Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

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Jason Noon
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Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Jason Noon » Mon Feb 19, 2018 2:16 am

I was told you can be scratched for turning on your collar light during a hunt. Is there any truth to this? I can’t find anything that says this in the rule book or the new collar rules from last year.
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby James Cooper » Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:50 am

Undeserved Points - Any handler making a deliberate attempt to gain undeserved points or avoid deserved minus points or deserved scratch, will be scratched. This also includes making a deliberate attempt to assign another handler undeserved minus points or an undeserved scratch.
Livestock - Molesting, running, baying or treeing livestock.

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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Jerry Moll » Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:18 am

Jason Noon wrote:I was told you can be scratched for turning on your collar light during a hunt. Is there any truth to this? I can’t find anything that says this in the rule book or the new collar rules from last year.

Yes, a handler can be scratched for turning on their collar light in order to control their dog, for any number of reasons, during the cast. A handler is permitted to turn their collar light on for the safety of the dog if it is getting on a road, but in this case, they should inform the rest of the cast that they are doing so.
Prepare yourself and your hound. Hunt the dog, read the Blue Book, and your Good Book!

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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Elvis Black » Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:02 am

Jerry, Can you not hunt with the light on the entire time? If not, where does it state that. Also, I think it will be hard to enforce the light rule, guys can turn it off and on all the time and you will never know. I know the new thing now is to turn on the light before you shock them, and they associate that light with being shocked. I think we need to adopt the rule that only time you can look at Garmins is when it agreed on by entire cast. I love the Garmin, but man has it caused issues. I guess soon Garmin will just have to make a collar that tracks only with no light, shocker, or vibration feature.
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Joe Wilbanks

Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Joe Wilbanks » Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:31 am

I turn mine on before the hunt and leave it on the whole time for my dogs safety and allways have since the feature was made available, never had a problem with that at a hunt either , as a matter of fact one guy was glad I did he said he had been teaching his dog to come in when the light on its collar was turned on and wanted to see if mine affected his dog wich it did not. They need to quit worrying about garmins and focus more on getting people to hunt and enjoy it and stop adding and changing rules to fit the few .

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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Jerry Moll » Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:07 pm

Yes, you may turn your collar light on and leave it on the entire hunt.
Prepare yourself and your hound. Hunt the dog, read the Blue Book, and your Good Book!

Jason Noon
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Jason Noon » Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:17 pm

Where is does it say this in the rules? My dog left the woods so I turned on my light. When we finally got to her other handler said I could be scratched for turning on my collar light and I had know idea what he was talking about. Thought he was making up rules. Just trying cover all my bases in case this ever happens again.
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Jerry Moll
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Jerry Moll » Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:52 pm

This is a clarification since the last printing of the Blue Book

7.G. Use Of Lights - A handler may not use his/her light to help control dog(s) or shine trees except upon the direction of the judge. He/she must turn the light off at the request of the judge. Dogs may wear lighted collars for safety. Handlers may be scratched for using lighted collars in such a way to control their dog or other handlers dogs. Before a handler turns on a lighted collar during the cast, we suggest he/she inform the other cast members first to avoid any confusion.
Prepare yourself and your hound. Hunt the dog, read the Blue Book, and your Good Book!

Jason Noon
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Jason Noon » Mon Feb 19, 2018 5:02 pm

Thank you sir.
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Bradley Hall
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Bradley Hall » Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:48 am

On the flip side of this, can a judge minus a dog based on the lighted collar alone? In example if cast is 40 yards off the tree of a dog who has a lighted collar on and lets say the lighted dog is treed on a fence row. No one in the cast has their headlights on just waiting for the tree time to expire. The cast sees the lighted collar go off the tree about 10 yards in the field then sees the lighted collar go back to the tree and dog continues treeing. The dog never barked but the cast saw the light go off the tree into field 10 yards. If the lighted collar was not lit, no one would seen this, but since it was seen could the judge minus the dog for being off the tree based on the lighted collar alone?
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Michael Brown » Mon Feb 26, 2018 3:05 pm

Bradley, do we really consider that “leaving a tree?” I’ve got a female that will back up twenty feet from a tree, and then walk back to the base of the tree. Sometimes she’s barking every breath, and other times she’s bird dogging a coon, and only barking when she gets up under the tree. She’s tree the whole time, and hasn’t left nothing, but a lighted collar would get me minused if what you describes is consider “leaving a tree.” Just wondering what you think?

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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Jerry Moll » Mon Feb 26, 2018 4:06 pm

Bradley E Hall wrote:On the flip side of this, can a judge minus a dog based on the lighted collar alone?

Brad, the second sentance of the second paragraph in Rule #5.A. answers your question.
5.A.Tracking System Use during the cast is intended for the personal use of the handler and the safety of the handler's dog only. No information obtained from tracking devices will be permitted for use in scoring situations in the woods or at panel question hearings. As always, dog(s) must be heard before handler(s) can make a call and all time-out rules and requirements still apply.
Prepare yourself and your hound. Hunt the dog, read the Blue Book, and your Good Book!

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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Daryl Guess » Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:00 am

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Bradley Hall
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Bradley Hall » Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:28 am

Thank you Jerry for pointing that out. I in fact got minus for the very scenario that I described. Had I been thinking the general "good for the goose its good for the gander" mentality I would have capitalized upon the rule you underlined Jerry. Its amazing in this game you never quit learning.
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Alan Urffer
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Re: Getting scratched for turning on collar light?

Postby Alan Urffer » Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:45 am

I believe if my dog was treed and especially if we were looking at him, that's one time I'd turn the light off.


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