Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

Gundogs

Can a

cocker

cut it on

the peg?

HasEd Willstaken ontoo muchintrying totrainhiscocker tobe

a peg dog? With the right approach it can be done, say our experts

frustrationaboutthedog, “much

betteronthepeg.”

Forthenextfewmonths,I thought

hardaboutit.I havealwaysenjoyed

myshootingandtherehavebeen

dayswhenit wouldhavebeenmuch

betterif I hadn’tbeenconstantly

concerned that Bubble was about

C

omehereyouhorrible
thing!”Theshoutechoed
acrossthefieldsasa brown
blurtorethroughthedewy
grasswitha leadandwooden peg
rattlingbehindit.
I wouldlovetoreportthiswas
anotherGun’sexperiencebutalas,
it wasmydisobedientdog.It wasa
frostyDecembermorningsomeyears
agoand,asI watchedmythentwo-
year-oldcocker,Bubble,disappear
intothemist,I couldn’thelp
wonderingwhetherI hadthewrong
dogforthejob.PerhapsI should just
jointhebeatingline.
Myfatherhasbeenwaryofhaving
spanielsaspegdogseversincehehad
a springercalledBundle.Bundle’s
firstlovewaschasingdeerandmore
thanoncehe’stoldmeaboutpeople
heoncecountedasfriendswhono
longersendhimChristmascardsas
a resultofBundletearingoffthrough
theirdrivesandruiningtheday.
Bubble,thoughnotrelatedto
Bundleinanyway,andcertainlynot
nearlyaswild,hasa fewsimilartraits.
Accordingly,myuncouthfatherrefers
tomylittlechocolate-coloureddog
as“theflyingturd”.“Geta Lab,”he
H. MITCHELL / S. FARNSWORTH / A. HOOK / A. SYDENHAM / BRIDGEMAN ARTS LIBRARYsaid one evening after I vented my

16 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

toroaroff. Thenoneafternoon

I wasat mygrandparents’house

andcameacrossanoldcopyof

ShootingTimeswitha piecebyPeter

Moxon.“Thegundogquestionis

oneoftemperament,”wrotethe

acknowledgedexpert,“notonly

ofthedogbutoftheowner.”

Thisgavemea littlehopein

thesensethat,if I couldaltermy

temperamentslightly,Bubblewould

workbetterforme.It waswortha go.

Shoutedandscreamed

Moxon’swordscamebacktomeone

morningwhenBubblewashalfway

througha particularlymournfulsong

ononedriveandI feltfrustration

bubblingupaftermissingtwo

partridgesonthetrot.I mighthave

shoutedandscreamedbutinstead

I quietlytookherasideanddistracted

herwitha half-eatenhamsandwichI

hadinmycoat.It workedtoanextent.

Admittedly,if Bubblehadbeenless

loveableI mighthavefeltdifferently.

Butsheis lovedbysomany— onand

offthefield— that I felt obliged to stick

w it hher.

Readingmoreaboutcockers,

inattemptingtounderstandmy

own, I learned that their popularity

EllenaSwift’s

youngcocker,

Sika,is destined

to be a peg dog