By Chad Love

A while back, the good folks at SportDOG sent me one of their Sporthunter 1225 e-collars to test out. The 1225 is a collar that really hits that sweet spot between affordability and performance many gundog owners are looking for. Instead of reviewing it myself, I thought I'd try to get it in the hands of someone with a young dog who I knew would give it a thorough workout. I found my test subject when Greg McReynolds, a hard-core bird hunter, told me he had just gotten a new setter pup. He can usually be found chasing birds all across the West when he is not working on state legislative issues for Trout Unlimited in Idaho. You can check out his writing at the Mouthful of Feathers blog. Here's his guest review:

"I brought home my first setter pup nearly a year ago after owning a series of flushing dogs. I’m familiar with high-powered dogs but this pup, Luna, came out of the box at warp speed.

"I determined pretty quickly that I was going to need an e-collar with a little more range. I got the collar right about the time I was ready to start collar conditioning and I used it for 6 months as my e-collar for my setter. We tested it pretty hard, starting with yard work and carrying through seasons for forest grouse, huns, sharptail grouse, pheasants, quail and chukar.

"The 1225 is part of Sportdog's Sport Hunter series and both the collar and the transmitter are waterproof. The collar has a single recessed button on the back of the collar between the probes to turn the collar on and off and a front facing LED that flashes green when it’s on and fully charged and red when the batteries are getting low.The transmitter has three buttons and a wheel to adjust the intensity of the stimulation. The buttons are easily set to control which button is nick, continuous, tone or vibrate and there are also options for setting up two collars with different buttons controlling each collar.

"I have my buttons set to continuous, nick and tone and after a few minutes of getting acquainted with the layout, it’s been a really easy transmitter to work even when my hands are cold or while wearing gloves. It’s small enough to lose in a vest pocket, but light enough to wear easily on a lanyard, so I’ve kept it around my neck all season with no complaints.

"I had two minor hiccups with the collar. The first one came when I pulled the collar, charger and transmitter out of the box and plugged them in to charge while I read through the manual.

"Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the lights to come on and indicate it was charging.

"So I dialed the enclosed customer service number where a kind and helpful woman answered on the second ring. She was based here in the US and she had me try a few things like check the plugs and try a different outlet before apologizing and getting my address to send me a new unit. A brand new charging unit arrived on my doorstep less than 40 hours later and I didn't even have to navigate an automated telephone system. And just for the record, I never mentioned that I was reviewing the collar.

"The collar had enough of a charge already that I never even missed a use. It’s hard to overstate a company that values their customers - doesn’t put them on hold or send their calls overseas - and quickly solves problems. I’ll buy another collar from Sportdog for that alone. The second issue I had was my own. I didn’t screw the antenna in tight enough and after a few months, it eventually unscrewed and fell out somewhere in chukar country. My hope is that one of those red-legged little bastards will trip over it. After I ordered a replacement (nine dollars on Ebay) I put a little Loctite on it before I screwed it in and I haven’t had a problem since.

"The unit has excellent range, billed at 3/4 of a mile, but I never had a situation where the dog was visible and the collar wouldn’t work which is what I wanted for pointing dog work.

"The battery life is excellent and the collar rarely needs charging under light use. I made a habit of charging it on Sundays and never ran out of juice, even when using it daily.

"While the transmitter can be set up to run two collars, I didn’t find this to be the best two-dog solution transmitter wise. Were I looking for a two-dog system, I’d want a more positive way to identify which dog I want to correct from the transmitter.
The Sportdog 1225 lists for $265, but the real world price is more like $240. For a working a single dog from the training yard to the uplands, this collar is an excellent value that's durable, waterproof and will do everything you need without any fuss."

Comments (10)

from clinchknot wrote 17 weeks 2 days ago

That's me! I Never take to the field with me and my buddies without Sport Dog! Just put mine on the charger. Essential piece of upland hunting dog equipment. You will be hard pressed to see any good hunting team ( man and dog) in the field today without E-collars. Wonderful training tool, and a sign you are taking good care of your best friend.

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from bbainbridge wrote 17 weeks 1 day ago

"My hope is that one of those red-legged little bastards will trip over it." Awesome! Your first chukar hunt is for fun, all the rest are for revenge!!!

I have a Sport Dog and have used it hard for over two years of hunting (lots of hunting), hiking, snowshoeing, and fishing. It hasn't missed a beat. Definitely worth it over the cheaper brands.

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from wisc14 wrote 17 weeks 1 day ago

i have this e-collar and like it as well.
although i also had a problem with losing the antennae. somehow i actually found it laying on the logging trail on the way out from grouse hunting

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from clinchknot wrote 17 weeks 22 hours ago

Actually I have the Field Trainer 400. It has served me exceptionally well. My labs I keep in gun range, one points, and the other one doesn't, and needs stimulation because he doesn't hear very well. The younger female can be reminded of her range limits with just the beeper feature. It has the 400 yd range potential, and has been a God Send for me. More features I really don't need. Someone lost their transmitter, and another hunter found it, and gave it to me as it was the same as mine. I charged it, and it took a charge...took it hunting, and the collars wouldn't work. A DIFFERENT transmitter needs PROGRAMMING! And you can only program one at a time. Easy to do, and now I have two transmitters.

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from Longbeard wrote 17 weeks 22 hours ago

I have a 4-yr old Lab who has become a little independent minded in the past year, mostly in the form of not always coming when called. Of course, he seems to do it when it is most inconvenient and I worry that it might happen in a possibly dangerous situation. After resisting all this time, I'm seriously considering using an e-collar but don't know much about using them, especially initially conditioning him to it. I realize that most who read this blog are experienced handlers who have used e-collars extensively but would you consider writing a piece on the topic for your blog, Chad?

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from clinchknot wrote 17 weeks 21 hours ago

You can become experienced without harming the dog. Stimulation is from a range of 1-8 on mine, and 2 is a good setting to start. Shock yourself with a 2 setting, and it feels like your hand went to sleep..no real shock at all. The contacts have to reach the skin, and some dogs have thick hair, and their hair may need shaved in a small area. The deal is to continue to raise the level of stimulation until the dog yips. Then bring it down one. Some dogs realize the need to respond with just the buzzer button feature. I feel that it scares them, irritates them as much as anything. The key is the immediate response the get so that learning takes place. The handler doesn't ever want to lose their cool, and just punish the dog excessively. It is a training tool. Often as well, just putting on the collar will work without even turning it on after awhile. The one discomfort that I have with mine is, you have to charge the collar on a regular basis like every 5 wks. I can't just put it up until next hunting season. I can double up the stimulation as well by hitting two buttons at once in case my dog was in danger of heading across a street etc.

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from lang123 wrote 17 weeks 15 hours ago

Asian dating --I will be glad, practical, follow you Shixinshiyi. www.lilydating.com

-1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from clinchknot wrote 16 weeks 6 days ago

Asian dating? The guy that posted that needs an e-collar installed, and the stimulation turned up to around 16.

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from Longbeard wrote 16 weeks 5 days ago

Thanks, clinchknot.

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from Jere39 wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

I share a similar issue as described by Longbeard. My 4 year old French Brittany has developed an independent streak. After 4 years of being a very close working dog, whether we are hunting, hiking, or working in the woods, or playing in the yard, my Scout has just started testing my patience. He gradually works his way a little farther and a little farther from me, then he looks as me as if to say: your voice is no longer effective, and you can't catch me now, and he makes a straight line escape to run for an hour or so before stopping in at a neighbor's for a drink. I've never used an eCollar, but just bought a SportDog 400 and am about to start. Any advice for remedial training/re-training in a future blog, or a pointer to a good article on the subject would be really appreciated.

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from Longbeard wrote 17 weeks 22 hours ago

I have a 4-yr old Lab who has become a little independent minded in the past year, mostly in the form of not always coming when called. Of course, he seems to do it when it is most inconvenient and I worry that it might happen in a possibly dangerous situation. After resisting all this time, I'm seriously considering using an e-collar but don't know much about using them, especially initially conditioning him to it. I realize that most who read this blog are experienced handlers who have used e-collars extensively but would you consider writing a piece on the topic for your blog, Chad?

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from clinchknot wrote 16 weeks 6 days ago

Asian dating? The guy that posted that needs an e-collar installed, and the stimulation turned up to around 16.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from clinchknot wrote 17 weeks 2 days ago

That's me! I Never take to the field with me and my buddies without Sport Dog! Just put mine on the charger. Essential piece of upland hunting dog equipment. You will be hard pressed to see any good hunting team ( man and dog) in the field today without E-collars. Wonderful training tool, and a sign you are taking good care of your best friend.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from bbainbridge wrote 17 weeks 1 day ago

"My hope is that one of those red-legged little bastards will trip over it." Awesome! Your first chukar hunt is for fun, all the rest are for revenge!!!

I have a Sport Dog and have used it hard for over two years of hunting (lots of hunting), hiking, snowshoeing, and fishing. It hasn't missed a beat. Definitely worth it over the cheaper brands.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from wisc14 wrote 17 weeks 1 day ago

i have this e-collar and like it as well.
although i also had a problem with losing the antennae. somehow i actually found it laying on the logging trail on the way out from grouse hunting

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from clinchknot wrote 17 weeks 22 hours ago

Actually I have the Field Trainer 400. It has served me exceptionally well. My labs I keep in gun range, one points, and the other one doesn't, and needs stimulation because he doesn't hear very well. The younger female can be reminded of her range limits with just the beeper feature. It has the 400 yd range potential, and has been a God Send for me. More features I really don't need. Someone lost their transmitter, and another hunter found it, and gave it to me as it was the same as mine. I charged it, and it took a charge...took it hunting, and the collars wouldn't work. A DIFFERENT transmitter needs PROGRAMMING! And you can only program one at a time. Easy to do, and now I have two transmitters.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from clinchknot wrote 17 weeks 21 hours ago

You can become experienced without harming the dog. Stimulation is from a range of 1-8 on mine, and 2 is a good setting to start. Shock yourself with a 2 setting, and it feels like your hand went to sleep..no real shock at all. The contacts have to reach the skin, and some dogs have thick hair, and their hair may need shaved in a small area. The deal is to continue to raise the level of stimulation until the dog yips. Then bring it down one. Some dogs realize the need to respond with just the buzzer button feature. I feel that it scares them, irritates them as much as anything. The key is the immediate response the get so that learning takes place. The handler doesn't ever want to lose their cool, and just punish the dog excessively. It is a training tool. Often as well, just putting on the collar will work without even turning it on after awhile. The one discomfort that I have with mine is, you have to charge the collar on a regular basis like every 5 wks. I can't just put it up until next hunting season. I can double up the stimulation as well by hitting two buttons at once in case my dog was in danger of heading across a street etc.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Longbeard wrote 16 weeks 5 days ago

Thanks, clinchknot.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Jere39 wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

I share a similar issue as described by Longbeard. My 4 year old French Brittany has developed an independent streak. After 4 years of being a very close working dog, whether we are hunting, hiking, or working in the woods, or playing in the yard, my Scout has just started testing my patience. He gradually works his way a little farther and a little farther from me, then he looks as me as if to say: your voice is no longer effective, and you can't catch me now, and he makes a straight line escape to run for an hour or so before stopping in at a neighbor's for a drink. I've never used an eCollar, but just bought a SportDog 400 and am about to start. Any advice for remedial training/re-training in a future blog, or a pointer to a good article on the subject would be really appreciated.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from lang123 wrote 17 weeks 15 hours ago

Asian dating --I will be glad, practical, follow you Shixinshiyi. www.lilydating.com

-1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.