SportDog TEK 1.0 Locator Trainer System –Review

I was introduced to the SportDog TEK  1.0 Locator Trainer System over the weekend at the Region 7 NGSPA Championship. And I must say I am kicking myself for buying the Garmin over this model.

The primary reason I bought the Garmin over the SportDog is that I did not need a combination unit as I already have a SportDog e-collar. And primarily because I did not think the Locator Trainer combination was legal for AKC field trials.

The combination COLLAR is illegal, however what I do not read in any of the sales material is that the e-collar complete with its antenna are completely removable with only a couple of screws. So for less money than the Garmin Astro GPS a person can get both e-collar and GPS. It in fact just rides as a separate unit atop the location collar. 

Even better, the handheld unit has programmable buttons. So the user can custom configure a button to be momentary, continuous, or escalating pulse… along with what seems like infinite control of intensity.

If you don’t want to remove the e-collar portion to run field trials, then you can buy an extra locator collar for under $160.

I was told the package also comes with a longer range antenna, but I personally did not get to use that feature.

For me I hope the collar helps with my dog being collar wise, as his training and running field trials will be in virtually the same collar. Surely that will fool my dog.

What NOT To Do With Your Whistle

At always I learned something new at the field trial this weekend. My dog ran pretty well in his first event taking third place sandwiched between older more experienced dogs already with one title or more. In fact, I would say that for the most part I had a decent handle on him.

It was because of this improving control I went into the Open Gun Dog stakes with added confidence that my hundreds of hours of training would overcome my dog’s trial wise behavior of turning the competition into his time to play off in the woods.

At the breakaway he looked like a pro, working a tree line 150 yards to the right, cutting back to the left another hundred or so yards to work another birdy looking spot and then a long forward run 400 yards in front and over a hill. In hot pursuit I was looking for my dog to pop out somewhere… anywhere. But I did not see him. It was then I saw a flash another three hundred yards up and on a fence line to my left. I thought it was my dog, and that he had missed the course turn. I blew my whistle two times, signaling him to turn.

Next thing I know a hundred yards ahead my dog is running full speed left to right.

The judge says, “pick up your dog.”

“What did he do?” I asked.

“He was on point right there and he bumped the bird, now he is chasing it. Pick up your dog.”

What dejection.

When I got back to camp I retold the story of my woes, and a fellow trailer said, “You never blow your whistle, or hit the e-collar if you cannot see your dog... ever”

For one, first and foremost whistles are used to move dogs. Go forward, turn, and in my case here are just a few of the commands that a dog can learn using a whistle. None of which say stop, so when a dog is on point, even when you don’t know it, then the whistle is telling him to go. If the dog is on point and you don’t see him and you hit the e-collar, then you are correcting good behavior.

Some field trial regulars have told me the whistle should only mean go forward. They say that if it means anything else then someone else’s whistle might call your dog to them, or turn him a direction you don’t want him to go. For me, I still want to be able to turn my dog with a whistle because I think it has a better chance of reaching his ears on those long four and five hundred yard casts. But I can assure you one thing. I will not be blowing it unless I see him from now on... and know it is my dog that I am seeing I might add. 

Putting On A Pointing Dog Field Trial

I have not been running my dog in Pointing Dog Field Trials long enough to appreciate how much work goes into actually putting one on. Frankly, the ones I have attended ran so smoothly they seemed as if there was much effort behind it at all. Last weekend my understanding and appreciation changed dramatically.

Somehow I was volunteered into volunteering to be the Chairman of an upcoming field trial, with all the assurances the regulars would help and guide me through the uncharted territory.

For me, I like to work from To Do lists, and so with the help of www.akc.org, the previous field trial secretary, and the current field trial secretary this is the list I came up with.

Date:

Location:

Grounds Reserved

Judges Assigned

AKC Notified

Trial Approved by AKC

Ribbons & Plaques Ordered

Judges Gifts

Judges Hotel Rooms

Judges Travel

Arrange P/U of Judges if needed

Horses for Judges

Lunch Menu

Breakfast

Birds Reserved (3/Entry)

Bird Bags

Send out Premium

Porta Potty if needed

Water Troughs for dogs and horses

Tables for food

Captain of the Gunners

Dog Wagon

Inspect Grounds

Field Trial Signs

Trash Can(s)

First Aid Kit

Helpers

Field Marshall

Bird Planter

Host

Budget for field trial

All of which sounds pretty easy when in list form but each item can end up taking substantial time. Lucky for me the grounds had already been reserved so my first task was to find the judges with the help of some very resourceful club members, a half dozen or more calls and e-mails and in a couple of days I was able to round up the 4 judges we needed. Of course I then had to figure out what Stakes they were to judge, and as one judge was running dogs in 2 of the stakes he was place first and the rest fell into place.

So with the judges decided AKC had to be notified. The F/T secretary did that, but not before we decided the order of the stakes, whether they would be retrieving or not, and how much the entry fees would be. In the meantime the former F/T secretary was putting together the Premium.

All this information was submitted to AKC when it was pointed out to be I was charging the wrong amount, and the judges have been put on the wrong stakes. Again the secretary did a wonderful job sorting it all out, and then the Premium was able to be distributed after AKC's approval of the event.

Having spoken with the judges I knew their needs and made hotel reservations on their behalf. Fortunately they would all bring their own horses and transportation.

Someone along the way volunteered to take care of breakfast. I planned a lunch menu, and all the other tasks were systematically covered. All told to this point I had probably invested a couple of solid hours.

The day before the trial I would gather up all the necessary items to feed 25 people 2 different lunches as well as getting judges gifts and thank you cards. Including the prep time on the food I spent 5 ½ hours on this task.

The next morning I began to load up everything on the list. That took an additional 3 hours.

I had to drive about an hour out of the way to pick up 200 birds, which by the way made a very stinky mess of my trailer. And at some point I still have a 2 ½ drive to return the cages the supplier let us use.

Arriving at the grounds I inspected the course, set up what I had to set up, and waited for the help to arrive. This was another 1 hour process.

I started lunch both days around 10:00am. By the time I had cleaned up it was 2:00… so another 8 hours of lunches feeding 16 – 20 people each time.

I passed out ribbons, thanked folks, drove the dog wagon a few braces, and was the last to leave. After packing everything back up of course.

Too tired to unpack Sunday night I did it on Monday night, and that took another 2 hours.

The point is this. There is a lot of work that goes into a field trial. Volunteer to help. Thank the people that do. This experience has given me a new appreciation for the people that make this sport so fun. And special thanks to the following:

Terry Bomer – wonder woman, former secretary, bull dog, go getter, and invaluable.

Sarah Messer – thank you for acting as Secretary and doing your part to make it smooth.

Kirk Bomer – Thanks for the dog wagon, captaining the gunners, your advice and help, bird planting and everything else. And especially thank you for letting us use your trailer as base camp and the awning to get out of the rain.

David – thank you for such a great attitude, willingness to help, taking all the trash away, and just being you.

Chris – Thanks for showing up and being a part, driving the dog wagon, and awesome attitude.

Haley Killam – takes for the lunch dish and breakfast tacos.

Terry Bomer, Eric Sailors, James Messer, Ron Hudson – Thank you all for judging, for donating your transportation and other expenses, and for making the trial a surprising success.

Gene Mosley – Thanks for showing up and hosting. You are a tremendous asset to the club and to the sport of Field Trials.

If I missed someone let me know. I am not beyond adding to the list.

Happy Field Trialing.