Gun Dog Training: The Missing Link

DOGS Unlimited has entered into partnership with Higgins Remote Releaser, offering a very different way to release birds when training for hunting or competition. Unlike other remote releasers that spring a bird into the air, or manual releasers that require you to be nearby and usually startle the bird into a flush, the Higgins Remote Releaser eases open slowly, silently and from a distance when using a remote releaser. The bird may stay inside the enclosure, or it may hop out and wander around looking for cover. Any of these scenarios are excellent training for a bird dog to learn that a bird on the ground is not fair game.

DOGS Unlimited Bird Dog Training Supplies owner, Alan Davison, who regularly trains his own gun dogs for hunting and has handled them to several national titles, talks about the benefits of the Higgins Remote Releasers as a training tool.

"Over the years, gun dog trainers have had no real way to train for this scenario, let alone keep it controlled—which is the most important aspect of any training session." says Davison.Davison continues,"Things have mainly been left to chance. Very often the first time a dog is in this situation, it’s in the middle of a competition. And it never turns out well. You might have had the best run of your dog’s life, on the verge of winning the big championship, and if you run across a game bird wandering around in the open. If your dog has not trained for this, you can go from First Place to No Place in a heart-breaking instant. Because that bird dog is going to say to itself, ‘Look! Easy pickins!’, pounce on that bird or chase it into flight and right out of the competition."

Check out this video of the Higgins Remote Bird Releaser.

"It’s equally important for hunting dogs to have the same discipline. The last thing you want is your dog destroying your opportunity to get birds.”

Mr. Davison also recommends the Higgins Remote Releaser for training young dogs.

"The Higgins Releaser opens so silently that there’s no loud noise to startle a young pup and nothing potentially flying into its face. The last thing you want to teach a bird dog is to be afraid of birds! Using the Higgins Releaser is about as natural a situation as you can get in a training scenario."

The Higgins Remote releaser was conceived of and designed by Brad Higgins, a professional gun dog trainer himself. So he knows what both amateurs and pros go through when trying to prepare a dog for every possible scenario it may encounter. It operates with electronic remote release products from Tri-tronics, Dogtra, DT Systems or Innotek. Many people already have these components from other launchers they own.

And speaking of other launchers, The Higgins Remote Releaser can be combined with those other launchers in your training sessions so you can throw as many different situations at your dog as he can handle.

And never find yourself No Place again.

DOGS Unlimited has been in the business of bird dogs since 1971.
Contact them at www.DOGSUnlimited.com or at 800-338-DOGS (3647)

PO Box 570
Hudson, CO 80642