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Sorry this is likely not the designated forum for issues like this. It is where I hang and the folks here generally exercise some common sense....after reading first. In other words....our "meds" are weak.
I like to take my beloved dogs on hikes...they love this to death. They scamper all over the place in an obvious state of joy. There is relatively unexplored terrain in every direction in this mountain locale.
Tried a new area today. Lots of trails and thick cover. The collie got separated twice...had to backtrack to find her both times. The heeler got separated once. They are among the very few good things going on my life.
Leashes are a no go. Yet I need someway to keep the girls from getting lost. Wondering about scent pads for shoes to allow them to backtrack to the car. A dog whistle seems like a good idea...perhaps the sound travels a long ways? Maybe a radio collar but that seems expensive? Sound and/or proven ideas?
Sorry this is likely not the designated forum for issues like this. It is where I hang and the folks here generally exercise some common sense....after reading first. In other words....our "meds" are weak.
I like to take my beloved dogs on hikes...they love this to death. They scamper all over the place in an obvious state of joy. There is relatively unexplored terrain in every direction in this mountain locale.
Tried a new area today. Lots of trails and thick cover. The collie got separated twice...had to backtrack to find her both times. The heeler got separated once. They are among the very few good things going on my life.
Leashes are a no go. Yet I need someway to keep the girls from getting lost. Wondering about scent pads for shoes to allow them to backtrack to the car. A dog whistle seems like a good idea...perhaps the sound travels a long ways? Maybe a radio collar but that seems expensive? Sound and/or proven ideas?
You could also try bells on the dogs collars. Lots of bird hunters use them so they can hear where their dogs are, and it's a pretty inexpensive remedy.
I raise and work Scotch Collies, I usually don't have problems with them ranging very far, but then I work them with livestock so they've got a job to think about, not just running and exploring.
I do have a survival whistle that works really well when they are out of sight in brush or other cover. It's the kind sold for hikers as a signal, really loud and obnoxious, but they can hear it a long ways off.
I was going to suggest training. I have 3 Sheps and they are never on leash when I'm at home in the woods. 2 of them are still young and love to explore. They are trained to respond to commands and to whistle (obedience training). They also respond to hand signals, but that wouldn't work for you!
Go to Cabela's nd get a locater collar, it will show you your dogs location in real time on a GPS hand held map. Cabela's also have collars that allow you to recall your dogs on command through a walky-talky type of arrangement.
They also have collars that sound an alarm when you push a button, if your dog is in sound range you should hear it.
Good dieas so far. I like to let them be themselves. Laissez-fairre type of owner.
Survival whistles sounds....kind of loud for me. Thought I heard that dog whistles carry a long way?
High frequency = Line of sight.
In open country yeah, in heavy brush, not so much.
As an example, look at the difference between a Rocky Mountain Elk Bugle and the Red Stag Roar. Elk were plains animals so they have a high pitched bugle that travels well over long range open country, but while you can hear them well from mountain top to mountain top, in heavy cover you need to be relatively close to hear them. Red Stag come from forested areas, so their roar is low frequency. The longer sine waves aren't absorbed as well by trees etc. so it can be heard for miles in heavy timber.
If you don't like the survival whistle, how about a referee whistle? You don't have to really give a long blast, usually a couple chirps is all I've ever needed.
I never had any luck with silent dog whistles anyway, but that's a different way of using and training dogs than what I do with the stock.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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Radio collars. If you care about the dogs that's the way to go.
Also you guys who let your dogs off leashes - google Harold Fish - Arizona. If your dogs are aggressive there's a good chance someone who feels threatened by them will shoot them. Leashes are a good idea if you are hiking in areas where there are other people.
And if you are in snake country you should rattlesnake proof your dogs with a training class to avoid a dead or very sick dog.
In my country, wolves, bears and cougars are a lot more of a threat to dogs than rattlers. When you have working dogs like I do, and they are protecting the herd, they are right in the line of danger.
However, folks hiking in this country face a unique challenge with their dogs when they let them off leash because the dog will go out, run into a bear or wolf, and come running for their master for safety with the bear or wolf hot on their heels. Makes for a memorable walk in the woods
Good grief....something goes wrong in a nation of 330 million and suddenly everyone and everything should stay refined to quarters.
Bears, wolves, rattlers, and guns. Lucky to have survived thus far...
I spent my childhood exploring the Black Hills and survived though a few rattlers had to be put down if I deemed them too close to homes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamies
Radio collars. If you care about the dogs that's the way to go.
Also you guys who let your dogs off leashes - google Harold Fish - Arizona. If your dogs are aggressive there's a good chance someone who feels threatened by them will shoot them. Leashes are a good idea if you are hiking in areas where there are other people.
And if you are in snake country you should rattlesnake proof your dogs with a training class to avoid a dead or very sick dog.
I think GPS is one of the answers. Because even if a dog wants to come back to you and knows where you are it may not always be able to make it back to you. Eg: If it falls in a hole.
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