Expert tips and advice
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 53
Crossword/CompiledbyEricLinden/ 1416
Across
6 Soleprobewildered
byclaytargets(7)
7 Theheadkeeperreviews
alistofHighlandattire(5)
9 See3 down
10 CitizengivingtheRifle
Associationmorethanjust
localcoverage(8)
11 Seasonedgamerecipe
ingredientsthatherubs
whenleavinguniversity(5)
13 A rapid-firegunensures
chequeringis cut(7)
15 Magazineforcouples?
Notcool!(3-4)
17 A heavybitoffootwork
revealstheproofmark(5)
20 Thepre-huntgathering
is a gardenaffair(4,4)
21 Forloadingyourown
cartridges,there’s no place
like it! (4)
22 Pinksandthelike
findgoats’cheeseon
theoutskirts(5)
23 Thedrainclearerbrings
a gun ejector (7)
Down
1 Isfishinga touch
rough?(6)
2 A trapexpertlooks
inonthehighpointof
a bird’sflight(4)
3 & 9acrossA racy
eventfortheEley
c ar trid ge?(5,4)
4 A reboundingbulletis the
wrongchoiceintheright
surroundings(8)
5 Variantwithina breed
seesratsindistress(6)
8 It’sa suckerfor the bale
maker! (5)
12 A classywaytofly
tothecommercialshoot,
forexample(8)
14 Lovesunusual
rodents(5)
16 Predatoronthe
waterfrontmakinga stand
forart(6)
18 Syndicateassociate—
onewhohasa realsense
ofbelonging(6)
19 Whileinhospitalyou
revealZoli’shomeland(5)
21 Putthewashingout
to deal with shot game (4)
Solution 1414 / 24July 2019
Across:6.Bivouac7. Model
9.Compak10.Indoor11.Breech
12.Nets14.Blue15.Levels 17. Hoodie 18.
Severn19.DEFRA
- Courses
Down:1. Pivot2.Hopperfeeders
3.Dark-bellied4.Goldenplovers
5.Reports8.Nightvision
13.Blooper16.Armed
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NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
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Photocopies accepted.
Teaching the stop
to an older dog
GUNDOG TRAINING
Seeingdogsreact
immediatelyto
the‘stop’command
is alwaysimpressive.
WhenI watchfield
trialsI amalwaysin
aweofthelevelof
controlit givesthe
handler— farmore
thanmanymere
mortalscanachieve
withourowndogsin
theshootingfield.I
havea fairlybiddable
18-month-oldLabrador
thatI pick-upwithand
wonderif I could
attempttotrain‘stop’
with her at this age?
Gettingdogstostop
at distanceis a vital
partoftrainingand
shouldbea fundamental
partoftrainingforany
dog,whetherornotit’s
a gundog.It is invaluable
whenyoucanputthe
brakesonandregain
controlofa doginany
givensituation.
Inallmyyearsof
trainingI havehadsome
dogswhereteaching
thestopwasrelatively
easyandotherswhereit
takesa lotlonger.Some
dogsaremorenaturally
receptivetothestop
whistle ndothers see
itasinterferenceand
initiallyresist.I never
useanytypeofforceor
heavyhandednessinmy
trainingandthatgoesfor
achievingthestop.
It’snotsomethingI
askforintheearlystages
andI findthatonceI have
adoglisteningtome
andthepartnershipwe
haveis developing,I can
blowfora stopandgeta
reaction.It’salmostasif
thedogstopsandturns
tolookat metoask “what
wasthatfor?”
AtthatpointI askfor
a sitsothatI amincontrol
ofthesituationandwe
havethefoundationsof
learningthata longblast
anda handheldhigh
means“stopwhatyouare
doingandlookat me”.
If yourolderdogis
biddableandlistening,
youshouldbeableto
managethatif youstart
ina smallarea.If your
dogis steadyandwilltake
directionsI wouldthrow
a dummyforheronceshe
is settledinthe‘stop’so
thatshelearnsthereis
somethinggoodtoearn
fromthisexercise.Keep
thedistancebetweenyou
andthedogfairlyshortat
thestartandI thinkyou
willbesurprisedat how
quickly she will learn.JH
Iwasmostrelievedtofind
notonlyeggsbutmynew
queenwhenI hada look
theotherday.Hadshe
not been there it would
haveputthecolonyindire
straitsastheywouldhave
beenrunningoutofflying
bees.Atlonglastbothmy
hivesarenowfunctioning
and,withsomemoregood
weather,I mayjustgeta
coupleofboxesofhoney
totidemeandmyfriends
over the winter.LW
DIARY OF A
DIARY
NO.21