Working Cocker Spaniels

Gundog training at home

foxy — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:57:32 +0000

If you have the time then it is extremely rewarding to personally undertake gundog training, rather than employ a professional trainer. But you need to know what level you want to achieve before you start.

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By Jonathon Ritson

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Gundog training: It’s possible to conduct gundog training at home even with no prior experience.

Gundog training: Having started game shooting five years ago I have spent the intervening seasons as a gun in my local syndicate. I had enjoyed some great days in the field but never ceased to wonder at the skill and energy of the various working dogs and their handlers, be they picking-up, beating or on the peg. I began to feel something was missing.

As a result of an enforced absence from work, I knew I would have the time to devote to nurturing and gundog training a young puppy, so decided to take the plunge. I had never owned a dog before, let alone a working dog, so this was a big decision and was going to be an even bigger challenge.

The first consideration was ‘which breed’? There were a number of considerations to take into account here too; where was the dog to be housed – outside in a kennel or in the house? What were the various temperaments of the working breeds (I have two young children) and what about the size of the dog?
After much consideration, I opted for a cocker spaniel. The dog would be housed indoors because the cost of a decent kennel was a bit prohibitive, and the fun-loving and energetic nature of the breed suited my family circumstances. Not being a particularly big dog I could easily pop it in the back of my Defender with all the rest of the gear.

Picking a puppy for gundog training

I was fortunate to have a good friend, who was also our shoot captain, who had two cocker bitches that had come from breeder and trainer Will Clulee. I contacted Will’s kennels and although he could not help he put me in touch with another local breeder and I went to see a litter of eight-week-old pups and spent some time watching them playing around their basket.

A consideration had to be given as to whether I had a bitch or a dog. Bitches are generally of a more even temperament and thus easier trained, whereas dogs tend to be more headstrong. Bitches fall into season and it is important to keep them away from other dogs during these periods. In the end, my mind was made up for me as there was one little dog who was clearly the character of the bunch and I opted to take him after meeting the mother and father and examining the pedigree.

Both parents were working as picking-up dogs on another local shoot and the pedigree showed many field trial champions and winners. The dog’s grandfather was FTCh Argyll Warrior so I knew the little chap had a great potential. All of the pups had been legally docked, dew clawed and micro-chipped as well as being registered with the Kennel Club.

A risky name

The dog was to be cage-trained and was to be allowed in the kitchen and utility room only. ‘McQueen’ (Ed. It might be asking for trouble naming your cocker spaniel after the star of The Great Escape!) settled in to his new surroundings and made friends with the rest of the family with ease. The first task was to house train him and get him used to his name so that he came when called. Again this proved an easy task. He soon learnt that when he was let out in the morning, that was the time to go about his business and I can recall only two ‘incidents’ in the house.

It was very important to build a strong bond with the pup by showing him lots of affection, constantly talking to him and getting him used to looking at me. He soon learnt that when I called him this meant it was time for a stroke or small treat and, by a very young age, he would come every time when called and sit at my feet. I always insisted on him adopting a “sit” before engaging in any stroking or giving of treats and again he soon learnt that this was the posture to adopt when I called him. I subsequently slowly built in to this routine a whistle noise, and then a dog whistle, making sure the dog came to me and sat at my feet each time.

Constructive play

One point that is worth considering is what you actually want to achieve from gundog training. Do you want to trial your dog or, as in my case do you want a relatively competent, obedient dog that will retrieve birds effectively and not misbehave unduly on shoot days?

Throughout this time we were engaged in constructive play, retrieving tennis balls and finding things I had hidden in the garden after giving him a scent. All of the time I was slowly building commands into these activities so that he would associate “get on” with retrieving and “bring him here” with returning to me with his quarry.

“Sit” and “stay” were a little more challenging as cockers are such busy little dogs that they want to be active all the time and slowing them down, let alone stopping them, can be nigh on impossible on occasions. Patience is the key here and will ultimately be rewarded. Getting him to stay where I left him took some considerable patience. It was important to immediately take him back to where I had left him and repeat the exercise every time he erred and he eventually got it.

From dummies to the shooting field

By now it was time to start some dummy work, teaching him to sit and wait for the command to retrieve before diving after the fallen dummy and getting it straight back to hand each time. Again, patience is the key but it was very rewarding to observe the progress. By this stage I had mastered all of the basic commands, so it was easier to get him to understand what was required by using those commands in the process.

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By Bob Preston

Tuesday, 06 March 2012

Picking-up: A few wise words from a picking-up expert.

Of all the elements that make up a driven game shoot, perhaps the one that is least understood, and is even at times maligned, is the role of the picker-up. Picking up is a specialised job that requires quite a lot from its practitioners to do properly. It requires self-motivation, teamwork, initiative, concentration, observation and the ability to prioritise. A famous angler from the 1950s once wrote, ‘Observation plus thought equals fish’. I think that applies equally to picking-up. ‘Observation plus thought equals game retrieved.’

A good knowledge of the ground being shot is vital. This includes the layout of the drives and their relation to each other, the position of the gun line, the direction the majority of the birds fly, the odd corners where the crafty ones leak out and the spots the wounded birds make for year-on-year. This knowledge comes with experience accumulated over several seasons on a given shoot, but the lack of such knowledge should not deter the newcomer, provided they are willing to look and learn.

Make sure you are prepared

The most important tool in a picker-up’s box is his dog. Number and breed of dogs is a matter of personal choice and circumstances. Obviously having more than one dog will enable you to cover more ground, but it is a common mistake on the part of shoot managers and some keepers to equate numbers of dogs with quality of picking-up. This is not always the case. What is very important is that the dog(s) should be quiet while the drive is in progress. They must be obedient and responsive to whistle and hand signal. They must not fight or be aggressive to other dogs and they must retrieve smartly and deliver neatly. A good picking-up dog needs little direction from his handler, as it will have learned to think for itself. They must be able to deal with all the game they are likely to encounter on any particular shoot, whether pheasant, partridge, grouse, woodcock or duck.

Number and breed of dog are personal choices, but what is important when picking-up is that your dog is up to the task.

Other equipment a picker-up will require is a means of despatching wounded birds. This can be a priest, one of the humane despatchers, or a good walking stick. Do not kill birds by holding them by the neck and swinging them round and round. This is little short of barbaric and moreover looks appalling to anyone watching. A mobile phone is useful for keeping in touch with your fellow pickers-up. Some means of carrying collected game is essential. There are commercial game carriers available or strings can be collected from the game cart if there is one. Finally, water for your dogs. They will drink quite a lot on shoot days, even if the weather is cool, and I never like to see them drink from puddles or water troughs as you can’t be certain what they may contain.

Location, location, location

Where to stand for a drive is a perennial puzzle and will vary from drive to drive, shoot to shoot and keeper to keeper. My view is that you should stand as far back as possible, bearing in mind other drives which may be done on the day and the general lie of the land. A view of the gun line, or at least that part of it which is your particular responsibility is desirable. This is not always possible, especially in woodland, and this is where that local knowledge earns its keep.

While the drive is in progress watch the birds as they go over the gun line if you can, and look to see where downed birds fall. Look especially for wounded birds and those that don’t look ‘right’ in the air. Experience again will get you looking and seeing those birds. Do not forget that partridges can fly on some distance before suddenly falling dead, sometimes as much as half a mile from the gun line. Pheasants too have been known to fly on some way before falling dead. If these are not seen they are lost, with all the economic consequences that entails. This is one very good reason for not standing too close to the gun line. In many cases the further back you are the more you will see.

Mind your manners

Don’t pick-up during the drive if it can be avoided. Dead birds around the gun pegs are just that – dead. They aren’t going anywhere and should be collected by the guns some of whom may have dogs which they wish to work. If a bird hits the ground and gets up, watch it carefully. It may just stagger a few feet and then quietly expire in which case it is no problem, but it might run. Wounded birds mostly run in the direction they were flying before they got into all that trouble, and if that happens to be towards you then let it keep on coming. Watch to see if your dog has seen it and if he has make sure he is absolutely locked onto it. Let the bird come in as close as you can before letting the dog go. That way the bird can be picked with little fuss and without interfering with the drive.

When the drive is over the general principle is to work forwards to the gun line. If you are standing far enough back this will give those guns who have a dog with them time to get a retrieve or two before they have to move off to the next drive. This general principle will depend on a number of factors. What sort of ground are the guns on? Is it open drill, plough or cover crop a foot or more in height? Are they in woodland or on open grass? These factors will determine a picker-up’s course of action on any given drive.

Your dog must be able to deal with any type of game which is likely to be encountered on a shoot.

If the guns are on open ground I would be inclined to leave them to it, while I first go in search of the wounded birds that may have gone down a hedgerow or a small copse they always make for. Once that is done a look along the gun line to make sure nothing has been missed is all that would be required.
If, on the other hand, the guns are standing in a cover crop or a field of rape for example, then the work would be done in reverse. Wounded birds, even hard hit ones, can cover a surprising amount of ground if they are in cover crops, so it is important to get this area swept up first. Work as a team if possible with two or three pickers-up systematically sweeping the area rather than wandering randomly about. When you are sure you have covered the area thoroughly, turn your attention to wounded birds which have flown on to a hedgerow or other parts of the shoot they tend to make for.

Pheasants are creatures of habit

The birds back here, of course, are the more lightly wounded, and in many cases are still capable of running or flying. Nevertheless, efforts must be made to find them. One factor that may assist in some cases is the knowledge that wounded birds do not like to cross open ground. So, while they may run through a wood, when they get to the far edge of it they will stop and take cover. Similarly with rides and tracks.

Pheasants, in particular, seem to fly to the same areas year on year, so it is worth identifying them as that will save a lot of fruitless searching. They are often flown towards “home”, i.e. a release pen. Always check before entering a pen as some keepers do not want pickers-up in them, and in truth it is sometimes wiser not to if there are large numbers of unshot birds in there, which the enthusiastic dogs can pin against the wire and catch. However, wounded birds will frequently over fly the pen and then creep back to it so a hunt along the cover at the rear of the pen is frequently rewarded.

Finally, the dogs are only as good as their handler. If you get them into the right areas they will do well. If not, it matters little how much red there is in the pedigree.

For more gundog training advice click here

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/shootingukcouk/feeds/gundogs/~3/o3caYMF3a_8/The_ultimate_guide_to_good_pickingup.html

What is the best kind of gundog transport?

foxy — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:19:47 +0000

Gundogs Training

Judging field trials: Amid growing concern over the consistency of jud… Read more

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The golden rules of picking-up

foxy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:05:04 +0000

Looking for advice that will improve your dog’s picking-up? Bill Meldrum, former gundog trainer to HM The Queen, has all the answers.

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By Bill Meldrum

Friday, 27 January 2012

Picking-up: Former gundog trainer to HM The Queen shares his picking-up rules.

It’s 61 years since I first went picking-up as a gamekeeper with a brilliant game-finding bitch. One day I was hunting rabbits with her, the next picking-up on shoots. I learned a lot from her. Picking-up should be a team effort but it’s best if one person is in charge. These days I only pick-up on one shoot where there are six of us: we get our orders from the keeper in the morning and then the picker-up in charge tells us our positions for each drive. We work in pairs and keep well back from the guns during the drive; then two of us sweep up where the guns have stood. It seems to work well and we all enjoy our day.

Shoot memories

In my late 20s I worked for a boss who had his own personal loader and picker-up. We travelled the UK, from northern Scotland to southern England, and the only days during the season when he did not shoot were when travelling from one far-flung estate to the next. I had to keep at least 22 dogs trained and would bring on at up to five young dogs during summer to replace those retiring.

In my experience, some shoots are well organised, while at others it’s each man for himself. Some pickers-up at estates I visited with my boss were resentful of my being there, while others made me hugely welcome. As the years went by and we visited these estates every year, I soon found my way around and made many friends.

At one Kent estate, a husband and wife picking-up team stayed close to the gun line, retrieving birds as they fell. They would put what they had picked up in their Land Rover instead of handing them to the game cart. At lunchtime they would wait until the host and his guns arrived (the game larder was next to the lunch hut) and then start unloading about 100 birds, making sure everyone saw them. The other two pickers-up – good, honest men – said the same thing happened every time and the estate owner thought they were great pickers-up. On the way home, my boss said what fine pickers-up they were. I put him right. A few years later a new headkeeper arrived: he told his boss what they did and they were never seen on that shoot again.

Remember, dogs are there to find birds that you can’t pick up by hand.

Always tell the truth

At another shoot there were 10 pickers-up. I was loading this time and thought the picking-up was plain bad. During one memorable day, the gentleman for whom I was loading had a dog and asked the pickers-up to leave a bird or two for him. Two of his birds fell injured into a rhododendron bush 200 yards away, so he invited a picker-up to look for them; the picker-up in question never even tried but told the gun he’d found them.

Another day I was loading for a chap who turned out to be a poor shot. On the first three drives he killed one bird. An energetic picker-up asked whether the gun had any birds to pick up. The gun said he had hit three lightly and they’d fallen into a wood 200 yards away but it wasn’t worthwhile going to look for them (the truth was they were not hit). However, the picker-up was so eager that he said he’d look for them. When he set off, the gun said he felt awful for sending him off on a wild goose chase. On the next drive, the picker-up came past and said: “Sir, I picked your birds out of the wood.”

Another gun I recall would say he’d downed 17, so you’d pick up 17 and then he’d say he still had one here, or one there. We soon learned to steer clear of him because he would keep you hunting round his butt all day!

Bill Meldrum’s golden rules for picking-up

Someone should write a rulebook for pickers-up. There are quite a few systems but for me the golden rules are teamwork and to never tell lies because you are soon found out. Another bad fault is picking-up in the gun line during the drive and immediately after it. Most guns like to pick up their own birds even if they don’t have a dog with them. Remember that dogs are there to find birds you can’t pick-up by hand.

In addition to those, listed here are the rules that I learnt from an old headkeeper when picking-up in my early days. It’s worth noting that in my experience, 95 per cent of pickers-up do a good job.

1. Don’t go into the gun line unless you see a gun without a dog looking for birds, and then leave at least two of your team behind.

2. Try to get as far back from the gun line as you can – around 300 metres is a safe distance.

3. Remember that as a picker-up you’re there to do a job; the guns are there to enjoy themselves.

4. If you leave a drive for an hour or two and then return, you will often be surprised by the number of birds you pick up, especially grouse and partridge.

For more gundog training advice click here

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/shootingukcouk/feeds/gundogs/~3/KigrK-fdgRs/The_golden_rules_of_pickingup.html

How do you bring on a part-trained gundog?

foxy — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:11:49 +0000

Gundogs Training

I was recently pulled up by a professional trainer for giving my gundo… Read more

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