18 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
inthefieldwhentested.However,
anotherissuewhentrainingcockers
toretrievebirdsfromthepeg is that
it is againsttheirnature.
“[Thecocker]is bredtohunt,
quarterandlookinthickcover,so
whiletheywillhuntforlostbirdswell,
normallya Gunwillbesendingtheir
dogfromthepegratherthanwalking
outtohuntit,”explainedEllena.
“Controlled distance handling can
bea challengeforthemastheywould
ratherhunteveryinchofground
tothefallofa birdinstead of running
ina straightline.”
Thismaynotbeidealbut,with
plain-sighttrainingandusing
yourarmandbodytopositionthe
directionthedogshouldbetaking,it
shouldmakea beelineforthedummy.
A provenpegdogis onethatcansit
bytheGunwithouta leadtetheringit.
It is the level most owners, including
me,strivefor.I haveseenplenty
ofwhatI thoughtwerelevel-headed
dogstiedtothepegmoreoutoffear
anduncertaintythananythingelse.
Labradorsarethemostcommon
dogintheline,closelyfollowedby
well-trainedspringersandretrievers.
Cockersarenaturallyexcitablesoto
sitinthesamespotfo
20 minutes— is a biga
be done, providing thwiththerighttraining
ofperseverance.
“Somearereadyat
othersaren’treadyun
threeyears,”saidElle
takethemoutona lea
thatintroducingthem
soundswilldothemg
is createa veryfrustra
hasn’tlearnedselfcon
Thekeytoovercom
it littlebylittleandint
slowly.If theycan’tha
backa stepandstarta
Ellenafinishedour
conversationbysayin
thefoundationsoftra
aresolidandthehand
takestheirtime,there
reasontheycan’tmak
crackinglittlepegdo
Despitehisearlier
misgivings,Jeremy
agreed:“Ultimately,I
allaboutthedog.The
cockerintherighthan
can make a peg dog.”However,I wouldcautionevery
buddingcockerownerthatit is not
aneasyroadandit takesa lotof
timeandeffort.Fora beginner,the
rewardsaresweetif youaccomplish
it.Butif youarenotwillingtoputin
theextrahours,don’tbesurprised
toseeyourpegandleadvanishafter“Thecocker’sspiritis soresilientth
it is almostimpossibletodampeni
a shooting day. It’s principle is to pl
Bubbleproudlyretrievesa Januarycock
pheasant that is extremely heavy to carry
Theeyeshaveit:
a soulfulspaniel
is hard to resistEdwouldn’tswap
Bubbleforanyother
dog in the world