Patrick Flanagan
Scottsdale, AZ
Background
I grew up with a few bird dogs. 2 nice little Brittney Spaniels and a few very athletic German Shorthaired Pointers. After I got out of the Navy I wanted to start hunting the uplands again, but birds were scarce and my readiness for a dog was not in the near future. Until ... I met Kansas. I found work out in west Kansas and started hunting with the locals on the weekends. Flushing Labs ... I loved it. Birds were back, but I needed a dog - a pointing dog. A GSP. That was fall of 2008 and now I run 6 dogs and hunt them hard. From the northern timbers of Minnesota to the Mexican border of Arizona locking on coveys of Mearns, Scaled and Gambels quail. With stops in between the dogs learn to adjust from weary ruffs to running roosters and then picking scents from large canyons. I love this life. The dogs do to.
I first tried SportDOG Brand collars after meeting some people in the field trial/horseback community. They introduced me to the TEK 1.0, and I saw how I could know where a dog is and how he is working without him actually being visible to the eye. The majority of our hunts are in tight cover or sharp cuts and canyons. Although, we want the dogs to work for the customer it is not always the best for finding birds in lots of ground.
Last season I upgraded to the TEK 2.0. I was quickly running multiple dogs at once. I was calm in handling three or even four in any cover southwest of the Mississippi. In the grouse woods I will still run two but feel confident I can multitask my controls to keep the dog in solid standing position while we make the approach.
Why I Use SportDOG Brand
What I enjoy most about the SportDOG Brand is the people that use these products.
I can't count during my travels how many times I have been stopped, flagged or just pulled aside from SportDOG Brand users to tell me there great stories and that they feel confident in their choice.
I want to be the best guide I can be for any hunter affording their time and money. I am only going to use products that get there!
Favorite Products
TEK 2.0 and UplandHunter 1875
Other Senior Prostaff
Dana Giovannello
Dana has been training and hunting over dogs for some 30 years. He started out in New Hampshire hunting pheasants, woodcocks, grouse, and ducks with his Brittney spaniel, Maize.. They moved to Alaska and stayed for 6 years, then to Idaho for 3 years, before finally resting their roots in...
Bob D. Strong, DVM
Bob has worked with gun dogs all of his life. Whether it was chasing rabbits and quail in Western Kentucky as a boy, wading the backwaters hunting ducks in Illinois, or walking the fields of Kansas pushing roosters, it just seemed right to Bob to hunt behind a good dog....
Gary Sheffer
Gary has been hunting upland game for 15 years. Training Labs and German shorthairs for upland hunting is his specialty. Whether hunting pheasant or quail in Indiana, it is a great feeling to see a dog that he has trained point a bird and then retrieve it.