Gundogs - ShootingUK

Sometimes, diluting a pure-bred with a bit of something else produces a working dog that is ideally suited to a particular job, says Jackie Drakeford

Bobbery pack — A bobbery pack can do all sorts of jobs, even under the 2004 Hunting Act

While I appreciate the wealth of pure-bred gundog breeds, I would not hesitate to use a cross-breed working dog if it gave me an extra edge for a particular job. It takes months to train a gundog properly and minutes to ruin one, so it often pays to create a type of dog willing and able to work outside strict guidelines without disgracing us in the shooting field, rather than making criminals of those we have trained so hard to be steady. This is particularly appropriate with vermin shooting, where dogs often have to use their initiative rather than waiting for direction — a genie that doesn’t go back into the bottle. working dog

As well as the work these edge- of-control dogs do, the terrain and undergrowth they have to do it in often suit certain crosses rather than any pure breed. Deep, clinging clay mud, dense thorn thicket, unfriendly fences and ditches all present exhausting challenges through a working day. Where a cocker might struggle and a springer be too large, a sprocker fits between the two. It is still a spaniel, with all the charm, talent and drive we expect.

The verve and sparkle of a springer absorbed into a Labrador creates a dog with patience as well as substance, a tougher hide, and a tail that is less likely to be damaged if left undocked. Border collies can be trained to do nearly any canine job, but their sensitivity to sound is often their undoing when guns are used. Sprollies are far less likely to be affected. More biddable than pure spaniels, with a strong desire to return as well as hunt and retrieve, the OCD nature of the collie is calmed while the work ethic remains vast

A sprocker is still a spaniel, with all its talent, charm and drive

Mixed (bobbery) packs

With careful cross-breeding, the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts, if only for that particular job. Sometimes the task is such that we do not want a high- octane dog for it, rather in the way that a Land Rover suits where a Maserati will not.

Mixed (bobbery) packs for driving foxes out of cover to waiting Guns now labour under severe legal restraints. Under the 2004 Hunting Act, only two dogs at a time may be used, except in Scotland, where a pack can still be deployed. For the rest of the UK, only rabbits and rats may be hunted using more than a couple of dogs. Therefore the cross-breed is created to fulfil disparate needs, where previously there was the luxury of using several different types of dog, each to its individual purpose within the pack.

Gundog mixes Terriers have fire and tenacity, and fit into small spaces, but they tend to use their voices only when quarry is in view. They also have a propensity for going down holes, which is tricky under today’s laws. By crossing with a small hound such as a beagle, we dilute their desire for potholing — though many dogs will try to go to ground with sufficient incentive — as well as creating a dog that bays rather more informatively on scent.

Guns on the outside of the cover being driven can tell how close they are to their quarry and from where it is likely to break. Beagle blood also means a natural desire to co-operate with other dogs. Where terriers will usually do their own thing, each on a separate line, hounds prefer to converge on one quarry to drive it out. Sometimes spaniel, usually springer, is added to the mix, to give more tractability and persistence in difficult going. Such terms are relative: I knew someone who ran a private pack of French bassets, and crossed in beagle to slow them down.

Terrier as crow decoy

When roughshooting crows, we don’t want to risk a velvet-mouthed gundog becoming a “cruncher” because it picked- up something that wasn’t dead enough. There are even times when a hard mouth is of positive value. A friend had a terrier type that was a splendid crow decoy. She looked rather like a fox, and had a mouth of iron: my friend would shoot a crow and the dog would run-in and start shredding the mortal remains. Within what seemed like seconds, other crows would arrive to mob her and be shot, while she would run gleefully from one felled corvid to another, provoking more into attacking. Despite the undoubted intelligence of crows, several would be lured in and despatched before the others realised that something wasn’t quite right, and departed.

A working wirehaired dachsund is a small hound

Another friend had a Bedlington lurcher that was adept at aiding grey squirrel destruction. He had learned not only to spot them in the branches, but also to goad them into mocking him as
he stood up on his hind legs against the tree trunk. While circling to keep the tree trunk between them, squirrels would unknowingly edge into view and range and be shot. He would then retrieve them, his terrier blood ensuring that he never got bitten.

Create a dog for a particular job

Cross-breeding is art as well as science, and sometimes what we breed for isn’t quite what we get, especially once we go away from the first cross, which is where “dogmanship” comes in. But we wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work. Long before Labradoodles and cockapoos arrived to fill a gap in the pet market, those of us using our dogs for sport and pest control knew about adding a bit of this or diluting with a soupçon of that to create a dog for a particular job that would be even better than a pure-bred.

That is not to disrespect our pure-breds, which should take it as a compliment. Without them, we would not have such excellence as a baseline.

Sometimes you can find a quality working dog in the most unlikely of places, and it could well turn out to be the best of the lot, writes David Bezzant

Most fieldsports enthusiasts heed the advice of acquiring animals from proven working stock, whether they be gundogs, terriers or even ferrets. This is because knowledge of an animal’s ancestry provides an invaluable insight into its sporting potential and behavioural traits. However, I know of certain circumstances that resulted in this time- honoured advice being discarded, for the most worthy reasons when adopting rescue gundogs.

Take Pembrokeshire farmer Glyn, for example, who found an adult English springer spaniel in one of his fields. The lost dog possessed a spaniel’s typical dislike for being alone and, in desperation, had settled for the company of some bemused-looking Suffolk sheep.

Rescue gundogs

In the months that followed, nobody came forward to claim the dog, so Glyn adopted him and named him Fred, who now had more than 100 acres of picturesque farmland for his home. Glyn had two consuming passions — vintage tractors and shooting — and it seemed logical to have Fred accompany him when he was out with the gun. A lot depended on Fred’s working instinct because Glyn was an inexperienced handler. He had an unusual talent, particularly for a farmer, of inciting animals of any description to do exactly the opposite of what he wanted. His first outings were not very promising, since Fred continually absented himself.

Though disappointed, Glyn persevered and eventually Fred rewarded him by energetically working the farmer’s gorse- covered shooting ground. I doubt that dog or handler would have greatly impressed a professional observer.

Speedy replacement

In the years following World War II, Kenneth Dawson is a different case entirely. He had been educated in training gundogs from childhood and, as he approached middle age, emphatically stated that his chief interest in shooting, apart from filling the pot during those meatless days, was in working his dogs. He got far more pleasure out of some brilliant piece of canine cleverness than he did from taking an occasional good shot. He was understandably distressed when his trusted old Labrador suddenly went lame.

He was shooting three days a week, so he needed a replacement quickly. He heard of a man who, owing to ill health, could no longer cope with his dog. When he met the dog, Mr Dawson’s first impressions were not at all favourable. To start with, its looks were objectionable. He referred to it as a “light-boned, plain little toad with a terrible tail and a coat more like a pointer’s than a Labrador’s”. Added to this, the dog was 17 months old and, perhaps worst of all, it was untrained, and it was only because the owner was so desperate that he reluctantly agreed to take the dog.

After a few weeks, Mr Dawson was describing the same dog as an absolute wonder and congratulating himself for finding such a treasure. It earned its place in his heart by a display of hard work. He marvelled at the way it worked the tops of the Devonshire banks in a stoat-like fashion; took pleasure in its being under control when used for roughshooting; and was surprised by how rarely it failed on even the strongest of runners. So great did his admiration become for his new companion that he claimed it was the best Labrador he had ever owned.

Always on the lookout

Having to find a replacement dog at short notice was not a problem that the late O.T. Price would ever have faced because he was always on the lookout for a nice type of dog to add to his pack, whether this meant going to breeders, attending shows or visiting the dogs’ home. Mr Price worked terriers for more than 70 years, beginning in the late 1800s. He favoured a narrow eel-like terrier, which he could span with his hands.

When visiting a dogs’ home, a small terrier bitch caught his eye and he was able to acquire her for a donation of seven shillings and six pence. She proved to be — in his own words — “a nailer of a little worker”. When she grew older he made a gift of her to a professional huntsman.

In more recent times I encountered Benji, a Jack Russell, who, when his owner of eight years became too weak and frail to look after him, was adopted by a nursing home to perform the duty of resident pet-pal. The nursing home was in an idyllic country setting and the terrier took every opportunity to hunt in the surrounding fields and woods, assisted by his new friend Dipper, a golden retriever. Despite never having worked before, Benji frequently returned to the home, proudly carrying a rabbit he had caught. As I watched Benji on one of his hunting forays, I wished I had adopted him myself because he would have made a useful companion for my ferrets, many of which had also been rescued after being lost or abandoned by their owners.

I have always found it satisfying to watch rescued gundogs or ferrets enthusiastically perform the sporting task for which they were bred, and am convinced that any kindness shown towards such animals is amply rewarded by dedicated and dutiful service.

Ian Openshaw has over 100 field trial champion gundogs to his name and here he shares some extremely strong views on the trialling scene.

Ian Openshaw and I first met a few years ago at a mock grouse trial in Northumberland. Having heard a few tales about the man who has judged the Retriever Championship twice, the Cocker Championship once and the Spaniel Championship twice, I was interested to find out what he was really like. His wife of 35 years, Wendy, is also one of the leading lights in the field trial world and between them they have made the surname Openshaw synonymous with success in this arena. Wendy has been Ian’s rock and his biggest fan throughout his career. “I’ll just ask Wendy,” was a common reply when I was interviewing him. Ian has travelled extensively with his dogs and his Rytex affix is world famous. When he’s not training dogs for HM The Queen, he can be found cheering on one of his many racing greyhounds.

Amy Bates: Do you prefers spaniels or labradors?

Ian Openshaw: “Spaniels.”

Amy Bates: What is your career highlight to date?

Ian Openshaw: “The highlight of my gundog career has to be making up three different breeds in one season – it was during the 1995/1996 season that I made six dogs into champions: two cockers, three springers and a labrador. And another one that’s not my own personal career highlight but pleased me just as much was when my wife Wendy won her first cocker championship in 2002.”

Amy Bates: Who do you like to judge with?

Ian Openshaw: “I don’t mind really who I judge with to be truthful; I don’t mind anybody really – as long as they are dog people. Perhaps I don’t mind that much because normally when I’m judging we do it my way.”

Amy Bates: Who in your opinion are the best spaniel handlers and best labrador handlers?

Ian Openshaw: “Old John Halstead is an all-round handler. He could train anything, soft or hard or whatever the type of dog. He’s the only labrador bloke I know who has done well with spaniels too – he came third in the championship. Very few labrador men have succeeded with a spaniel.”

Amy Bates: What is your favourite trialling ground?

Ian Openshaw: “Anywhere where there’s wild game. Labrador trials are the worst for not having wild game. So many labrador trials are manufactured; I would say that 75 per cent of labrador trials are man-made – they’re not natural, are they? They are held at commercial shoots or game farms. That’s the reason I like trialling spaniels, because the trials are on wild game. With labradors now if you can’t put your dog where you want to they’re done. With the manufactured shoots, the birds don’t fly naturally – they don’t know where to fly.

“There are too many trials and I would say that 75-80 per cent of the labrador people don’t even shoot. It would be better to have fewer trials and just go to good ground. We have to go out and find better ground. To be truthful, these commercial shoots are a business but it’s not good for the dogs because they’re like a factory. Natural wild game is more enjoyable and better for the dogs. But if you play football with a square ball that’s what you’ve got to do.”

Amy Bates: Who was your mentor?

Ian Openshaw: “The people I’ve learnt the most from are John Halstead and quite a few trainers in America. A bloke called Jerry Ray Cassio. He’s a spaniel bloke and used to train dogs for films; his kennels were in New York. I first met him because he bought dogs from me. We used to go out about six times a year – he was the first bloke to show me how to do all sorts of things with dogs – he was amazing. Wendy and I used to go over there and the most dogs we ever took over in one trip was 15; that was about 25 years ago.”

Ian Openshaw in action during the Cocker Championship at Dunira, Perthshire, in January this year.

Ian Openshaw on modern field trials and the future

Amy Bates: What are your thoughts on trialling today?

Ian Openshaw: “Dogs are as well trained today as they ever were but there are just lots and lots of people coming into it from working tests. In my opinion that’s not good for the betterment of the dog. But like I said before, you’ve got to train for the times, haven’t you? If you want to compete and you want to stay in it, you’ve got to adapt. A dog trainer sometimes has a good dog, but a good dog trainer always has a good dog.”

Amy Bates: If you could pass on one piece of advice to new people in the sport, what would it be?

Ian Openshaw: “Buy the best dog you can afford. Get the best advice you can from someone like young John Halstead, David Lisett or myself. The worst thing you can do is join a gundog club training class. What happens at the clubs is that somebody will have won a trial and then they become an instructor and the clubs think: “Oh, we’ll get them to train or judge.” And the worst thing to do with a dog is to take it somewhere before it’s trained.

“It’s foolish to take a dog where there are loads of untrained dogs. A little knowledge is frightening. I’m not saying my way is the best way in the world but I’ve had a bit of success and luck and made a few champions. But if someone comes to me, they’ve got to be prepared to do it my way. You can tell somebody their wife’s an ugly cow, but if you tell them their dog’s not good, you’re the biggest bastard that ever walked.”

Amy Bates: Where do you think trialling will be in five years?

Ian Openshaw: “Same as it is now, or worse. With all the commercial grounds that trials are held on, I don’t think it’s good for the dogs. It’s not so bad with spaniels yet because the grounds are better and the birds are wild. With labradors, there are more and more trials and it’s watering the standards down. I know I keep on saying it, but the commercial grounds are bringing the standard of dog work down. A lot of the field trial secretaries have come into the sport and they don’t know anybody and they can’t get the grounds. That’s the problem. They do a good job with the admin, but a lot of them now aren’t triallers.

“You can make a dog up to field trial champion on these manufactured, commercial grounds, but the dogs aren’t really tested. It tends to be single bird flushes and when the dog gets to fall, it’s just too easy. So it’s never tested for game-finding ability. That’s the way it is but it doesn’t add up. I try to keep away from the manufactured trials. If I was trialling a lab today I’d be going to Lincolnshire, Scotland and walked-up trials in Norfolk, plus grouse trials where the wild game is. The better dogs win on wild game.”

Amy Bates: What do you think about the change in the field trial J regulations, which now means candidates for the retriever ‘A’ panel don’t have to win an open stake to get onto the panel?

Ian Openshaw: “I think they definitely should have to win an open stake. That’s my opinion. Half the people who judge now say they haven’t got time to run a dog but they’ve got time to go judging all over the country. I try to put as much as I can into the sport, but I’m busy running my dogs… but that’s a good thing. I judge about six times a year and give about eight trials a year – and they’re all given and not paid for. But I do think if you’re judging you should be running a dog.”

Amy Bates: What makes you so successful with your dogs?

Ian Openshaw: “Hard work. You’ve got to put time in, but you’ve still got to know what you’re doing. A lot of people think they know what they’re doing, but if they did they’d always have a good dog, or two or three.”

Amy Bates: If you weren’t into gundogs what would you be doing?

Ian Openshaw: “Training greyhounds or working as a gamekeeper. I was a keeper for 12 years at the Bubbenhall Estate near Coventry and the Rytex affix comes from Ryton Pools Country Park there.”

Amy Bates: Tell us the secret to training gundogs

Ian Openshaw: “Firstly it’s just hard work and knowing what you’re doing. But the secret is the dog’s got to be friends with you. If you go to someone’s kennels and they’re all dressed up nice when you get there, they’re not proper dog trainers.

“With proper dog trainers the dogs are all over you because they’re your friend. If you keep batting them down they don’t like it. They’re like kids. If they come to you and you tell them to go away every time, they wouldn’t come to you, would they? Well, dogs are just the same. Ninety-five per cent of the time, if you have to punish your dog you’re not training it properly, it’s your fault. Go back to basics all the time; every dog is different so you have train each dog differently. Everyone wants to get to the end before they get the basics right.

“Having said that my favourite dog was Ben of Mallowdale, a labrador. I trained him all wrong but he was still a very, very good dog.”

For more information on Ian Openshaw and Rytex Gundogs visit rytexgundogs.co.uk

The Kennel Club’s breed health survey forewarns breeders of potential future problems, says David Tomlinson

Pedigree dog health — Old age was found to be the most common cause of death in Labradors

I’ve no doubt that all of us, when we take on a new puppy, hope that it is going to enjoy a long and healthy life, with nothing more than routine visits to the vet. Sadly, that’s not always the case, but by buying strong, healthy pedigree puppies from health-tested parents the chances of this happening are much greater. It’s also a good idea to do as much research about the health of your chosen breed before you buy, as at least you will have a good idea of what to expect in the years ahead.

The Kennel Club recently released a summary report, together with breed- specific reports, from its 2014 Pedigree Breed Health Survey. It makes fascinating reading. According to the Club, the survey was the largest of its kind, “reaching out to 385,000 owners of Kennel Club-registered dogs, from 215 Kennel Club-recognised dog breeds”. Though it may have reached out to 385,000 owners, the actual response wasn’t quite as impressive. Replies were received from owners of 191 breeds, and these represented 43,207 living dogs plus a further 5,684 that had recently died.

English springers are one of our healthiest breeds with an average life expectancy of eleven years

Discouraging news

Encouragingly, “over 65 per cent of live dogs were reported to have been unaffected by any disease conditions. Where disease conditions were reported, the most common conditions affecting live dogs were lipoma, skin cysts, hypersensitivity (allergic), skin disorders, arthritis and otitis externa (ear infection).

The most frequently reported causes of death were old age, unspecified cancer, unknown conditions, heart failure and kidney failure.” Perhaps the most telling statistic was to be found in the bottom line: the average lifespan of these pedigree dogs was just 10 years.

This doesn’t seem very long, but most of our gundog breeds beat this figure by a small margin, for the average is dragged down by the short-lived giant breeds, such as the Irish wolfhound (average 6.5 years), and those that are generally not fit for function, such as the bulldog (a shocking average of six years).

However, the overall news isn’t encouraging, as nearly all the breeds are showing shorter average lives than those given in the Kennel Club’s last survey in 2004. However, the Club does point out that the latest survey was rather different from its predecessor, so the results aren’t directly comparable.

The survey revealed that the most common cause of death in cocker spaniels was cancer

Pedigree dog health problems

For each breed there is a short health analysis. As owner of two (unregistered) English springer spaniels, I turned to this first. Unlike the 2004 report, this one is more reader friendly, and it’s easy to find the most relevant statistics. A total of 224 springer deaths/euthanasia were reported, and the most common cause of death was simply old age. A worrying nine dogs were put down due to aggression, while cancer was responsible for 18 deaths, or just over eight per cent. The median age at death was 11 years, down from 12 in the 2004 survey. Obesity is a common concern with both dogs and people: 86 springers were judged to be overweight.

I turned next to the report for the Labrador. As one would expect with our most popular breed, the response was good, with forms received from 6,963 living dogs, plus 731 that had died. Again, old age was the most common cause of death, but cancer and cardiac arrest feature highly, with the most commonly reported disease being lipoma. The median age at death was 11 years, the same as for the springer. No fewer than 572 dogs were reported to be somewhat overweight, and 11 were found to be very overweight.

Eleven is the median age of death for our gundogs, as this is also the figure given for the cocker spaniel. Here old age wasn’t cited as the most common cause of death, but cancer, with lipoma again the most commonly reported disease condition. The figures were based on reports from 3,733 living dogs and 268 that had died.

Breaking the 11-year average is the flatcoated retriever, with a median age at death of 10. I found this figure encouraging, as most of the working flatcoats I’ve known have died much younger. If you know anything about flatcoats you won’t be surprised to learn that cancer is by far the most common cause of death, though the survey found that 55.54 per cent of the dogs in the survey (677 living) were disease free.

Insufficient numbers of Clumber and Sussex spaniels were covered by the survey for firm conclusions to be made about the health of these breeds

Go carefully

Figures for our other gundog breeds also make intriguing reading, though because far fewer dogs were included in the survey the results should be interpreted with care. For example, the 28 live Sussex spaniels represented just 0.06 per cent of the dogs in the survey. No average age for death is given though the range of longevity was from three to 12 years, while the most common cause of death was mammary tumour. For Clumbers the most commonly reported disease was entropion, while for Hungarian vizslas it was unspecified cancer and hepatic liver tumour.

Such health surveys are important, as they allow vets to focus on the commonest diseases, and breeders to be aware of the major problems affecting their dogs. What would be interesting would be a similar survey of non-pedigree dogs, ranging from sprockers and springadors to what used to be termed Heinz 57 varieties.

I suspect such a survey would show that an impressive pedigree is no guarantee of good health or longevity.

Average life expectancy (years) of pedigree breeds

English Springer Spaniel – 11

Labrador – 11

Cocker Spaniel – 11

Flatcoat Retriever – 10

Irish Wolfhound – 6.5

Bulldog – 6

Pedigree dog health

Ahead of the Field & Country Fair, we're going to be interviewing some of the exhibitors. Today's it's Equafleece, who have quickly gained a loyal following with their protective kit for dogs. With summer on its way, ticks are going to be out in force, particularly when the weather is warm and wet.

Lab in a fleece — Even water-loving Labs dry off quickly in these fleeces

There’s not much Mary Leigh of Equafleece doesn’t know about keeping a dog healthy and comfortable. She set up Equafleece 16 years ago and it’s quickly become a popular brand with gundog owners. We asked her a few questions.

Shooting UK: How can you protect your dog from ticks and burrs over the summer?

ML: Obviously you need to check your dog over carefully after it’s been out in the field, looking for ticks (which like to nestle deep in the dog’s coat) and burrs. Use a special tick remover if you find any and brush the dog down – most dogs enjoy this contact with their owner.

We designed our new Summer Suit for dogs to guard against ticks and burrs. It is a close-fitting garment in a tough fabric similar to lycra®. It’s mudproof, has a good degree of water-repellency, stretches so it’s easy to put on and off and most importantly, it’s machine washable. For a thin fabric it’s very robust and forms a protective layer between your dog and parasites. Just slip it on over your dog before you go out and see the difference when he comes back in!

Stretchy and robust, this suit helps to protect against ticks

Shooting UK: What about dogs getting heatstroke or having allergies?

ML: On a hot summer day, a dog haring around can quickly get heat exhaustion, particularly if he’s young and hasn’t yet learned to pace himself. This is when our dog T-shirts and T-shirt suits can be useful. Wet one and put it on your dog and it will gently and effectively cool him down.

In addition, they’re useful for dogs with allergies – which may manifest as a skin condition. This is what they were originally designed for and in many cases have taken away the need for steroids. You can also use them to keep post-operative dressings in place.

A dog T-shirt can be used to cool down a heat-exhausted hound

Dog T-shirts are also useful for combating behavioural problems in anxious dogs – with an aversion to fireworks say. They act as a comforting “portable hug”

Shooting UK: And when you have a cold, wet dog?

ML: This is where our fleece Jumpers and Suits come in. They are treasured as drying garments for gundogs because they dry a dog quickly, efficiently and warm an exhausted dog, preventing stiffness and leaving him fit for another day.

You can also use the fleece as a raincoat – it repels water very well and provides a warm layer in cold weather. In fact the Jumpers and Suits have a number of uses!

Warm and dry, ready for another day in the field

Equafleece is a proper countryside company (diversifying from a farm/cottage industry) which manufactures its fleeces in Devon. The company has grown in the best possible way – by word of mouth from satisfied customers.

Visit the Equafleece stand at the Field & Country Fair and you’re likely to become one of them. You can buy your tickets here now.

Dogs make your life better - just ask any dog owner! For the unsure or the uninitiated, Giles Catchpole spells out the value of a dog in your life.

Dogs make your life better in myriad ways. From being a best friend and political ally to making you popular with the opposite, is there anything they can’t do? You’ll have your own thoughts of course, but here are our 10 ways dogs make your life better

Dogs make your life better because they like water more than we do

I’ll make this really simple. A number of years ago – actually, quite a few years ago – I was shooting some spectacular pheasants in Ireland. On one drive we lined out with our backs to the river Nore. There was snow on the ground and the river was swollen with melt-water, which crashed past us as we stood. Every bird we shot fell either in the river or beyond it. And it was not a short drive. And even as we were shooting there were dogs piling into the river after those birds.

Whatever the breed, you will love having your well-trained dog by your side on shoot day.

They were going in behind the line and they were coming out a goodly couple of hundred yards downstream with birds in their mouths, ice in their whiskers and a smile you’d not get off with a chisel. They were mostly spaniels, as I recall, Irish springers; but there were a couple of labradors at least. I’d not have put a dog into that water on a bet but those guys had complete confidence in their dogs and the dogs knew no fear. We would not – could not – have collected a single one of those birds without the dogs. Damn, it was impressive.

And that is the first and principal reason why you should shoot with a dog. If there is water about, anything you shoot will fall either into it or across it. That’s the rule. And if you shot it, it should be retrieved and taken home in triumph. And if you haven’t got a dog with you, that is going to be a wet and cold retrieve and a weary plod home, let me tell you.

I used to flight a round pond. This was good because when things fell into it they would eventually arrive at the edge thanks to the wind and could be retrieved by me with a landing net. Any other shape and any water deeper than a welly and you have to have a dog. Wildfowling? Get a dog. Any undertaking involving water between say, September and June – get a dog.

Dogs make your life better because four legs move faster than two

Even where water is not the central issue it remains the case that most birds – even when wounded – can run faster than we can. OK, can run faster than I can. Probably faster than most of us can. Especially across fresh plough or a rain-soaked Fen drilling. But they can’t run faster than our dogs can. When something that you have shot plonks into the mud and then gathers itself together and begins to leg it for the nearest hedge, you really need a dog.

You can try shooting it again – I have no scruples in this regard; I will keep shooting things I have wounded for as long as it is possible or necessary – but sometimes they glide down just out of range and you know they’re not going to get airborne again, but you also know they are not going to wait for you to get over there. So you send the dog. Indeed, my dog is probably already on its way.

This is hunting…

For here is the thing, the dog is part of the hunting experience. If we are doing shooting then the dog will be tethered on the peg. It may be tethered by years of training, iron discipline and perfect self control, or it might be tethered by an enormous corkscrew that has been driven into the sod as if we are prospecting for oil, but it is tethered.

When we are hunting though, the dog is free. We want it free. We want it hunting. Not in the next county, I grant you, but some few yards ahead of us to roust out a pheasant from a hedge or a partridge from a bramble, or even a grouse from the heather. This is hunting. It is a partnership forged across millennia ever since a bloke in a squirrel jockstrap with a cudgel persuaded a wolf to go round one side of the bush while he went round the other on the promise that anything edible secured by their joint enterprise would be shared. This is hunting. And as anyone who has walked up grouse over pointers will tell you, it is the best fun ever. Mooching about lowland hedges and ditches with some mates and a few dogs is fun enough but, take it from me, shooting Highland grouse over pointers is a little bit of paradise.

Loneliness of the dog-less gun

If you ask anyone who shoots with a dog what they get from it, they will mostly stare into space for a bit and mutter something about runners and retrieving, but then harrumph a bit and announce that the dog is their best mate when all is said and done and that not shooting with their best mate just wouldn’t be the same.

When you have two well-trained labs by your side, you have become a gun, not just a shooter.

And they’d be right. Shooting without a dog is fine. In formal situations on driven shoots there are hordes of dogs to do the picking-up and one more careering about between drives isn’t really crucial to the whole enterprise. But once you have shot with your own dog, shooting alone just isn’t the same any more. I grant you that this is hard to understand when you see some of the dogs that chaps bring out shooting but that is the very point I’m making. The dog is your best mate and regardless – almost, there are some limits, I venture – of how useful, or useless, it is, the ties of matedom bind nonetheless. In less formal circumstances, of course, that same comfortable companionship is even more important.

Dogs make your life better because they are a political ally

Spend all day in a pigeon hide with a gun behind a lot of plastic decoys talking to yourself and they’ll lock you away. But if you’ve got a dog with you, no one cares. Dogs don’t laugh at your jokes but they don’t argue with your position on Europe either and, as long as they get the opportunity to pick up a pigeon from time to time, they will probably agree that flogging is too good for them. Whoever they are. A good listener and a supportive friend. Where else are you going to find that, eh? It used to be said that if you want unconditional love, get a spaniel. That’s probably still reasonable advice.

Teamwork makes for the best meals

And that occasional pigeon is important too because it forms a vital link in the chain that goes from field to table. You network all season with landowners and keepers so that from time to time you might get the chance to sconce yourself in a hedge and see if you remember how to decoy. You shoot a few pigeons which the dog duly retrieve and which you take home and dress. And then you sear them briefly in hot butter, flambé them in apple brandy, slice thinly and serve to a select group of friends with a dressed salad, a few pickled vegetables and a robust red. All your own work, with a bit of help from the dog. It’s a team thing and it feels good.

A turn in the bushes

And speaking of teams, you and the dog could go beating from time to time. A dog is for the whole season not just for the beaters’ day when those who shoot regularly venture behind the hedge to see where the real work is done. Beating is good. You and the dog get some exercise; you meet interesting people and you get a beer at lunch and a few quid at the end of the day. What’s not to like?

Through good and bad

Now at this point I am going to veer somewhat away from the general and share with you a couple of reasons why my dog is an important part of my day. Rizla the Vizsla is getting on now. We have been shooting together for years. Rizla does not like it when there is nothing to pick up. I may be shooting poorly or we may have had a blank drive on an outlying peg, but the Riz will not wish to join the rest of the party with nothing.

The bond between human and dog makes shoot day even more special.

So he will steal a pheasant. From somewhere. He will snatch one off a neighbour’s peg or he will nick one from the pickers-up. He has even been known to burgle them from the game-cart, although the fact they are tied together is a bit of a giveaway, but he will get something from somewhere and then he will bring it to me with all due ceremony and deliver it to hand just like it says in the book.

Sometimes this makes me look good and sometimes – such as when they are tied together – it makes me look less good. But, do you know what – after a decade of shooting together, looking good is the least of our worries.

Dogs make your life better because they are matchmakers

And after he has made sure that we have sustenance he will go looking for girls. These he doesn’t retrieve exactly, he merely leans against their knees gazing adoringly up at them with his slightly wonky expression and his strange, unblinking eye until I arrive to retrieve him and to introduce myself. At which point, his matchmaking efforts achieved, he pushes off to nick another pheasant from somewhere.

Oh yes, boys and girls, this is a truth universally acknowledged: a cute dog will work every time. The dog will get you a first date. After that you are on your own, obviously, but what did you expect? They are only dogs, after all. There’s probably an app for it. If there isn’t there should be. Anyone for retrievr.com?

The complete package

Most of all, however, we shoot with dogs because it completes us. Anyone can shoot. Shooting makes you a shooter. Add a decent dog into the mix and you become a shot. Take two dogs, lying just in front of your peg without leads or other restraints, marking the falls as you pull down soaring archangels from unfeasible heights and angles just waiting to dash out after the horn to collect your slain and you become a gun. And that, readers dear, is what you really want to be, isn’t it? And it starts with a dog.

John Halstead of Drakeshead Gundogs, the decorated labrador breeder and handler on his early years, a love of grouse shooting and championship glories.

John Halstead Drakeshead Gundogs — John Halstead (right) with wife Sandra and son John Halsted.

John Halstead of Drakeshead Gundogs originally spoke to Robert Cuthbert for the In the Hot Seat interview featured in our April 2016 issue.

Robert Cuthbert: Was it a busy season in general for you?

John Halstead: “I shot around a dozen days last season. It’s probably much more than that actually… mainly walked-up shooting over the dogs. A group of us will take a small day, say around 40 birds, walking-up partridge – five guns shooting and five dog handlers working, and we all share the costs. I suppose that’s going on nationally in September. We go to Hy-Fly game farm nearby and they kindly host field trials and training days for us. We also take days at Checkley in Cheshire. We’re primarily training the dogs, but it’s a wonderful sporting day, too.”

Robert Cuthbert: Is this for labradors only?

John Halstead: “In our case it is, but it’s mainly for retrievers of all kinds, it depends largely on the group. It’s all part of the process, their training. The shooting part is just like a finishing school for the dogs. It’s a good test to see if all our efforts in preparation have borne fruit.”

Robert Cuthbert: I suppose it’s a true life/work balance then?

John Halstead: “Field trials clash terribly with the shooting season. I love my shooting but really you’ve got to do one or the other or you’ll end up as either a reasonable shot or a dog trainer, not both. I’ve devoted all my life to training dogs, it was my profession, but in recent years [John is now 76 years old] I’ve taken a few more shooting days. Because of my age, I tend to take days on a shoot near Southport, with lovely driven partridge and pheasants towards the end of the season. I’m of an age where I appreciate the flatter ground to walk on.”

Robert Cuthbert: Do you miss the moors; would grouse be your favourite sport?

John Halstead: “I do. I spent most of my training career on the grouse moors, starting back in the early 1970s picking-up. We’d be out a minimum of three or four days a week – during August and September we were flat out. Walking them up was always great fun, but shooting them from the butts, well, that’s expensive, but I admit that driven grouse towards the end of September, well, there’s nothing better.”

Robert Cuthbert: The Drakeshead name is synonymous with top-flight field trial labradors. Where did the name come from?

John Halstead: “The Drakeshead prefix – our kennel name – came from my love of shooting duck, of wildfowling. I’d always been keen and interested in shooting. The drake part is simply from the duck part of my life. Sandra, my wife, used to show dogs and she suddenly took one of them to a show, totally unbeknownst to me, and came back with a great big trophy for best retriever in show. We then got involved in the various labrador clubs locally and then into the field trial element of things. I was lucky. I just had an instinct, an aptitude for training dogs. I got second place in my first field trial in 1968. Once you’re bitten by the trialling bug, it’s hard not to carry on.”

Robert Cuthbert: So how many field trial championships have you secured?

John Halstead: “Between Sandra and I, we have 32, but I’m the only person to have won the IGL Retriever Championships three times in succession with the same dog. That was 1985, 1986 and 1987. I won the challenge trophy outright, and re-presented it back to the society in perpetuity.”

Robert Cuthbert: Is there anything you haven’t done, any combination of shooting you haven’t tried?

John Halstead: “I think I’ve shot every species of game except ptarmigan but I think I’m a little past going up the hill for those now. I’ve had a really good life and I’ve seen a lot. I started out shooting rabbits, really. In our area, when I was a boy, if someone saw a pheasant, you’d read about it in the local papers. Burnley wasn’t really an area for game like that. Rabbits were our sport back in the pre-myxomatosis days. We’d ferret them and trap them. My father was very keen. You could easily sell trapped rabbits but I loved shooting them. That’s how I started as a young man. I used to train lurchers for hunting rabbits, intelligent dogs, like border collie cross greyhounds, then put them back to border collies again, so they had quite a bit of brain about them. We would train them to hunt and mark the rabbits. It was only when I’d been married a few years that we got involved with retrievers.”

Robert Cuthbert: You’ve trained for and rubbed shoulders with some fascinating people; what’s your abiding memory?

John Halstead: “I think the loveliest memory was being invited down to Buckingham Palace to take lunch with the Queen and Prince Phillip. That was incredibly special, but there is another, when I won the third championship in the presence of the Queen. We were in the final minutes of the championship and I had a feeling I was thereabouts to win it. Then the Queen had a word with the judges and she said there was another partridge, giving them directions as to where this bird was. My heart went up into my mouth, because I thought I’d more or less won it and, suddenly, I could have lost it all. The Queen, who’d marked it, advised the judges who then sent me for this bird and, thankfully, FTCh Breeze of Drakeshead, my dog, was successful and that concluded his third championship.”

For more information on Drakeshead Gundogs, visit drakeshead.co.uk

At some point the day will come when you have to take the plunge and let your dog experience a shoot day says Graham Watkins.

Dog's first shoot day — Your dog myst walk to heel off the lead before experiencing a shoot day

A very common question we get asked at Gamegoer is: “How old should my dog be before I get him in the shooting field?” In truth, this is always a difficult one to answer as it depends on so many different things; the dog’s level of training, the dog’s personality (is it a bold type of a dog or is it a more sensitive type?) and of course the owner’s level of experience. However, at some point the day will come that you will have to take the plunge and take the dog out and experience your dog’s first shoot day.

To avoid a total disaster you should first ask yourself the following questions; does your dog walk to heel on and off the lead? Is your dog steady to game, both fur and feathered? Is it on the stop whistle? Does it recall on the whistle? If the answer to any of these questions is “sometimes”, then you really should be getting those issues sorted out under controlled conditions rather than risking something going wrong in a “live” situation.

Make sure your dog is steady to feather and fur before taking it on a shoot

Beating line

Quite often during basic training you are putting a lot of discipline into your dog and some dogs can become flat and lose a bit of drive, this is especially true when getting your dog steady to both dummies and game. Over the years I have found that taking a dog into the beating line of a small shoot can do wonders to restore its confidence and get it going again, but this must be done carefully and with some thought. The first thing to consider is that the dog’s senses will be going into overload, there will be a lot going on for a young dog to take in. Even experienced dogs get excited on a shoot day.

You should always ask the gamekeeper if it is okay for you to bring a young dog along, and make it clear that you will not be working the dog all day and that the aim is to give it a bit of experience. Initially I like to leave the dog in the box with the back of the truck open so he can see and hear everything and get used to the comings and goings. I can then go and do all my meeting and greeting without having to niggle at the dog because he wants to say hello to the other numerous dogs that will be running around the car park area. When it is time to move off, get your dog, put it on the lead and walk it to heel. It is important that you set your stall out for the day.

Graham initially leaves his dogs in the box so they can see and hear everything

You’re in control of your dog’s first shoot day

Although you want the dog to enjoy the experience, it also has to realise that you are in control. If the dog seems quite relaxed you can just wrap the lead round its neck like you did in the early stages of heel work training, but again make sure he doesn’t pull ahead.

Cover type

When you reach the first drive you have a decision to make, and it will depend on a few things. The first is the kind of cover you are facing. If you’re in a crop that is fairly low and not too thick, so you can see the dog at all times, and you are working a spaniel and are confident of its hunting, there is no reason that you can’t take it off the lead and work it during the early part of the drive. There is likely to be plenty of scent to encourage the dog, but fewer birds.

Make sure you keep the dog’s quartering pattern close to you and keep your concentration on the dog, if it makes a flush blow the stop/sit whistle and make sure the dog obeys the command. Just be aware as the dog gets into more scent and more birds that is when he may well start to get “hot” and things can go wrong. The best thing to do is to prevent this from happening, so before he gets to this stage, call him and walk him back to heel.

You need to keep your discipline as well as the dog’s. Maize can be a nightmare for dog handlers as the dogs can quickly get out of control and run up and down the rows. The simple rule is keep the dog walking right next to you. This is where your training will really come into play, as trying to walk a dog at heel while holding on to a lead through a block of maize is a nightmare. The dog will want to go one side of the stems and you will go the other side and it becomes very awkward.

Maize can be a nightmare for dog handlers, so keep your dog next to you

Overcaution

As you get to the end of the cover, there may well be a build up of birds and this can be very exciting for a young dog. At this point don’t take any chances, he needs to be on the lead and sitting next to you watching rather than doing. Once most of the birds have been flushed, a keeper will quite often ask beaters to let their dogs go so they can flush the last few stragglers – do not be tempted to let your young dog join in the fun – it is the quickest way to ruin all your hard work.

It may seem that I am suggesting being overcautious when you first take your dog out and in fact I am. Like all your training it is a gradual build-up of experience for the dog and that old saying “prevention is better than cure” should be at the forefront of your thoughts in these early days. If things go to plan, both you and your dog should have benefited. The dog will have gained some initial experience in the field and you will have learnt a bit more about your dog. The next time you go out in the beating line your dog may well have a lot “more about him”, so just be ready!

Proper countrymen are becoming a rare breed, but hopefully the versatile lurcher will not go the same way, says Nick Ridley

When I was growing up I used to spend a lot of my school holidays with my grandparents in a small rural village in Kent. Next door lived an old man called Bert, he was a cowman on a local farm, but what he didn’t know about the countryside just simply wasn’t worth knowing. Bert taught me how to find bird nests, look for slowworms underneath pieces of corrugated sheeting and he introduced me to the world of “chasing rabbits” with dogs.

Now I say chasing rather than catching, because at the time he had a German shepherd dog, and although she was a really keen rabbiter she never managed to catch anything, but in my mind she was the best running dog ever, and I always lived in hope that one day she would catch one of the fleeing bunnies.

I guess the influence of Bert and his dog and his love for the countryside has really influenced my whole life and it got me interested in working dogs of all types, but especially those breeds that can be used in the pursuit of rabbits whether it is a gundog or lurcher.

Nick has spent many happy hours feretting with his collie cross lurcher

Feretting dogs

As well as my three working cocker spaniels, I also have a collie-cross-lurcher and I have spent many happy hours ferreting with her. Although she is now too old to accompany me on any ferreting expeditions, I did recently have the chance to have a day out with some chaps that have a pack of experienced ferreting dogs and I was really looking forward to seeing them working with the ferrets. It was a miserable day, cold and damp, but everyone was hopeful that the ferrets and dogs would still manage to bag a few rabbits, the team consisted of a whippet, three very fit looking lurchers and a tough-looking Patterdale terrier.

The lurchers were all collie x greyhound types with rough coats, which would prove invaluable in the inclement weather. This particular type of cross is perfect for this kind of work as its collie ancestry gives the dog the intelligence to be able to “run cunning” and a superb sense of smell and the greyhound adds the speed.

The lurchers were all collie x greyhound with tough coats

The plan

Although the main aim of the day was to reduce the number of rabbits, it was decided to not use purse nets, but to use the dogs and a couple of quick-set long- nets to divide the field into a couple of sections.

To the uninitiated, whippets can come across as being wimpy, nervous and fragile little dogs, but in truth they are as tough as a pair of old boots, especially if they come from working or racing lines. They are perfect for the close quartered action of ferreting. The little fawn dog started marking a set of holes that ran alongside a grass bank and as one of the lads set up the long-net, a couple of ferrets were prepared for their subterranean work. It was good to see the lads using electronic finder collars, although I could remember when I was a lad we used a large hob ferret as a “liner ferret”, which would carry a line on a harness to where another ferret had laid up. The only way we could tell how far down the ferret had gone was by the knots tied in the string,

It wasn’t long before a rabbit bolted from the warren and the whippet was on it like a shot. The rabbit made for the hedge line but the lads had already anticipated that route of escape and the long-net did its job. As we moved on to the next set of holes, the discussion turned to the use of a dog when ferreting and the fact that it is the most natural way of reducing the rabbit population, the dog will “mark” the occupied holes, the ferret will work its way through the underground sanctuary the same way a stoat or any other natural predator would and then the rabbit will bolt and the waiting dog will, hopefully, be in a position to catch the fleeing bunny – admittedly it may not be the most effective way to catch rabbits but it is really good fun!

The technique was to let the ferrets free to hunt the thick bramble

Heart in mouth

As the weather deteriorated, the rabbits refused to bolt and the lads had to resort to digging them out, although this was a pain it certainly added a few rabbits to the bag. We moved to a more sheltered area and worked a ditch line covered in bramble patches and the ferrets really did produce the goods.

The technique was to let the ferrets “free hunt” the thick bramble as the rabbits tended to lie up and the dogs would follow the questing ferret from the outside and sure enough after a couple of minutes a couple of rabbits burst out of the bushes and ran up the ditch. Three of the lurchers took off in hot pursuit, and the dogs were unseen as they went in to a small group of trees.

To everyone’s surprise, two of them came back with a rabbit each, quite how they had managed to catch them in such difficult cover we will never know, but it certainly lifted some very damp spirits. As we moved along the ditch, another rabbit bolted out of a well-used hole and one of the bigger lurchers was on it like a shot, he caught up with the fleeing rabbit within a few strides and just as he struck the rabbit made it to a stick pile and the dog hit the logs and up ended up flying through the air.

Everyone took a sharp intake of breath and I was convinced the dog had really hurt himself, but in no time at all he jumped back up and started hunting for the now long-gone rabbit. I couldn’t believe the dog had come out of such a collision and survived without a scratch. It really was heart in the mouth stuff.

Most of the rabbits were retrieved live to hand

The lurcher is a rare breed

It was a truly impressive display of team work, most of the rabbits were retrieved live to hand and one of the older dogs even had the sense to take his rabbits to the ever growing pile and wait until his owner came and took it off him. Eventually the weather got the best of us and it was decided to call it a day and retire for a well earned lunch of bacon and sausage rolls with steaming cups of tea. As I drove home my thoughts wandered back some 40 years ago and to Bert. I have a lot to thank him for and it is a shame that countrymen like him are becoming a rare breed and hopefully the very versatile lurcher will not go the same way!

The law on microchipping changed on 6th April 2016, but one reader wanted clarification on microchips for working dogs.

Question: I have heard that working dogs are exempt from compulsory microchipping. Does that mean that I needn’t have had my Labrador, which I work on a number of local shoots, microchipped recently?

Veterinary surgeon Tony Buckwell advised:

What you have heard is not quite correct. The exemption, under the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations in England and Wales, is for “certified working dogs” — those docked as an exemption to the normal ban on non- therapeutic docking as a requirement of the Animal Welfare Act.

A “certified working dog” is one that a veterinary surgeon, who has docked its tail when it was no older than five days of age, certifies that he or she has seen specified evidence that the dog is likely to work in specified areas and that the dog is of a specific type. “Certified working dogs” need to be microchipped before they are three months old.

The types of dogs that may be docked in England are hunt, point, retrievers of any type or combination of types; spaniels of any type or combination of types; or terriers of any type or combination of types. In Wales the types of dogs that can be docked are similar but more narrowly defined. In Scotland, though under review, there are currently no exemptions in any regulations for the non-therapeutic docking of dogs’ tails.

In summary, there is effectively a requirement for all dogs to be compulsorily microchipped in England and Wales, either as a certified working dog (as part of the Docking of Working Dogs’ Tails Regulations) or otherwise (as a part of the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations). There are no exemptions in Scotland and in Northern Ireland microchipping of dogs has been mandatory since 2012.

Eliminating bad habits as they occur and focusing on a puppy's successes are key to continued smooth progress on all fronts, says Neil Varney

During the past month Remy, the Labrador puppy, has been coming along really well with his lead work, and over the past week or so I have gently started to introduce some more formal heel work but this has not been without its challenges. To encourage the little dog to follow me on the lead I tapped my leg and, for most of the time, this technique worked quite well. But then Remy decided it would be great fun to start jumping up and down like a kangaroo so it was time to try another method.

Meanwhile, the two young spaniels, Dolly and Logan, have been coming on in leaps and bounds and it is now time to try to start to put a few separate aspects of their training together.

Walk to heel

First of all, I had to identify the cause of the problem, and in this case it was noticeable that when I tried to do some heel work in an open area, Remy would tend to pull out to the left. Then, when I encouraged him back in to me with a tap on the leg, he decided to jump up at me. Initially, I tried to tap lower down my leg, but this really didn’t work so I decided to use one of the fence lines at the Twistmount training ground.

At first Neil tapped his leg to encourage Remy to walk to heel, but then the puppy started to jump up and down

Almost immediately Remy stopped his jumping about and took up a nice position next to my left leg. By limiting his ability to pull out to the left and by using my leg to “funnel” him along the fence, he quickly got the idea.

I will continue to use my hand to encourage him along, but over the coming weeks I shall continue with this exercise until it becomes second nature to him. This technique is very much a hands-off approach and, rather than keep snatching at the lead and keep pulling the dog back, this way I can gradually build up his confidence and condition him to walk nicely by my side with minimal pressure.

Neil uses his left leg to “funnel” the puppy along the fence line, and Remy soon stops jumping about. Remy picks up the idea quickly and Neil continues with the exercise until it becomes second nature

Labrador retrieving

My future plans for Remy are that he will join my picking-up team, so I spend quite a lot of time on developing his retrieving skills and experience. Though these sessions are being kept very short because I don’t want to bore him, I am now beginning to throw tennis balls into slightly thicker cover and his tenacity in trying to find the retrieve is encouraging.

Remy is developing a lovely nose-down style but he has a tendency to run off

He is developing a lovely nose-down style and, rather than looking for and seeing the ball, he is now having to work a bit harder. I always make sure he is successful and if he is struggling, I will just drop another ball in the area so he will find it.

One problem I am having with Remy is that on occasions he decides it would be fun to run off and do a few circuits before coming back to me, so this is something I will be working on over the next few weeks, as I don’t want this to develop into a habit. I may even consider using a place board to help me.

Putting the training together

To get the spaniel puppies hunting well, I have been hiding tennis balls in rough grass. This has encouraged the dogs to hunt nice and close to me but their quartering patterns have been a bit random and I want to develop a nice side- to-side hunting style. To do this, it is time to introduce the turn whistle.

There are lots of different ways of introducing what is normally a double “peep” of your chosen whistle. I like to use a metal, silent whistle — though it is not really totally silent, but very quiet. Some spaniel handlers prefer to use a 210.5 Acme whistle; it is simply a matter of choice.

Once you have placed the tennis balls, hunt your young dog down the middle of the line of balls

I start out by hiding tennis balls in rough grass, spaced out roughly 5m either side of where I will walk. I put out quite a few; you don’t have to be too exact. Get the dog and start hunting it down the middle of the line of balls.

I keep my hands in my pockets so that the dog doesn’t keep looking at me in anticipation of me throwing something for it. I will give a couple of “peeps” on the whistle and turn my body away from the dog. This will encourage him to come across me and, bang, he finds a ball. It doesn’t take long for a dog to realise that when he hears the turn whistle and comes back across you, he will find something. Once again, at this stage, success is the key. Over time, you can extend the distance that you hide the balls so that the dog goes a bit longer before finding something.

Spaniel retrieving

The spaniel puppies are a bit older than Remy and I am starting to formalise certain aspects of their training. I have been working on my little bitch Dolly’s delivery. From the beginning, when coming back into me she likes to stand up for the occasional stroke and I have now used this habit when I want her to give me the dummy.

Dolly the young spaniel likes to stand up to have a stroke, so Neil uses this habit in the retrieve

Not everyone likes a dog jumping up at them, but I have found that she is less likely to spit out or drop the dummy. However, I have also been encouraging her to sit to make her delivery and I do this by simply crouching down and letting her settle. I will use my left hand to stroke gently under her chin and chest and I am never in a hurry to take away the retrieve.

She has learned this lesson very quickly and I am sure it is because I never made an issue of her standing up. I have managed to use this to build up her confidence.

By crouching Neil encourages Dolly to sit to make her delivery and doesn’t rush to take the retrieve

Logan, the black-and-white spaniel, is becoming a really keen retriever so I have started to introduce some basic obstacles for him to deal with. Many handlers think that obstacles have to be fences or gates, but these can put a lot of physical pressure on a young dog, so I like to use some of the small ditches we have on the training ground. The young dogs have to get used to going over a barrier and it can throw them off their mark, so they have to use their noses to find the dummy.

Neil allows Logan to run-in

At this stage I am still letting Logan run-in and he is becoming a very fast and athletic little dog. It is important that you try to create as many different training scenarios as you can and, as these two spaniels approach 12 months old, they can cope both physically and mentally with increasingly difficult scenarios.

Although you will rarely see a HPR in a beating line, they are truly a versatile group of dogs used for falconry, deer stalking, picking-up and rough shooting, says Nick Ridley

Many years ago, when I started out photographing gundogs, I used to attend quite a few spring pointing tests and it was at these events where I not only saw my first HPR working in
the field, but I also developed some lifelong friendships with a number of handlers that are avid fans of the hunt, point and retrieve breeds. Over the following years those friendships have enabled me to watch and shoot over most of the HPR breeds and although I have never owned one I can appreciate the excitement and thrill of working one of these dogs.

The HPR breeds we see in the UK all originate from continental Europe and although you will very rarely see them in the beating line they are truly a versatile group of dogs used for falconry, deer stalking, picking-up and, of course, rough shooting. It is fair to say they are not an easy gundog for the novice to train without someone who is experienced with the breeds to give help and guidance. Many people think they are only any good for wide-open spaces such as the grouse moors, but I have seen them work very effectively in wooded areas and hedgerows. Shooting over an HPR is a different experience from shooting over a spaniel. The dog will come on point and the Gun will normally approach downwind so as not to spook the quarry. Once in position, the dog will be given the command to flush the bird and this normally happens in quite an explosive way so you have to have your wits about you. Most game will be flushed away from you and quite often very close, so you have to give it a chance to make some distance before taking a shot – it sounds easy, but believe me it isn’t!

HPR breed traits

When working out on the moors or wide- open arable fields, the dogs will range anything up to 100m each side of the handler and each breed have their own hunting “traits”. German shorthaired pointers hunt hard and are very fast, whereas the Italian Spinone work at a slower, more methodical pace. Critics of HPRs say that they are “hard mouthed” and will damage game and that they can be poor retrievers, but selective breeding and better training has improved the breed’s abilities. In truth there are gundogs of all types that suffer from various faults, so it is a bit unfair to tar a whole gundog group with the same brush. Before embarking on buying or training one of the various HPR breeds, it is well worth speaking to and getting some sound advice from the working sections of the various breeds societies.

Breed profiles

Hungarian vizsla

An attractive, golden dog with a long, aristocratic history. Many are now being worked in the UK, but it has a reputation for a tendency to plod. They are natural hunters with an excellent ability to take training. Not only are they great pointers, but they can be excellent retrievers as well. They will retrieve on land and in the water, making the most of their natural instincts. However, they must be trained gently and without harsh commands or strong physical correction, as they can have sensitive temperaments. Vizslas are excellent swimmers, some may need a little motivation to get in the water but as they get used to it they will love it.

Hungarian wirehaired vizsla

Hungarian wirehaired vizsla (HWV)

The less usual wire-haired vizsla is a completely separate breed from its more commonly seen smooth-coated cousin. The HWV was developed in the 1930s, initially by Vasas Jozsef, owner of the Csabai Vizsla kennel along with Gresznarik Laszlo, who owned the de Selle German wirehaired pointer kennel. Their aim was to produce a dog that combined the colour of the vizsla with a heavier coat, and a more substantial frame, better suited for working in cold weather and retrieving from icy water. seen smooth-coated cousin.

German longhaired pointer

German longhaired pointer (GLP)

The GLP is gaining in popularity in the UK especially as one has recently won the Kennel Club HPR Championships. The breed looks very different from the German shorthaired pointer. The dog is large and impressive with a long wavy coat, they come in various colours, but are usually liver, liver-and-white or roan.

German shorthaired pointer

German shorthaired pointer (GSP)

Very versatile and the most popular of the continental HPR breeds, the GSP is regarded as easier to train and less sensitive than some of the other breeds. It was “custom designed” from the Spanish pointer, the English pointer, the foxhound and the Hanovarian schweisshund – basically a mix of two true pointers and two tracking hounds. The GSP is a big athletic dog with a smooth coat that comes in a variety of colours ranging from solid liver or black to liver roan (flecked). They can be excellent pets as well as hard working dogs and are extensively used for falconry and deer stalking as well as shooting.

German wirehaired pointer

German wirehaired pointer (GWP)

The German wire-haired pointer is reputedly harder to train than the GSP, but having said that, there are some very good examples in the field today. They tend not to hunt as fast as the GSP but their protective rough coat makes them more suitable for harsh or heavy cover. The breed is very popular as a deer stalking dog.

Korthals griffon

The Korthals griffon is named after its breeder and developer, Eduard Karel Korthals. Leaving the Netherlands, Korthals settled in Hesse, Germany, where he took over management of the Bibesheim kennels of the Prince of Solms-Braunfels. Here, he started his breeding programme with seven griffons of varying type.

In fewer than 20 years, he bred some 600 dogs, of which he kept only 62. He worked these selected dogs in woods, marshes and open country. His aim was to produce a hardy, all-terrain hunting dog. Today, the Korthals griffon is a very popular working HPR dog in Europe.

A strong natural hunter, it makes an excellent rough shooting dog and is in its element both on wide open moor and close cover. Its coat is coarse and wirehaired with a dense undercoat.

Italian spinone

A large rough- coated dog, the spinone is a loyal, friendly and alert dog with a close lying, wiry coat. It is an ancient breed that can be traced back to approximately 500 BC. It can make a good all-round gundog and although the spinone can be a very active breed, it is not a racy dog like most of the other HPR breeds. The spinone typically moves at the relaxed trot that is characteristic of the breed and can make an ideal rough shooting dog.

Brittany spaniel

Brittany

The name “Brittany” is taken from the Brittany region in north-western France where the dog originated. Images of orange and white Brittany-like dogs, hunting and retrieving game, were first seen on tapestries and paintings from the 17th century. The first written and verifiable record of Brittany’s comes from a hunting description written by Reverend Davies in 1850. The dog’s square shape gives it an unusual clipped style of movement, and most Brittany’s are born with naturally short tails.

Large munsterlander

Large, handsome and feathery- coated, usually black and white. Very versatile hunting, pointing and retrieving on rough-shoots and wildfowling, the breed is said to be very trainable. The large munsterlander is arguably the most handsome of the HPR breeds and is not dissimilar to a long-haired setter in appearance. Widely regarded as an enthusiast’s dog because they can be strong-headed. However, there seems to be more “soft” examples around today, which are more readily trainable and are credited with a high level of intelligence.

Bracco Italiano

Only recently taken on to The Kennel Club breed, but already well- known on shoots as a working HPR. Looks rather like a long-legged bloodhound and works in a similar way.

Weimaraner

This breed was among the earliest continental HPRs to be worked in the UK. The weimaraner is very versatile for rough-shooters, capable of working in wooded, low ground as well as open areas. Famous for its distinctive gun- metal grey coat, the weimaraner can have the more common short coat or the rarer long coat. Like the vizsla at the time, the breed was created exclusively for the nobility. The aim was to create a noble-looking, reliable gundog with its restricted ownership and natural instinct, the breed was highly prized and lived with the family. This was unusual since during this period hunting dogs were kept in kennels in packs.

We're always getting queries about spaniels in our postbag. Here our gundog experts give answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about this popular gundog.

How can I improve my spaniel’s picking up skills? The gundogs in question are 10-month-old litter brothers – one is a good hunter, the other bad at retrieving. What can be done about it?
Brittany spaniel
Shouldn’t working spaniels have docked tails? A reader is worried about two young spaniels with tails that are getting damaged …
Which breed of spaniel should I buy? Springer, cocker, Clumber or Brittany … what’s best?
Cocker spaniel
Will deafness end my gundog’s working life? After an infection, an eight-year-old spaniel is now totally deaf. What’s to be done about it?
Is it irresponsible of me to work a springer without a docked tail? Once again, the question of tail docking arises …
Can you solve bad breath in spaniels? Might be time for your dog to visit a canine dental hygienist ?..
English springer
What are the differences between cockers and springers? A reader is torn between getting a cocker and a springer and asks for some advice …
How can I stop my springer spaniel from whining? Did you know that whining can be catching?
Springers off to work
Which is the best of the working spaniel breeds? Is there one that particularly stands out?
Will my young spaniel learn from my old gundog? Can an old dog teach a youngster some new tricks?
Is it time for a super spaniel breed? A new strain that includes all the strengths of the different spaniel types?
Why are spaniels taught drop to shot? And why aren’t Labradors?

Q: My springer has worked well on his own with me roughshooting for several seasons, but then I took him on a big shoot for the first time. As the beating line drew near, he froze and would not move from the peg to pick-up my birds. I have now joined a syndicate and would like to use him at the peg, but how do I get him to work?

springer at peg — Some dogs can find driven shoots daunting at first

A: Dogs that are used to working in isolation can react adversely to more busy environments. The noise and activity at a driven shoot can be quite daunting for any dog when it is first introduced.

Being close to the other Guns is perhaps also making his situation unbearable and a common reaction when a dog is fearful is to freeze. Reintroduce him gradually to more public situations throughout the summer, get him used to the bustle of country fairs, the noise of clay shoots and as many new situations as possible. If during these visits he gets well rewarded, either by you with praise, touch and treats, or by being fussed by other people, he should soon overcome his fears.

During training and exercise, get him used to you carrying a stick or a beater’s flag; do not frighten him with it but let him get so accustomed to it being there that it becomes of no consequence to him.

Simulate some mock drives with a few friends until he is absolutely fine with what is happening and give him the odd retrieve as a reward. By the end of the summer he should be more than ready to be reintroduced to the formal shoot, but make progress in stages — begin at the back behind the Guns for a few days before taking him into the line itself. Let someone else do the shooting so that you can concentrate on your dog until you are sure that his fears have gone.

Q: I would like a working-strain springer or cocker spaniel to train as a gundog, but my father is not keen. My grandparents had a show-strain cocker who was a lovely dog but she really smelled, no matter what my grandparents did to try to stop it. Do spaniels smell more than Labradors?

A: The simple answer is no. Working spaniels do not smell any worse than any other dog. The question of why some dogs smell more than others, however, is more complex.

Dogs do not sweat like people but they do perspire from their paws, and produce a scent from their hair follicles. These normal body odours can usually be kept to a pleasant minimum, but become more unpleasant if they develop skin infections or scratch excessively, for example with an allergy or fleas. The smell becomes worse if the dog develops an oily skin.

Dogs have glands in their ears, which produce a light yeasty smell and, if infected, the smell from their ears can become particularly unpleasant. Some dogs, especially those with a lot of hair in their ears and those with long floppy ears, can be more susceptible.

Dogs also have anal glands, which produce a secretion with a strong musky odour. These glands normally empty each time the dog passes a firm stool. The scent is particular to each dog as a means they have of identifying each other and explains why dogs tend to sniff each other’s rear end. Dental problems often associated with excess tartar on the teeth, gum infection and decay are also a source of bad smells.

Finally, dogs produce intestinal gas as flatulence. Some is normal but if it smells unnatural or is happening all the time, you may want to talk to your vet about what your dog is eating. TB

Neil Varney outlines various tried-and-tested methods of training a puppy to run in a straight line.

Neil Varney uses a place-board and natural retrieving alleys to train a puppy to run in a straight line to retrieve.

The labrador puppy, Remy, is growing very fast both physically and mentally; he is now beginning to test a few boundaries, and at times push his luck. He has become a keen and confident retriever, and regular readers will recall that he has taken to picking up a tennis ball and running past me; before this gets to be an ingrained habit, I need to take some steps to nip it in the bud.

Using a place-board

I have never used a place-board to train a dog, but I know trainers who have used them to good effect, and the biggest advantage is that they do not put any pressure on the dog. Over the past few weeks, I have been gradually introducing Remy to the board, having started by getting him used to sitting on it while still on a lead. He has taken to this well. I make sure I give him plenty of praise and keep these sessions relatively short.

Neil introduces Remy to the place-board, getting him used to sitting on it while still on the lead

I have moved on to giving him a tennis ball while he is on the board, and he is now quite happy to sit and hold the ball. I hope to build this up by putting a bit of distance between me and the dog, the ultimate aim being to get him to a point where he is comfortable to sit on the board and hold his retrieve.

Place-boards are not for everyone and will not suit every dog, so, as a trainer, you may well have to adopt various methods to overcome an issue. A tried and tested method to help to prevent a young dog running round you with a dummy is to find a wall, fence line or hedge, and stand with your back to it so that the dog cannot get behind you. Always remember not to be in too much of a hurry to take the retrieve from the puppy, and I have found that stroking his chest will encourage the dog to lift his head and present a better delivery.

After short sessions and plenty of praise, Remy is happy to sit on the board and hold a tennis ball

Retrieving alleys

Many trainers will have retrieving alleys, which are basically long outdoor corridors that “channel” a young dog out and back on a retrieve. Of course, not everyone will have this luxury, so you may have to find alternatives and use a bit of imagination. Even though Remy is still very young, I want to start conditioning him to run out in straight lines to a retrieve.

Remy would pick up a tennis ball and run past Neil during training, a habit that had to be nipped in the bud

Here at Twistmount, I do not have a retrieving alley as such, but I have plenty of natural features that I can use. We have various paths and tracks that run through the woodland, but at this stage I want to keep it as easy and straightforward as possible, so I use a tramline that runs between two grass strips. The added advantage of this track is that, over the years, it has sunk slightly lower than the grass strips, so it does naturally channel the puppy.

Stroking his chest will encourage the dog to lift his head and present a better delivery of the retrieve

The retrieve needs to be put on the tramline, so I have been walking Remy out on the lead and doing little memory retrieves. Over the coming weeks, I will start to increase the distance and I have the added advantage that this particular track dips down to a gateway, so eventually I will be able to send him out of sight, but that’s all in the future.

The retrieve needs to be on the tramline as Remy must be encourage to run out in straight lines

Neil Varney outlines various tried-and-tested methods of training a puppy and suggests how to introduce it to water work

water retrieves — At first the dog may have a high front action but will level out when it has a retrieve

With the arrival of warmer weather, it has been a good opportunity to introduce the young spaniels to a bit of water work and introduce water retrieves. Though the puppies are the same age, it is surprising how different they dealt with this new aspect of their training. Logan, the black-and-white dog, is normally very bold but he has been quite cautious with this exercise. Dolly, on the other hand, has taken to this like a duck to water, and her progress has been much quicker.

Neil begins by throwing the dummy just into the water, at the edge and just out of the puppy’s reach

Introducing water retrieves

I always start off in a small pond with very shallow banks, as I don’t particularly want young dogs making a spectacular leap into the water. It looks exciting, but I don’t always know what lies below the water surface; I have known more than one dog that has sustained severe injuries through hitting a submerged log.

To start with, I will throw a dummy just into the water, at its edge and just out of the puppy’s reach. At this stage, I am not concerned about steadying the dog: if he runs-in, that’s all the better: I need him to be keen to overcome any concerns about entering the water. Once the dog is in the water, I will stand right at the water’s edge ready to take the retrieve; this will prevent the dog from dropping the dummy when it gets back on to solid ground, and you don’t want it to start shaking until it has made the delivery.

Neil stands right at the water’s edge, ready to take the retrieve from Loan immediately as he returns

It may well mean you will get wet, but do not be tempted to stand farther back, as the chances are that the dog will drop the dummy and shake, and then you may have another issue to try to rectify.

Some dogs struggle to swim properly

Initially, some dogs struggle to swim properly, create a lot of splashing and have a high front-end action, but this is nothing to worry about, as a dog soon learns to adjust its body. You may find that, as soon as it gets a retrieve in its mouth, it will level out.

At first the dog may have a high front action but will level out when it has a retrieve

At this early stage, don’t over-stretch a young dog by throwing long retrieves: swimming is hard physical work and will quickly tire a youngster out. I would also recommend using a normal, cigar-shaped dummy — either a canvas or plastic one — rather than a ball or a hard, rubber dummy, on which the dog may find it difficult to get a grip; balls in particular can keep bobbing away from a dog, and this can affect its confidence.

Water work is an essential part of training a gundog, there is nothing worse than being on a shoot day and a bird drops into a pond or river and you can’t get your dog out to retrieve it.

Her Majesty grew up surrounded by dogs and her interest in their performance in the field never waned, says author and royal historian Matthew Dennison

Queen Elizabeth in the field — "The lady in a headscarf": the Queen at the Cocker Spaniel Championships in 2008

Gundogs have been a part of the Queen’s life from infancy. Her grandfather, George V, inherited his own father’s taste for gameshooting, as well as a more hands- on approach to the care and training of working dogs than Edward VII had ever shown. In the year before Elizabeth’s birth, following the death of his mother Queen Alexandra, George V took over the royal kennels at Sandringham. There he continued the breeding programme of Clumber spaniels and Labrador retrievers he had begun as Prince of Wales at nearby Wolferton kennels in 1911.

Almost a century later, though the Clumbers have gone, replaced by cocker spaniels, the royal kennels remain home to a line of Labrador retrievers bred and trained as working dogs for the Sandringham and Balmoral shoots of grouse, partridges, duck and pheasants.

A love of dogs and horses

In a commemorative book published to celebrate Princess Elizabeth’s 21st birthday in 1947, author Dermot Morrah wrote of Elizabeth as a child: “all kinds of amusement connected with animals had an irresistible appeal to the Princess.”

Horses and dogs were her first love, as they have remained: to her riding master, Horace Smith, she admitted her ambition to grow up to be “a lady living in the country, with lots of dogs and horses”. In this she was encouraged both by her family’s preferences and the habits of traditional country life the royal family did their best to maintain in Norfolk and Aberdeenshire.

Elizabeth’s grandfather, father and most of her uncles shot, sport witnessed by the Princess from an early age. Given the depth of royal purses, the family’s shooting was taken seriously, with a full staff of keepers and trainers. Though the royal kennels never again rivalled 100 dogs housed there by Edward VII, the young Elizabeth was able to visit around 40 working dogs kennelled at Sandringham throughout her childhood holidays.

Her Majesty with her Labradors

In September 1933, when Elizabeth was seven, entrants in the King’s Lynn and District Kennel Society’s open Dog Show included her grandfather’s favourite black Labrador retriever, Sandringham Strapper. Gundogs, Elizabeth learned, were not only for working but showing and competition.

An instinctive understanding

Edward VII and George V were primarily terrier men. Edward owned Scottish, Skye and Irish terriers. On his desk, following the death of an Irish terrier called Jack in 1903, Edward kept a locket containing a lock of Jack’s coat. His rough-coated white terrier Caesar achieved international celebrity after walking behind Edward’s horse in the King’s funeral procession in May 1910.

George VI, by contrast, never shared his father and grandfather’s fondness for these doughty little dogs. His particular preference was for Labrador retrievers, which he kept both as gundogs and pets. Unusually, the Queen’s father favoured yellow Labradors, which were relatively little known at the time: the distinctive “golden” coat was first recorded as a breed colour as late as 1899 and did not achieve widespread popularity until considerably later. Yellow Labradors were among the dogs with which Elizabeth was brought up (one reason she has described keeping Labradors as “the normal thing to do”).

Photographs taken in 1936 at Royal Lodge, Windsor, show Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret with corgis Dookie and Jane and three of their father’s yellow Labradors: Mimsy, Stiffy and Scrummy. Elizabeth has remained loyal to the former, becoming the best-known owner and breeder of Pembroke corgis in the world; she has consistently favoured black over yellow Labradors, though her most successful competition dog, a three-times winner at the Game Fair, was a yellow Labrador called Sandringham Sydney (born while she was in Australia).

The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH enjoy the 2008 championship on the second day

The Queen at 90: Our Queen of the countryside

The Queen once said that if she had not become Queen she would have liked to be a lady living in…

Bill Meldrum: the Queen’s gundog trainer

In his 20 years of service to HM The Queen Bill Meldrum produced seven field trial champions from the royal…

George VI discouraged his elder daughter’s longing to work dogs in the field: in a spirit of royal hauteur the King considered it inappropriate for princesses to pick-up. Elizabeth was apparently undaunted. At Balmoral she hijacked the family corgis to track down shot birds. The short-legged Welsh farming dogs proved adept at finding grouse in the heather, albeit less effective at retrieving. But Elizabeth’s experience with corgis at least showed her the importance, in directing dogs, of understanding wind direction, natural cover, the direction of birds’ flight and where wounded birds are likely to head. By all accounts, her understanding from the outset was instinctive. But instinct alone is not enough. Elizabeth’s career as picker-up would have to wait until she became queen and the tutelage of her first trainer Jack Curtis and a pair of black Labradors called Sabre and Snare.

A new breeding line

In those first years of the Queen’s reign, the royal kennels were maintained on an essentially pre-war scale, their numbers necessitated by a shooting calendar that included up to 10 weeks a year at Balmoral, shooting six days a week. Scotsman Bill Meldrum, who was initially approached on the Queen’s behalf in 1963 by Lady hill-Wood, vice-chairman of the Labrador retriever Club of Great Britain, to succeed Jack Curtis as keeper and trainer, inherited kennels of 37 dogs and an annual routine that included one — or, grouse numbers permitting, two — stints at Balmoral, the remainder of the royal shooting taking place at Sandringham. around 20 dogs were driven between the two estates, invariably at night, in a lorry specially adapted for the purpose.

The Queen with Scotsman Bill Meldrum, who took over as keeper and trainer at the royal kennels in 1963

The Queen took a close interest in all aspects of the kennels’ management and the dogs’ performance in the field. From the beginning of his period in royal employment, Mr Meldrum understood that the Queen was interested in more than seamless days’ shooting: competitive as well as knowledgeable, she wanted to own a field trial champion. That aim would include a focus on improving the overall standard of Sandringham gundogs, partly through carefully chosen new blood.

Bill Meldrum came to the Queen with a fine track record: In 1963 he won the retriever Championship at Woburn Abbey with field trial champion Glenfarg Skid, a dog whose bloodline was to enter that of the Queen’s kennels and produce her first field trial champion — and one of her favourite dogs — Sherry of Biteout, known as Sherry. His new boss was eager to share his knowledge; she also possessed a degree of acumen in terms of understanding working dogs and their training.

The Queen being presented with a cocker puppy at the cocker champ 2013

“She doesn’t put up with any nonsense from them and if they are going to be a bit wayward she would deal with them on the spot, how they should be dealt with,” remembered one of the Sandringham keepers.

Sport of champions

Among the Queen’s aims for the shoots at Balmoral and Sandringham were dogs that could be handled over lengthy distances. With Bill Meldrum’s regime of three or four walks a day, rigorous selection programme and some inspired training beginning at six months, success came quickly — in Skid’s first litter that produced Sherry. Sherry, who died in 1978, was the subject of the best-known anecdote of the Queen’s dog handling, when, after repeated attempts, and despite the distraction of nearby live grouse, she retrieved a bird late in the day from Balmoral peat hag at a distance estimated at some 800 yards.

So impressive was this feat — on the part of both dog and handler — that, much to the Queen’s embarrassment, Sherry’s successful return was greeted with a round of applause from the assembled Guns. Sherry was one of five Sandringham dogs to become field trial champions under Bill Meldrum’s watch.

The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH enjoy the 2008 championship on the second day

“A lady in a headscarf”

Today the royal kennels of around 20 Labradors and cocker spaniels — a breed valued by the Queen for their ability to retrieve from dense or difficult cover — are under the eye of David Clark and Alan Goodship, the latter the fourth generation of his family to find employment on the Sandringham estate. Sandringham has played host to the Kennel Club Cocker Spaniel Championships, with the Queen an interested and knowledgeable spectator. If she no longer participates in the training of the Sandringham dogs, their progress, prowess and well-being remain sources of enduring interest and pleasure. Glimpsed behind the line of Guns on shoot days, she is simply, as one of the keepers recalls, “a lady in a headscarf with a load of dogs around her, and in a field of sporting people you wouldn’t pick Her Majesty out”. How rare that assessmentis in the Queen’s life; and one she surely values now as much as at any point during her long reign.

Matthew Dennison is the author of Queen Victoria: A Life of Contradictions (William Collins)

“Road traffic accidents” rank high on the lists of cause of death for working gundogs. So what can be done to reduce the risks, asks David Tomlinson

Most dogs love cars. Travelling in the car is usually a precursor to something more exciting, such as going for a walk or perhaps a shooting expedition. I don’t think dogs experience disappointment in the same way that we do, but it’s not difficult to detect a dog’s crestfallen look when it discovers that it has arrived in the vet’s car park, rather than the shoot. It’s also remarkable how quickly a dog realises where it is: vet car park recognition is usually instantaneous.

At number 10 in the list of causes of death

Dogs do, of course, have an uneasy relationship with cars, as collisions with cars kill an awful lot of dogs every year. The Kennel Club’s 2014 Pedigree Breed Health Survey, noted causes of death for the breeds surveyed. What the survey describes as “road traffic accident” is still a major killer of pedigree dogs. In the case of the Labrador, it ranks at number 10 in the list of causes of death, just below lymphoma and just above liver failure. With the German shorthaired pointer it was also at number 10, while with the English springer it was in a still- significant 20th position. For the cocker spaniel it was at number six.

You could write an article about which breeds are more susceptible to being run over than others, but I’m not going to do so here. What is obvious is that losing a dog that has been hit by a car is heart-breaking for all concerned. The term “road traffic accident” is misleading, too, for I know that every year there are a number of accidents with dogs and vehicles on shoots, often a long way from public roads.

Stopping a dog as it returns with its retrieve can be difficult and is a risk if there are moving vehicles

Problem for picking-up dogs

It’s a particular problem for picking-up dogs, as they are working after the drive has finished, which is usually a busy time with 4x4s moving about, and often quad bikes ferrying birds to the gamecart. For a handler working more than one dog it can be difficult to know exactly where each one is, while few of us ever teach our dogs to stop when bringing back a bird to hand. There can be few worse experiences than being unable to stop a dog that is clearly running on a collision course.

Being able to stop your dog at any time, anywhere, makes it much less vulnerable to being run over. Similarly, a steady dog is much less likely to run across a busy road, or track, than one that’s not.

However, it’s the shoot captain’s responsibility to make sure that cars driven off-road on shoot days are always driven slowly and sensibly, and the drivers are reminded of the possibility of dogs working around them. I recall one shoot where I watched two Guns have a drag race in their Range Rovers up the side of a field. No dogs were at risk, but it was inexcusably stupid behaviour.

Crates or cages in vehicles will protect your dog and make it less likely that it will try to make a bid for freedom

Keep dogs safe from car collisions

Some shoots ask for trouble. I used to pick-up on a 10,000-acre estate where one of the long-established drives bordered a busy road. I’m sure that this drive probably hadn’t changed much in 100 years. However, what was once a quiet lane connecting one small village with another had evolved into something quite different, and holding a drive alongside it was both daft and dangerous. There was the significant risk of shot birds landing on, or in front of, passing vehicles, while none of the pickers-up would risk handling their dogs close to this road.

On another occasion, my wife was picking-up on a large partridge shoot on the last day of the season. To provide the Guns with something different, all the drives were pushed the opposite way round to usual. It seemed to have escaped the shoot captain’s attention that this meant that one drive was over the busiest dual-carriageway in Cambridgeshire, the A11. Not surprisingly, the pickers-up refused to work their dogs, making the drive pointless.

Dogs travelling in cars

Dogs travelling in cars are also vulnerable. Some years ago a shooting friend of mine was travelling on the M6 when he was hit from behind and shunted into the central reservation. In the ensuing mayhem, his terrified terrier escaped from his car and ran off down the carriageway. Miraculously, another motorist rescued it, and it was eventually returned safe and sound.

Ensuring that your dog, or dogs, are safely restrained when they travel in your vehicle is sensible, and is one of the many plus points for dog crates or transit boxes. Crash-testing of car crates is now becoming much more common, with the pace set by a Swedish company, Mim Construction AB, that makes the excellent though expensive Variocage. One of the other great advantages of a crate or cage in your vehicle is that there’s no risk of the dog escaping as the tailgate is opened. We’ve all seen dogs make a dash for freedom as soon as the door is ajar.

Lastly, getting big old dogs into a car can be a struggle. I was amused recently to see a golden retriever taking the steps to climb into the back of his owner’s car. For a more compact alternative, look at the American-made Pet Loader.

Wilson Young, chairman of the Kennel Club Field Trial Sub Committee, on making field trials as fair and popular as possible.

Wilson Young gundogs — Wilson Young with his judge’s hat on.

Wilson Young was interviewed in the June 2016 issue of Shooting Gazette

Amy Bates: Tell us about your picking-up?

Wilson Young: “We shoot six days a week and on occasions we can have five groups on the same day, so I’m out every day hosting a party and normally have a couple of labs with me. I have a long shooting season, five months, but I do enjoy it. I place the guns and watch what is happening and control the drive and pick-up throughout the day. There are very few dogs I don’t like but if you are going to have a retriever for a picking-up dog then you can’t do better than a labrador.”

Amy Bates: What are your thoughts about trialling?

Wilson Young: “I think trialling is flourishing. I’ve been watching trials for 40 years and I don’t think the standard has ever been as high as it is now. I consider the retriever championship and unquestionably, and I mean unquestionably, it is the world championship. I shoot every year in America and I shoot quail, woodcock and rough grouse. I’ve shot three or four different types of quail and I’ve seen their shooting dogs.

“I have a client who has become a very good friend and he has a lady who is a professional dog trainer and dog handler on his property in Montana. I’ve gone along and watched her train and watched her dogs and they are very good – but not to the standard of the best of ours. That’s why everyone wants to compete against the UK teams. Their cockers are used very extensively for picking-up bobwhite quail in South Carolina and Georgia. They are small dogs for small game. But I haven’t seen anything out there that would make me think that it’s time Ian Openshaw or David Lisett should pick up some tips.”

Amy Bates: Do you think in a retriever trial that a dog should have a heelwork certificate as well as a drive and water certificate?

Wilson Young: “What you are trying to say is that you can have a dog made up to FTCh that has only ever run in two driven stakes and it’s won both of them and it’s never really been tested walking to heel. The bottom line is that you can’t legislate for every extreme situation that might crop up. The J regs were revised and rewritten a few years ago when Alan Rountree was chairman of the Field Trial Sub Committee and involved in that process were Alan, John Halstead and Graham Cox. We are proud of the fact they are shorter than they were before we started. I’m not saying heel work is an extreme, what I am saying is that you can’t write regulations to cover every single thing. I’m happy to bow to the knowledge of these hugely experienced people. They will have considered all these possibilities and the fact they have signed off what we’ve got is good enough for me.”

Wilson Young in action at a pointer & setter trial.

Wilson Young on changes to judging…

Amy Bates: What about the disparities in judging?

Wilson Young: “You’ve got to have confidence. To go on to the panel, the ‘A’ panel, there is a process. At every meeting of the Field Trial Sub Committee, I can assure you that people are scrutinised carefully, and again we’ve changed the process in some ways to make it better and fairer. If you get through that process and you are on the ‘A’ panel then I think people can have confidence.

“The judges are scrutinised by their peers and if somebody makes a bad job of judging a trial there is no compulsion for that society ever to ask them to judge again. So if someone makes a bad job of it and people are aware of it then it’s up to the societies and clubs not to invite them to judge again. I know some field trial secretaries don’t know a lot about trialling and some judging appointments are being made with the best of intentions, but the field trial secretaries should not be making judging decisions on their own. Having been on quite a few committees and chaired a few clubs, in a situation where the field trial secretaries have problems they should consult their committee.”

Amy Bates: Do you think ‘A’ panel judges should be reviewed?

Wilson Young: “People don’t realise that panel judges are reviewed every November in the sense that they have to be reconfirmed. If people think they get onto the ‘A’ panel and they are there for life, that’s not really so. They are only there until the next November. Most people judging are keen competitors and I like them to be keen competitors. We can get into a situation where a lot of judging appointments are being handled by people no longer running dogs and I realise there have been difficulties, but there is a limit to how much we can ask people to do. We license 750 odd trials a year and that’s a tremendous burden.

“If we have a situation like we had with complaints about the retriever draws in Scotland we took a measure. It is a possibility that the Kennel Club could do all the draws and the overwhelming majority of people in the sport think it would be a good idea. I’m not saying there is anything corrupt or irregular about the draws, but if the Kennel Club did them everyone would know that it is absolutely down the middle. Or it might be that we should talk about testing the judges; nothing is impossible. If we think there is a measure that will improve the sport, enhance enjoyment and emphasise integrity then we’ll look at it.”

Amy Bates: Is the £35 process of objecting a bit heavy-handed? Wouldn’t it be better to have a steward’s enquiry on the day of the trial first?

Wilson Young: “First of all, if someone puts £35 down then the objection will be heard at the Kennel Club. If we think it is a legitimate complaint it will come to the FT Sub Committee. Usually what would happen is that we would ask three people to sit out so that if we decide one way or another and there is an appeal, we have three people who haven’t been involved. Now if we think there is reasonable grounds for a complaint, irrespective of the decision that is reached, you would probably get your £35 back, that’s the first thing, although the £35 is not the issue. I was the chairman of the Kennel Club disciplinary committee and we live in a very litigious society and before you do anything you have to be 100 per cent certain of your ground. I chaired an appeal tribunal to do with heelwork to music and the lesson there was you have to be very careful indeed that you have got everything in place. Innuendo is no good, hearsay is no good; you have got to have witnesses who will stand up to examination.”

Amy Bates: The point of witnesses is very important?

Wilson Young: “First of all you need someone who is actually prepared to put in a report. People come to me and say: ‘What is the Kennel Club going to do about this or that, I was at a trial and this or that happened?’ I say: ‘Well as soon as I have seen your report…’ and they say: ‘Oh I haven’t made a report…’

“Well we are not a detective agency, we are reactive, we can only react when people come along and make a formal complaint. And then the complaint has got to be backed up. You’ve got to have someone credible, they’ve got to stand up to robust interrogation.”

Amy Bates: What about when people say they aren’t going to run under a particular judge?

Wilson Young: “Well that is unfortunate and it would sadden me. I don’t know to what extent that is happening in the retriever trials, when you have a situation where you have 160 or 170 entries for a 24 dog stake. I have only ever judged with one judge who I thought to be a crook. It was a very difficult situation and we ended up with no awards because he was determined that one individual was not going to win the trial and we ended up with no awards, and in my opinion we unquestionably should have had. If it had been dishonest in the other sense and he tried to get someone to win the trial, I would not have signed the game certificate. But because there was a negative, if you like, result there wasn’t anything to be signed.

“As far as pointers and setters are concerned, there are some judges I would rather go under than others but that is probably because I know they like my kind of dog. I am a highly competitive individual. I’ve been involved in competition all my life. I’ve played rugby and athletics at the top level, and I’ve coached track at Olympic level. I’m very single-minded, I’m not there to make up the numbers – I’m trying to win. But I’m trying to do it and keep a sense of sportsmanship and at the end of the day I look at my dog positively; I leave others to pick holes in it.

“Integrity is the single most important factor when it comes to judging. If an honest idiot is judging you, you’ve got a chance. If you are being judged by a crooked genius you’ve got no chance whatsoever. No one goes on the ‘A’ or ‘B’ panel if his or her integrity is in doubt. If there is anything in the judge’s report which suggests that the person was guilty of being biased for or against, we look into it very carefully.”

Wilson Young picks-up throughout the season on his shoot near Lauder in the Scottish borders.

Wilson Young on social media and new beginnings…

Amy Bates: In your official capacity with the Kennel Club, how much store do you put in social media?

Wilson Young: “I have never seen social media – ever. I don’t look at it and have no intention of getting involved in it because it’s a medium where people can be totally irresponsible. I get people phoning me saying have you seen this or that on Facebook? I don’t think it is helpful. We are happy to listen to anybody who has a sensible contribution to make. We’ve had rule changes in pointers and setters for example, which came about because one individual has written to the FT Sub Committee and said it would be much better for this or that to happen, and we discussed it and it was a good idea and we incorporated it into the regulations.

“But how can you make sense out of Facebook? The Field Trials Newsletter is a useful way of firing a low shot over people’s bows without getting too heavy-handed about it. If something is creeping into the sport that shouldn’t be then we can ask the relevant people to write a short paper on what needs to be addressed or interpreted. It is a way of getting things out there.”

Amy Bates: Tell us about the new ground in Northumberland for the Kennel Club?

Wilson Young: “The whole area is an SSSI so we have to have a management plan with Natural England before we can push the button and we are negotiating at the moment. The Kennel Club will be managing the estate in-house and trials for all breeds can be held there and I will be the person overseeing it. Our vision is that this will be a centre of excellence for dog training. If you ask someone new to pointers and setters what is the most difficult obstacle, they will tell you it’s getting access to ground. You can go up the garden with a tennis ball with a retriever but with a pointer or a setter you’ve got to be on to game, you’ve got to get the dog pointing.

“At Emblehope we will have 7,500 acres, which is ideal. To run a walked-up day on a rough shoot you need 250 acres so we will be able to run 30 consecutive days without going on the same ground twice. If you are a FT secretary and you need a venue you will be able to ring up and book ground for trials and training days. Our target date for getting started is September 2017.”