessity.

Training a bird dog to behave in your house is not difficult and only requires persistence and love. You’ve trained your gun dog to be great in the field, so now it’s time to turn that same training into house living. If your dog is a puppy, this is even more important and will take longer to teach—puppies, while smart, are easily distracted and forget what they’ve learned quickly. Again, persistence is key. Teaching your bird dog, whatever its age, to go outside to potty, to not tear up your furniture, and so forth is most easily and humanely done by crate training.

Although many see crate training as a form of cruelty they couldn’t be more wrong. Dogs aren’t human (even if we treat them like they are) and they have totally different natural instincts than we do. If you create an environment in the crate where your dog feels warm, safe and can be quiet, this is the perfect environment for your dog to relax and is good for their well being. Keep in mind that gun dogs instinctively have a den mentality – they prefer small places that offer security and safety and if you create that environment in the crate, your dog will take to it naturally.

Crate size is extremely important to your dogs well being – they must be able to stretch their full body out in the laying down position, they should be able to stand naturally (i.e. no hunching) and they should be able to make a complete circle in the crate. Hunting Dogs will usually require a medium or a large crate when their full grown – but don’t make the mistake of getting one too big or the dog may decide that part of it is for use as a bathroom. However, if the crate is too small, the dog will not be happy with his cramped quarters. Keep in mind that you can use readily available dividers in a large crate to make it the right size for a puppy meaning you won’t have to buy a new crate as your puppy grows to adulthood. It’s important that you remember that dogs will seldom use the area where they’re going to sleep as a bathroom, making the crate ideal.

The reason there are people that think that crate training is cruel is because they are under the assumption that the dog spends most of its time in the crate. This is untrue, and if it is true, then that person is incorrectly using the crate. The dog should only be in the crate when you aren’t home or unable to properly supervise the dog’s activities. Dog’s are very smart, and will catch on fairly quickly. In order to prevent an accident you should take your dog out every half hour or so until he is successful. Rewards work very well to let your dog know that he has done well. Rewards can be a treat, a certain toy to play with, or simple praise works wonderful too.

Speaking of puppies, remember that they do not have the control of an adult dog and will probably have accidents inside their crate. First and foremost, do not berate or punish your puppy for this as it sends a mixed message that puppy won’t understand. Instead, put puppy in a safe area and clean up the mess. Make sure that puppy doesn’t see you cleaning up, as this also sends the wrong message.If your dog is still a puppy you’ll have to be patient because they simply don’t have the control of their needs as much as an adult dog does and accidents do happen (both inside and outside the crate). Dog’s are not able to easily understand what they’re doing wrong so don’t punish them for this because they simply won’t understand – the other thing to avoid is cleaning up a mess in front of them because they can get into the habit of thinking this is fine because you’re cleaning it.

Routines are your friend when you’re trying to train your dog. If you do your level best to take them outside at pretty much the same times day in and day out they will eventually figure out that’s when it’s time for them to go to the bathroom and you’ll be happier (and so will they). If you’re using a crate make sure that the dog understands when he has to be there (i.e. when you’re sleeping or working) and don’t forget to take them out of the crate regularly for exercise and play – just like training them to go outside to do their business, they’ll get into the routine of playing and exercising at the same time every day making your training much more effective.

Most people feel that crate training is the humane way to housebreak your dog and it’s typically the quickest and most effective method of training your gun dog to use acceptable indoor behavior.