Transcript from Steve's Video:
This is a Retriev-R-Trainer. It's a handheld dummy launcher. The Retriev-R-Trainer is great for launching dummies by yourself to get more distance. People that only hand throw dummies will find that they can throw a dummy about 90 feet. That's about my maximum with a dummy. And you'll find that your dog figures that out over time. And if you train alone, you end up with a dog that knows that most of his retrieves are at 90 feet and he won't go past that.
This is a way to fix that. The dummy launcher uses power loads. It's a .22 load. It's different from a .22 blank in that it creates a gas. The gas travels up, comes out the tube here.
We've got a couple of important pieces. Retriev-R-Trainer has an O-ring. The O-ring is required. I recommend that you get a couple of extra ones because I've seen them last two weeks, I've seen them last 10 years. But without the O-ring it's not going to fire.
Take your dummy. Load it onto the Retriev-R-Trainer. Open it up. Insert your load and close it. To fire the Retriev-R-Trainer you pull back and release.
A couple of things that you need to know. You want to make sure that you hold it correctly. There will be some recoil. I prefer to hold it like this. You gotta watch this piece, because when it fires back, if you've got it like this it can hurt. A lot of people fire it like this. That's not recommended.
This is the correct way. Pull back and fire. I do recommend that you wear gloves. You wear eye protection. You wear ear protection. Treat it like a firearm. It is not classified as a firearm, but they come off with a pretty good velocity and we recommend that you be really careful with them.
The Retriev-R-Trainer is a great tool for folks, especially if you train by yourself. It's also great if you train with other people. What I like to do with a Retriev-R-Trainer is take my helper and send them out a certain distance and then have them fire the dummy from that distance. As a general rule, I prefer not to fire with the dog standing next to me. You can do that, but I like to have the shooter out from me. That way you get a consistent arch, consistent distance.
One thing that you've got to know about Retriev-R-Trainers is that a .22 load is loud. It is not something just to use on a dog that has not been properly conditioned to birds or gunfire. So you want to be real careful with it. It's not something for puppies. You want to wait until you have finished your gun and your bird introduction so that they are comfortable with it. they are extremely loud and you can scare a dog with one if they are not prepared for it.
There are three different kinds of power loads that can be used with a Retriev-R-Trainer. We recommend that you only use the loads that are designed for a dummy launching device. There's some power loads out there that are designed for nail guns. They are not recommended. They are too strong to use in a Retriev-R-Trainer and they can be dangerous.
You get three different distances, typically, from those loads—150 feet, 175 feet, and 200 feet for the red heavy loads. Keep in mind that the angle of the dummy plays a big role in that. If you hold the handheld at a lower angle it's going to go a little bit further. If you hold it up you are going to get a higher arch but it's not going to as far. So a lot of it depends on what you are trying to do, what sort of things you are trying to cover with your dog and introduce them to.
Distance is important, but it's not the only thing that we're dealing with here. You are getting marking. You are also getting the combination of the gunfire and watching something fall.
Really neat device. We love them. They are great for folks. It's a very inexpensive way to get some distance included in your training.
There are probably two dozen different kinds of dummies that will work with this particular system. We've got them in all sorts of different colors and styles. They come in a canvas. They come in a plastic. They've got streamers that go along with them. So all sorts of different visuals that you can get for your dog.
