Alpha

[Kwaksmoka]

Any of y’all using the alpha system? Thinking about it but wondering about the learning curve and how dogs will take to it! Thoughts

 

[shawnrice]

Any of y’all using the alpha system? Thinking about it but wondering about the learning curve and how dogs will take to it! Thoughts

cant beat it ! once you get use to it you wont leave home without it !
dogs learn quick with the tone and shock feature ...tracking is great
I run 8 rabbit dogs at a time and got control of them in my hand ...
same goes with our hog dogs ...

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

I love mine. It's easy to learn to use. There are tricks you can pick up along the way, but it's pretty simple to learn to track with. Bite the bullet and get one, you won't regret it. There is a reason you seldom see a used one for sale. The dogs pay it no attention, but you can get their attention from a long ways off if needed.

 

[Kwaksmoka]

thanks for the responses guys, Im pretty sure im going to go with it. It's a big investment but I do think it will work. I got the astro a few years back mainly because I had older dogs at the time and didn't want to train them with a shock at their age, however now I have nothing but young dogs. I have heard of guys having an issue where a dog will just lay down once you shock them and they wont ever respond to it again just stay where they are, any way to prevent that?

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

Yes they is, learn how to train a dog, not punish it for something it doesn't know. When you use a training collar, start in the yard with it on your dog. .Its really a stimulation button instead of a shock button. When he is doing his thing just being a dog, stimulate him at the very lowest setting. What you are looking for is any indication that he recognizes SOMETHING. It will be as simple as a ear twitch, or him turning his head looking for something that buzzed him. You may have to up the level a little a time until he feels it. You are not trying to make him yelp, holler or jump, just a little nick. You can also use a vibration mode instead of a stimulation. There are alot of videos out by Garmin on introducing your dog to the collar and how to properly use it. In reference to a dog laying down when corrected, that is usually from a mad owner over stimulating the dog. I mean hitting them hard. Trying to weld them to a pine tree, and the Garmin will do it. You have to use your head when using a collar. Some dogs are very soft and sensitive to stimulation and some are hard headed as a Missouri bank mule. Their all different. The stimulation feature is a nice option, but you can use it for just racking if you like. I can think of no downside to using one.

 

[Kwaksmoka]

Thanks HS, good info as I said I held back from getting them previously when all my dogs were older. Now with the younger dogs I think I can teach them and build for years down the road! Ready for oct 19th

 

[ishootlittlebucks]

It will spoil you.

 

[Kwaksmoka]

I hope so!!

 

[Beagles N Boykins]

Best system ever for running hounds. I’ve got 11 collars on my beagles and would never let them out of the kennel without one on them.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

A lot of places have a $100 rebate on them right now. That won't last, I'd jump now if you've decided on getting one. Bruce Conkeys hound supply is where I would look first. Anytime I had a problem when I started, I could make a phone call and get straightened out right there in the woods. That's worth a lot to me.

 

[grouper throat]

Been using it for a long time now and I don't know how we hunted without them. I am no expert on the alpha's features but just the basics are nice.

 

[hyco]

keep this in mind when training a dog. The dog has to have some idea of want you want it to do. just a blind shock while its in the woods teaches them nothing. i use a 100 foot cord in my pasture. let the dog walk and smell a little. firm yank on the cord followed by a tone and call their name. if they dont respond and at least come closer, i yank cord, tone, shock on low setting while calling their name. every dog has a different level it'll respond to. they have to have a idea what to do. i'm teaching them that the tone is a time to quit noise. my dogs know what it is before they ever go to the woods wearing the collar. some folks say they aint shocking their dogs off a deer but if you start in your yard, they dont associate it with deer. just time to go home

 

[Beagles N Boykins]

I agree with Hyco. Collar breaking is essential before you hit the woods. If the hound doesn’t know what you expect from correction the collar has little benefit beyond location of the dog. We have a process of off game control and we stick to it consistently. Of course we are trying to run rabbits with our beagles and control our bird dogs in different ways but as with all dog training consistently doing the same thing for the same result is best.

 

[Yvonne788]

Didn't use that before. What is the system about?

 

[hyco]

correction and gps collar