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