Today’s gun dog trainers have more training aids at their disposal than trainers of yesteryear. One such training aid—the remote bird launcher—has gained quite a following because of the many different scenarios where the device can be applied to teach or reinforce important lessons during the training process.
For those who don’t know, remote bird launchers hold a bird—whether pigeon, quail, chukar, or pheasant—securely and safely until the trainer is ready to flush it. An easy push of a button on the remote launches the bird out of the device, simulating a flush of a bird while keeping the bird from running off, and while keeping an over-exuberant dog from crashing in and flushing or catching the bird.
Some good-quality remote launchers are available from Dogtra, DT Systems, and Lion Country Supply. While pricey (about $300 to $400 each, once shipped), they are very effective training aids that are used frequently by many trainers, both professional and amateur. Incidentally, the cost goes down the more launchers you add, since many can be operated from the same remote control.
Understanding How Remote Bird Launchers are Used in Dog Training Remote bird launchers are a great way to teach young dogs to stop when they are supposed to. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Campbell) Andrew Campbell runs Seabank Kennel in Northfield, Massachusetts, where he raises and trains pointing dogs for hunters and field trial competitors. Campbell says remote bird launchers are an integral part of his training regimen.
“Remote launchers are extremely important, both in terms of particular skills I am trying to train for, and for the majority of time that I don’t have help,” Campbell said in an exclusive interview with Gun Dog. “What makes them most useful is control of the situation, primarily. But as mentioned, when I don’t have help to flush birds, being able to use a launcher or two when trying to teach the honor, for example, is extremely useful.”
While there are many uses for launchers, Campbell uses them primarily when teaching young dogs to stop when they are supposed to.
“I only use launchers during the breaking process—and 95 percent of the time with pigeons,” he said. “And I use them primarily to teach the stop-to-flush and to provide a reward in an honoring scenario. Put a different way, I use launchers and pigeons to provide a clear, visible prompt to stop (in a stop-to-flush scenario) or a visual reward for having done so (in an honoring situation).”
“Keep in mind that teaching the stop-to-flush is a foundation for every other situation in which a dog should remain stopped. If there are birds in the air in front of the dog, whether he is pointing, backing, or has inadvertently bumped them, the dog should be standing still.”
Campbell has a few tricks he uses when training dogs with remote launchers that have made the devices more effective for him. One is to ensure that your launcher doesn’t hurl the bird upward so loudly and violently that it doesn’t resemble a natural flush.
“Trick #1 is setting the springs low enough (and maybe even extending the springs with a split-ring or locating softer springs), so you can find the balance between a fairly quiet, natural-looking flush and enough spring tension to know that the bird will launch and be visible,” he said.
Another trick is handy for avoiding an entirely predictable pattern in training that bores the dog, as it can become so repetitive and, therefore specific, that the dog doesn’t know how to generalize.
“Trick #2 is to vary the presentations by either buying a launcher extension cable and/or tuning multiple launcher boxes to the same button,” Campbell said. “In the first case, the dog gets to see more than just one bird and then another, both launched from within two feet of each other. In the second case, you can obviously simulate a covey flush with the birds—and at whatever distance apart you want.”
Challenges of Using Remote Bird Launchers When using multiple bird launchers, remember which button goes to which launcher. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Campbell) Note, however, that using launchers isn’t always as easy as it might sound, especially when using two or more at the same time. Not keeping straight which launcher corresponds to which number on the remote has caused me to launch the wrong bird numerous times, wasting both birds and training time.
Also, some unfortunately have the tendency to not work perfectly every time out, which can be aggravating, to say the least.
“They are a piece of battery-powered machinery: test, test, test,” Campbell said. “Put them out in your field without birds in them and test them on-site. If you have an extension cord between your two launchers, be sure you didn’t stand on it when you went to load your pigeons and accidentally disconnected it.”
Do Bird Launchers Hinder Bird Scent? Some trainers avoid launchers during scent work because the launcher can inhibit bird scent. (Photo courtesy of Jerry Imprevento) Unlike many trainers, Campbell doesn’t use launchers for any kind of scent work.
“No matter how well-ventilated they are, they are still an enclosure through which air has to pass—and it is, by design, a restricted space,” he said. “And that launcher has component smells all of its own.
“Some folks will use launchers to launch birds if they see their dog creeping into a known launcher location. My feeling is that perhaps the dog is creeping precisely because it cannot get a clear scent picture due to the launcher; perhaps the dog needs to be closer because the scent flow is either hindered or muddled by the launcher itself. In my opinion, there are other ways to build confidence in a dog’s nose and/or teach them steadiness.”
Regardless of how you use launchers, the devices’ ability to give complete control over the bird and the situation in different scenarios can make training more effective and efficient for those who put some time into learning how they operate, and then use them in their training program.
