94 SEPTEMBER 2019 WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK
GUNDOGS Gundog updateBehind the Lineby GathererTheweekaftermy
bijoucontretemps
withSheWhoMust
BeObeyed(SWMBO)
overwhatwasa sensible
distancetosenda cocker
ona retrieve,halfa dozen
nine-month-oldlabsand
threespanielsturnedup
atmyplaceforsomebasic
training.Theywereon
unfamiliarterritoryand
thereforeontheirbest
behaviour.Buttherewas
oneblackcocker- blessed
witha punkhairstyle-
tetheredtoitsownerbya
longleadwhichlookedasif
it might prove entertaining.Theprimaryaimsof
theclassweretoimprove
steadinessandthen
introducethemtogentle
retrieves.Steadinesswas
impressive.Unfortunately
Cecil,relaxedonhisownturf,
wantedtoplaywithallhis
newacquaintances.
Althoughthesteadiness
exerciseswentprettywell
andwerea tributetothe
hardworkputinbytheir
owners,whenit cameto
doingsomesimpleretrieves
it wasanotherstory.Thelabs
lollopedaboutlikeenormous
blackleveretsandmost
ofthemwereparticularly
cautiousabouthuntingfor
tennisballsinlongwetgrass.
Gradually they got the hangofit;thespanielsbusied
themselvesenthusiastically,
thepunkdidn’tabscond
andsothere were smiles all
round.
Ionceworkeda lovely
blackdoglabcalledMr
Guinnessbecausehewasso
laidbackhewaspractically
horizontal.If thecoverwas
a bitthickhewouldsimply
indicatetherewasa birdin
thebushandthenaskme to
sendinthespaniel.
MrGuinnesswould
nothaveunderstoodthe
reluctanceoftheyounglabs
togofora swim.Several
simply stood in shallowwaterandfeeblyattempted
toscoopoutthedummies
witha frontpaw.A yellow
dogdeclinedtogoeventhis
faranddespiteloudand
exasperatedexhortations
fromitsownerstubbornly
remainedsomewayback
fromthe“shoreline”.
Cecil“volunteered”toset
anexample,plungedinto
theweedydepthsandswam
outtomakehisretrieve.The
yellowdogdecidedwalking
onwaterlookedeasyand
raceddownthebankandout
acrossthepondweedand
suddenlydisappearedbelow
thesurface,emergingto
glaremostaccusinglyatits
owner.Andthenit swam and
picked a dummy.“Cecil wanted toplaywith
all his new acquaintances.”Field trials andtribulationsby Amy BatesIhearda lotofchatthis
summeraboutprofessionals
andamateurs– it seems
thereisa factionthatwant
a “premier”leaguebutI’ve
heardit saidtherearen’t
enoughprofessionalstofilla
lineina 24-dogstake.Orare
there?It’snearlyfiveyears
agoI wroteinthiscolumn
(andlatterlyonsocialmedia)
myinterpretationofmythree
categoriesoffieldtriallers,
here’smyupdate:
Professionals:anyone
whogetspaidforworking
withdogs,trainingorgiving
lessons,dogdealers(Ihave
addeddealerstothissince
firstwritingasI amnowfar
moreawareofhowmany
thereareandhowmanydogs
areboughtandsoldon).
Amateurs:anyonewho
hasbeentriallingfora long
timebutdoesn’trely on dogs
toearna living.
‘Housewifehandlers’
(HWH):men/womenwho
viewtriallingasa hobby.
Thisisa bigareaofdebate
andtherewillneverbea
consensusastowhatthe
criteriaisforprofessionals
andamateursuntilthe
governingbodyspellsit out.
Whatisthe“winning
formula”fora fieldtrial?
Beforetrainingdays(BTD)
onlypeoplewhohadaccess
tounlimitedshootingor
rabbitinghadanychance
ofhavingthecompetitive
edge– theywereableto
traintheirdogsonrabbits
and game in season as andwhentheylikedandusually
trainedwithpeoplewho
wereasgoodorbetter than
themselves.
Witha fairwind,this
thewinningformula.But
oncetrainingdaysbecame
availabletotheHWHon
manufacturedground,
anyonecouldbuydaysand
traintheirdogslikethe
“professionals”.Thereby
openingupthemarketfor
HWHtomaketheirdogs
intofieldtrialchampions
andqualifyfortheRetriever
Championship.Forthe
mostpart,peopletrialto
makedogsupintofieldtrial
champions,toqualifyfor
thechampionshipandto
gaina studbooknumber
toincreasethedog'svalue
ontheinternationalgundog
market(hopefullyoneday
wewillseeallawardwinners
havingtheirmicrochip
numbersvalidated).
Whowillbeinthis
“premier”league?Willit be
anyonewhohasruninthe
RetrieverChampionship?
Willit bepeoplewhomake
theirlivingoutofgundogs?
Anyonewhomakesupa field
trialchampion?Whoisgoing
torunthis“premier”league?
Thevolunteersthatrun
clubsnow?TheKennelClub?
Thesearethequestionsthe
peoplewhoaremootingthe
ideaofa “premier”league
willbeabletoanswer.I
wonderhowmanyHWHs
they’llallowinlineto be
cannon fodder?