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 right away and start pressing buttons. Some novice trainers mistakenly think that a modern e-collar is a magic remote control, in which dogs instantly and robotically obey...

The All-In-One Tool Every Dog Owner Needs
by The SportDOG Staff
We know there are several tools available to help with training. From e-collars, to In-Ground Fence™ systems, and bark collars … it takes a lot of tools to train and manage a dog. The below scenarios further illustrate just how many tools it can take for proper training. 1) Boundary Training -...

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Training Your Gun Dog
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, too. These are 5...

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) Socialize, Socialize, Socialize Your home is unfamiliar to your new...

5 Things to Remember When Training Your Hunting Dog
by The SportDOG Staff
Training your own gun dog 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 learned a new command is only rivaled 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 fall. The continued workouts will maintain tough paw pads, loose joints, proper weight, and preserve endurance and stamina. To achieve this, training must...

3 Facts About the NoBark SBC-R Bark-Control Collar
by The SportDOG Staff
One of the latest products from SportDOG, that embodies this acceptance of the new-age technology, is the NoBark SBC-R. Engineered to offer the most advanced bark detection possible, the SBC-R continues to raise the bar of expected performance in electronic bark-control collars.

3 Myths About Bark-Control Collars
by The SportDOG Staff
Reliability, simplicity, and effectiveness are among the reasons to use a bark-control collar, as well as why they’ve become increasingly more common with dog owners in recent years. However, when the electronic bark-control collar was first introduced, questions and skepticism regarding its use were brought up by multiple sources. Over time,...

Tips For Dove Hunting And Gun Dogs
by The SportDOG Staff
There are many things that you should do to prepare you and your dog for opening day of dove season. For most of us in the south, it is still very hot during dove season. The most important thing is to keep yourself and your dog hydrated! There are all...

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...

Dealing with Hunting Dog Injuries
by The SportDOG Staff
Cuts are common in hunting dogs. Briars, barbed-wire, broken glass, or even sharp broken saplings can slice a dog’s skin as it hunts. Appropriate field care of wounds can decrease healing time and make the veterinarian’s job much easier. Remember the watchwords: flush, fill and wrap. Flushing Fresh cuts may look quite...

Rigors of a Tough Hunting Season
by The SportDOG Staff
During the 2009-2010 hunting season, most of us endured our most interesting upland season in quite some time. The entire country experienced unique weather conditions this fall and winter. Hard winters often turn most of our thoughts and concerns towards, "how are the birds going to make it"? A question...

Working Your Dog in the Winter
by The SportDOG Staff
Keep your training sessions with your dog quick and efficient to stave off cabin fever while keeping your dog safe in inclement weather. For those of you caught in the polar vortex, you know it can limit your time out with your dog. The freezing cold temperatures can make it tempting...

Talent Is Not Obedience
by The SportDOG Staff
Whoa! Can your hunting dog “whoa” or stop on a dime? 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...
