Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

60 Sporting gun m ay 2019 http://www.shootinguk.co.uk

gundogs

Training

nick

ridley

Carryingapheasantcan

causeasealthatleads

to breathing problems

“thinkwhenyourdog does

something‘wrong’,therecould

be extenuating circumstances”

Towardstheendoftheshootingseasonmynormallyreliablepicking-up

dogbecamequiteunruly.Hestartedtodropandswaphisretrievesand

wentcompletelyoffthestopwhistle.I wonderwhetherhehasforgotten

allthemonthsoftraining? I fear all my hard work has been wasted.

M JOHNSTON,SUSSEX

Thecauses

Eventhebesttrainedgundogwillstart

toget‘sloppy ’.Issuessuchasrunning-in,

droppingorswappingretrieves,turning

a deafeartowhistlecommands,willall

manifestthemselvesastheshootingseason

progresses.Wehandlersmusttakeourshare

oftheblame,aswestartoutwithgood

intentionsofkeepingourdogstightand

undercontrolbutasDecemberandJanuary

arrive,weoftenbecomelax.Goingbackto

basicsnotonlyrefocusesthedog,it also

helpsustoreadjustourhandling.

Beforeyoucanstarttoworkona problem,

youhavetounderstandwhyit developed.

Oneofthemostcommonissueswith

picking-updogsisit droppingorrefusing

topick-upitsretrieves.Onesituationthat

canoccuriswhenthedoghasbeenworking

hardandbecomehotand,asa result,is

panting.Carryinga pheasantora rabbitcan

causea sealarounda dog’smouthandit

canbedifficultforthemtobreatheandthey

willeitherkeepdropping a retrieve or put it

downalltogether.

Ona verybusyshootwhenthedogsare

beingaskedtopick-upa lotofbirdsatthe

endoftheday,youmayfindthatthe dogs

will refuse and just stand over it.

GrahamWatkinsrunsGamegoer

Gundogsandhasbeentraining

gundogsprofessionallyformore

than 35 years.Hehascompeted

infieldtrialsandworkingtests,

withseveraldogs,achieving

championandwinnertitles.

GotaproblemforGraham?

Contacthimbyemailing:

[email protected]

EXpErT advicE: from SG’s gundog guru Graham Watkins

The problem:

Bad habits and how

to overcome them

Byfarthemostcommonissueisdropping

a retrievejustasthedogreachesthehandler

orasthehandlerreachesdownforthebird.

Youdonotwantthishabittodevelop,asit

canberatherembarrassingif thedogdoes it

whenbringingbacka livelyrunner.

Oneofthehabitsa gundogcandevelopis

swappingorpicking-upnumerousretrieves.

Thiscanhappenwhentherearea lotof

deadbirdsonthegroundattheendofa

drive and the dog runs from one to another.

Itcanbedifficulttopreventthisfrom

happeningduringa shootdayasyouhaveto

beveryquickwithyourcommands,butit is

somethingthatcan be worked on during the

close season.