What style of bumpers and why?

Devlin · Mar 4, 2008

My Sadie and I have finally trashed almost every canvas bumper I have, especially the white ones...so, it's time to replace them...again!

But I'm curious to know how many of you use canvas and how many rely only on the rubber (or soft plastic) ones and why. I've always used canvas for land drills and the soft plastic ones for water work, in colors of all white and all orange. I've also wondered about the value of using the combination black & white bumpers.

I'd appreciate your sharing your thoughts...thanks in advance!

born2retrieve · Mar 4, 2008

Avery hex bumpers. The dogs can pick them and hold them easier than the standard round. Only thing I don't like is they are so hard, but I would not buy any other brand.
Dogs Afield sell them.

BIG DOG · Mar 4, 2008

canvas and soft rubber ones for pups and ez rotational for the rest

Losthwy · Mar 4, 2008

Avery Hex. I like the fact they are hard, dogs don't mouth them as much. The B/W 3" Avery is all use for marking setups when I don't have Ducks. The B/W seem to be more visible under all light conditions. You won't wear these out, they are built solid. Best bumper on the market IMO.

caglatz · Mar 5, 2008

Canvas bumpers when there pups -- then solely plastic (rubber) bumpers from then on. The Avery hex's are nice but I have a bunch of different brands also.

Jason Brion · Mar 5, 2008

I like the avery 3" because they can be seen against almost any background. They do however get VERY hard durning the winter months. I won't use them as fun bumpers at all because they make my dog's mouth bleed. A hard going dog that doesn't slow down to pick them up is not a good combination IMO.

I use plastic on land and water. Water for obvious reasons. Land because why would I want seperate bumpers for different tasks. Enough gear to keep track of.

HuntinDawg · Mar 5, 2008

I have a variety, but for drills I use almost exclusively plastic bumpers. I have a bunch of the really hard ones and I hate them because my dog fumbles them a lot more and it wastes time. For marks I use Dokkens unless I am using real ducks. I have not tried the hexabumpers, but if they are hard, I am not sure I would want them for my dog anyway. I've heard they are so hard that some people won't use them in cold weather for fear of actually hurting the dog. I like the idea of the flat sides though.

The black and white ones are good for marks because no matter the background your dog has a decent chance of seeing them in flight. However, I generally launch Dokkens instead. Also, I prefer Dokkens to the Avery True Bird. I've been around a lot of fine retrievers and most of them just don't like the ATB as much or handle it as well as the Dokken. I know the story of the Dokkens stinking, but I haven't experienced it. Maybe because I allow them to dry out before stowing them away where they can mildew. Plus all of the ATB's that I have seen wind up splitting open as well.

I really like Avery products in general, but now that I think of it, I have some of their products that I just hate. The ATB is too large, dogs don't handle it well, it splits open at the seams and the heads come off too easily. The GHG flocked head Canada Goose decoys I have feature a head design (in terms of the method of attachment) that is an absolute abortion. If you just stare at them hard the stinking heads pop off. I think I'm going to super glue the darn things on before I lose them all.

Kenneth Niles Bora · Mar 5, 2008

olive drab canvas this time of year. Plastic in summer. This time of year a plastic bumper will shatter on impact with a parking lot. I prefer the style that..... other people leave in my truck after training with me

KNB

K.Bolan · Mar 5, 2008

I use the 2" canvas and 2" Avery flasher. I like the canvas its easier for the dogs to hold and the hexa bumper is a great shape but very hard. I use the hexa for force work and piles. Dokkens when ever possible.

Just searching for training equipment I stumbled across this site
http://www.woodlandind.org/productsAndServices/services.php
this is a great program.

Golddogs · Mar 5, 2008

Devlin said:
My Sadie and I have finally trashed almost every canvas bumper I have, especially the white ones...so, it's time to replace them...again!

But I'm curious to know how many of you use canvas and how many rely only on the rubber (or soft plastic) ones and why. I've always used canvas for land drills and the soft plastic ones for water work, in colors of all white and all orange. I've also wondered about the value of using the combination black & white bumpers.

I'd appreciate your sharing your thoughts...thanks in advance!

D.T Systems. Use to use N&B's and will never go back. Good color selection and very durable. Don't get hard like the others.

h2oknine · Mar 5, 2008

I have always used the plastic lucky dogs B/W and an now replenishing mine with the Avery Hexa-bumper flashers (B/W). I like the black and whites, because I don't have to have as many and will work in over cast days and sunny. the orange ones I only use as blinds.

What style of bumpers and why?

Devlin

born2retrieve

BIG DOG

Losthwy

caglatz

Jason Brion

HuntinDawg

Kenneth Niles Bora

K.Bolan

Golddogs

h2oknine

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