Do you hunt your dog with a bell?

[Rick Riddell]

Bell it is, I've always liked the bell, our boy is tone trained with his collar so a beeper collar is useless. I think the next dog we'll catch up with the 21st century!

[Brett Hoop]

I have used a small Swiss bell from the beginning with my Springer. Primarily a pheasant specialist. The cover we hunt it's typically either woods thick with green briar and multiflora Rose or switch grass that's often higher than your head. I use the bell on an E collar that allows me to either tone or stimulate. I can't hear the low tone the collar emits beyound 25 feet or so, but he can. And he is trained that when toned that means for him to check in with me. He is verbally Hup ( stop and sit in Spaniel speak) trained, as well as whistle trained to Hup, turn, and come.
The bell helps me keep track of his location, as most of the time I can't see him. Fairly regularly we get out with another friend that also hunts a Springer and he runs a bell of a different tone. If it's not too windy I can hear the bell out to about 30 yards. If I can't hear it I know I need to bring rein him in. I don't think it's effected his hearing yet because he can hear a cheese wrapper from 50' over a blaring TV program.
On the Setter pup I run a different set up of an E collar that beeps which has multiple modes, but I set it to only beep if I push a button. It has a high and low volume switch, and I run it in low. It also offers a huge range for levels stimulation. I again run a Swiss bell on this dog for keeping him located primarily, but also because where we hunt grouse and woodcock there are a lot ( read too damned many) wolves. Their are some of the opinion that bells or a running beeper may help with wolves. And also some folks think bells spook grouse. I don't doubt that they do, especially birds that have been pressured, but I'll take the chance to miss opportunities on a few each day, to know where my dog is all day.

In addition I use the Garmin Alpha 100 while the GPS is important the data collection for distance and pace along with perimeter alarms have helped me with training and training decisions.

[C.O.B.]

I have always used a bell and for the last 10-15 years included a beeper collar set on point mode. My hearing is worse than my shooting these days and the bell is hard to hear. The E collar has a locate function but that can be hard to hear as well. As others have mentioned picking the direction of the bell, beeper, or locate function can be problematic.

My grouse hunting is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and is both big country and wolf country. I think by keeping your dog as close as possible and the combination of the bell and a locate function it might keep the wolf at a distance.

In another post I mentioned a perfect storm of failures. My hearing aid batteries died, the E collar died and it was snowing and very windy. Ike who was just a year old at the time disappeared for a couple of hours and horrible things went through my head. At that given moment I'd have given $1000 for a GPS collar to know where he was.

I hunted him on a pheasant preserve where I could keep him in sight more and didn't use the bell. He hunted closer and was more attentive. Did the absence of the bell allow him to hear me better? I don't know.

I'm not a tech person but I'm going to look for a KISS (keep it simple stupid) GPS collar.

[Phil C]

Rich I sent you a PM on the latest Garmin simple function collar. Thought I would also post it here.

https://www.gundogsupply.com/garmin-...us-review.html

[Harold Pickens]

I am not acuse ing, but bottom line is your dog was not deer broke. I have had dogs I thought were pretty much deer proofed, and one I couldn't even get stopped with the E-collar. Luckily, I live about a mile from a large public park with hundreds of deer who think you are there to feed them. This is where I deer break my setters, starting them out at about 4 mo old. Deer are such great temptations to young dogs, especially when they jump one up from its bed. It is a terrible feeling when you have lost your dog.
I do use a bell grouse hunting, with a beeper that I generally just use to locate in case I get confused where the dog is( Dogtra 2500 T&B). In Kansas last year, did not use bells.

[BRDHNTR]

I have used bells on my setters for years without any issues. I make sure my whistle is a different and higher pitch

[John Kipp]

I typically do not....I use a Garmin Alpha 100, track and train. It has a GPS built in and vibrates with and audible beep when my dog goes on point also gives me yardage away w/ directional. I've had great success especially during late season grouse when they're spooky with this method. I do use a bell in wild bird trials as a GPS with tracking or training is not allowed unless your dog goes MIA and you declare your dog out of contention. In trials your dog wears a collar but the hand held is turned off. The bell is your only means of tracing your dog and it's location or going on point.

[Joe Graziano]

My father always hunted his dogs with a bell, as do I. I use two different sounding bells for the dogs so I know which is which. I find it invaluable to know where my dogs are when I can’t see them. Also, when the bell goes silent, that usually means there’s a point. I’m sure a GPS collar for $600 would be better. But I’m kind of old school and the bell has never failed me.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Joe Graziano

My father always hunted his dogs with a bell, as do I. I use two different sounding bells for the dogs so I know which is which. I find it invaluable to know where my dogs are when I can’t see them. Also, when the bell goes silent, that usually means there’s a point. I’m sure a GPS collar for $600 would be better. But I’m kind of old school and the bell has never failed me.

Joe, I attend the "Old School" as often as I can, and I think there is nothing like listening to the bell in cover. I did long ago switch to the beeper collar and even still use it with the GPS collars. I've found the GPS collars to not always give me an alert, or to take long enough that the birds will sometimes get up before I get the signal. The GPS collars let you know when the dog stays in one area for a while, so you get point signals when the dog stops to drink, when it stops to pee, when it's contemplating nature...you get the picture. After so many years with the beeper, I can tell if the dog is birdy, if is coming or going, if it's moving slow or fast...and, most importantly, if it's on point (and where). I guess one could call beeper collars "Old School" compared to the new GPS technology. Still, that nostalgia producing tinkle sure beats the sound of a trash truck backing up (but it's a kind of music I've learned to appreciate).

I hope the bells go silent for you a lot this year. Good hunting!

[Dean Romig]

I hunt Grace with a bell exclusively these days. I keep an e-collar on her for correction only and never use the beeper function anymore. Grace hates the beeper just like a gun-shy dog hates gunfire and she would make a bee-line to me when the beeper went off so I never tried to correct it and simply chose not to subject her to a beeper any more. Oddly though, she actually likes gunfire and eagerly looks for falling birds whenever a shot is fired.





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