German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[admin]

Check this out!

http://www.forbes.com/2002/08/28/0828tentech.html

Cell phones for hunting dogs! Heheheheh!

-BBAdmin

[cheerio]

Well I am not sure if this is really needed for hunting dogs, but it may just be a dream come true for SAR.
One of the major conflicts between SAR people is what is the best way for the dog to let his handler know that he has found the victim. We train the bark alert. Some find it far more threatning for the victim who suddenly is faced with a dog barking at his face, sometimes for quite a long time since it is to be done until the handler catch up with him. I think that the jacket worn by the dog is enough to confort the victime but others think not.
These other SAR people teach the recall. This mean that once the dog has found the victim, he runs back to his handler and sit in front of him, or dislodge a little tag tocked in his collar, to indicate his find. He is then expected to bring the handler back to the victim. Off course, discouraged by the fact that the rescue dog left him, the victim is likely to move, leaving the dog and his handler once again on the search.
With the cell phone, perhaps the dog could beep his handler, or bark only once, and the handler could use the tracking devise to find the victim and the dog. Not bad!

[Baron]

The way my dogs run the fields, go through brush, and hit the water, I don’t think that phone would last very long.