Training Tips
Here's how we make the most of each hunt
The Ultimate SportDOG Guide: Choosing the Best E-Collar for Your Dog
by The SportDOG Staff
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to choose the best e-collar for training your dog, ensuring that when the time comes, you’re equipped with a tool that’s up to the task, no matter how tough the conditions.
Avoiding and Dealing with Heat Emergencies
by The SportDOG Staff
Take some time to understand the many factors that can lead to a heat emergency, prepare for your outings to avoid such an emergency, and then have an action plan in place to deal with the Big 3: heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Finding Your Dog's “Just Right” E-Collar Level
by The SportDOG Staff
Many times, for a new hunting dog owner who's just purchased their first remote trainer, there's an urge to strap on the collar straight away and start pressing buttons. Some novice trainers mistakenly believe that a modern e-collar is a magic remote control, whereby dogs instantly and robotically obey...
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Training Your Gundog
by The SportDOG Staff
The best thing about the years that SportDOG® employees and our ProStaffers have spent training dogs is that we've made mistakes. We preach the value of mistakes because you’ll learn from them even more than your successes, but there's no reason you can't learn from ours as well. These are 5...
What's Your Sport Dog Saying To You?
by The SportDOG Staff
Although our hunting dogs can’t talk with us, they do give cues that we can interpret. These are simple signs that any dog owner can learn to read and understand. Signs Your Dog Is Nervous During Training A nervous or timid dog will make mistakes. If you notice any of the cues...
Gun Dog Training: 3 Things Your Puppy Should Learn
by The SportDOG Staff
If you’re reading this article, you probably own, have owned, or are thinking about owning a gun dog puppy. To train your puppy to be a retrieving machine, here are three things that are crucial to teach it from day one. 1) Socialise, Socialise, Socialise Your home is unfamiliar to your new...
5 Things to Remember When Training Your Hunting Dog
by The SportDOG Staff
Training your own gundog can be one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences of any pet owner's life. The sense of pride and elation that one feels after their dog has learnt a new command is only rivalled by the feelings of doubt and frustration after a training...
5 Training Tips to Beat the Summer Heat
by The SportDOG Staff
Keeping a hunting dog in shape during the off-season will give it the best chance to perform at peak levels once the hunting season opens in the autumn. The continued workouts will maintain tough paw pads, supple joints, proper weight, and preserve endurance and stamina. To achieve this, training must...
TEK 2.0 Enhances Success in Grouse Hunting
by The SportDOG Staff
The TEK 2.0 from SportDOG Brand® has turned out to be a real difference-maker in my grouse and woodcock guiding in northern Minnesota. I admit I wasn’t always a fan of using a tracking product, because to me it sounded like one more piece of equipment I’d have to maintain...
Summer Hazards – 5 Precautions for Your Hunting Dog
by The SportDOG Staff
Summertime means extra fun in the sun, but it also means some new dangers. These tips will help ensure you and your hunting partner stay safe in the field: Increased Hydration – Warmer weather means increased chances of heat exhaustion for you and your dog. Even mild temperatures can pose...
When Your Dog Should Enter the Hunt
by The SportDOG Staff
Young dogs take a while to develop into the hunting or field trial champion you desire. Your knowledge that the pup you selected is from proven hunting stock is just the start. I have been spoilt. During the hunting and field trial seasons, I have always had older, veteran dogs to rely on...
Talent Is Not Obedience
by The SportDOG Staff
Whoa! Can your hunting dog 'whoa' or stop immediately? Does it always come when called? Will it turn on command or always sit or lie down when instructed? Will it gently deliver a bird to your hand without chewing the least little bit? Good bird dogs have been...
Understanding Canine Influenza
by The SportDOG Staff
If you have been watching the news lately or reading metropolitan newspapers, you may have noticed articles about a 'new' flu outbreak in dogs. In some parts of the country, veterinarians are reporting an almost panic situation around this canine flu news. Here are the facts. Canine Influenza Virus is a relatively...
Dealing with Hunting Dog Injuries
by The SportDOG Staff
Cuts are common in hunting dogs. Brambles, barbed wire, broken glass, or even sharp broken saplings can slice a dog’s skin as it hunts. Appropriate field care of wounds can reduce healing time and make the vet’s job much easier. Remember the watchwords: flush, fill and wrap. Flushing Fresh cuts may look quite...
Straight Talk About Protein for Hunting Dogs
by The SportDOG Staff
As I travel across the country attending field trials, visiting kennels and hunting, I receive a lot of questions about dog food for some reason. One topic that stimulates many questions is protein quality and protein’s role in dog nutrition. Protein is required by the body for two reasons: To provide...
Spring Training for Beagles
by The SportDOG Staff
Spring is in the air, which means rabbit season is over in most parts of the country. So now what? I have a kennel full of Beagle rabbit hounds and no hunting, making this the perfect time to give a little extra attention to those younger hounds. Spring is a...
