Tawhaki Gundogs

Gundogs Training

Am I wasting my time training my new gun dog?… Read more

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Gundogs Training

I?m in two minds about sending my 13-month-old labrador to a prof… Read more

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Gundogs Training

Have I got my gun dog training priorities wrong?… Read more

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Gundogs Training

One of my three gundogs is very possessive and is so eager to please t… Read more

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Only you can ascertain whether or not the gun dog is going to a good home.

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By Jeremy Hunt

Thursday, 10 March 2011

Find good homes for gun dog pups: I want to make sure I find good homes for gun dog pups from my lab.

Find good homes for gun dog pups: Over the past few months friends of mine have been asking if they can have a pup from my labrador bitch if she ever has a litter.

I have relented and plan to mate her this spring.

I’ve never bred a litter of pups before and am willing to give the pups to my friends for free.

Could this approach undermine how they value the pups? And is there a way to ensure that I find good homes for the other gun dog puppies?

Jeremy Hunt says: It’s a generous gesture to give pups away to friends, but it’s a tough call to say whether or not it’s the right thing to do.

A lot depends on how well you know them and how committed they are to taking on a gun dog for life.

You must take it upon yourself to ascertain their commitment.

I don’t expect any of your friends will have anticipated you would be giving them a pup for free, so even if you have a truly genuine group of friends who each want one of these pups, I still think you could make a nominal charge; either to help cover the cost of the stud fee or the rearing costs. You could always donate the contribution to a charity.

Everyone values something more if it’s had to be paid for.

There can often be times when puppy buyers see the pretty pup change into a leggy and destructive or boisterous teenager, and begin to regret buying it.

A free pup may, and I stress may, be more likely to end up back with you when the going gets tough for the new owner. Only you can make that assessment.

You are right to ask about how to make sure the rest of the litter find good homes.

Your vet may allow you to place an advert for the pups in their surgery; you could also try magazine or online advertising.

Don’t under-price the pups as a way of trying to sell them more quickly.

To find good homes for gun dog puppies is no easy task.

Selling pups can be a tricky business; you only have a few weeks of optimum appeal for the pet market – pups from 10 weeks old start to lose their puppy appeal and if you are relying on some going to pet homes it’s the “ooh-aah” look that often clinches a sale.

Make sure you start advertising pups well ahead of their anticipated eight-week departure age so you can have them ordered in advance by their new owners.

Labrador pups are selling for upwards of £450 depending on your location and how well bred the pups are. Regional labrador clubs – as well as the Labrador Club itself – have puppy registers for owners with litters to sell.

Be careful about how much information you give over the telephone.

Some potential buyers may not be all they seem.

The more desperate you appear to be to sell the pups, the greater chance you may end up being approached by a dealer prepared to take the remaining pups off your hands.

Start generating interest in the litter from week one to avoid a mad panic when the pups get to seven weeks old and you still have none ordered.

And if you have used a well-known stud gun dog, make sure the owner knows about the litter.

Selling pups isn’t always easy for a first-time breeder in a market that produces well over 40,000 labrador pups a year, so get things moving early and you will hopefully have enough buyers to be able to secure the best homes.

Do not give any away to strangers under any circumstances.

For more gun dog breeding advice click here

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Judging standards at spaniel trials have come under increasing scrutiny.

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By Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Judging field trials: Amid growing concern over the consistency of judging field trials Jeremy Hunt wonders if it’s time for a new structure?

Judging field trials: When it comes to entering any sort of competition where the outcome is dependent on the opinion of one or more judges, you can guarantee the end result will never meet with universal approval.

There will always be those who whinge because success has eluded them or because they feel they’ve been the victim of biased or unfair treatment by those judging field trials.

But the row over judging standards at spaniel trials appears to be more about fixing than mere unfairness.

If it’s justified there’s nothing wrong with feeling a bit disgruntled over a judge’s decision at a working test or a trial.

It’s human nature and I would imagine most of us have been there at some stage.

Getting over what we may perceive as being badly done by, and not allowing it to dampen our determination to succeed in the future, is what fires our enthusiasm to go back for more and is the essence of healthy competition.

But the spate of accusations which have been levelled at the judging standards operating at spaniel field trials has sparked heated debate.

Not only about the validity of those accusations but also about how such contentious issues should be addressed by the Kennel Club (KC) – the governing body of all gundog field trials.

The question now being asked is: “Should the KC relinquish responsibility for field trials altogether, and allow a new entity to run the organisation of field trials in the UK?”

Silence from the Kennel Club
When the first suggestions of trial fixing appeared in the pages of the shooting press in late summer they could easily have been dubbed as merely sour grapes.

Several comments made to me at the outset inferred they were no more than the moanings of a few bad losers with an axe to grind.

But the first salvo against spaniel judging standards triggered a steady flow of similar accounts.

It soon became clear there was a case to answer.

What has been most surprising is the total lack of any official response – in the broadest terms – from the KC.

Are we to believe those who thought they were blowing the whistle on a corrupted system have done little more than vent their annoyance and over-exaggerate the situation?

Or does the icy silence from the KC’s London headquarters suggest something more sinister really has been going on and the KC is once again adopting its well-tried stance on public relations of: “If you keep quiet for long enough the problem will go away”?

The lack of any official statement certainly sends a very confused message to genuine field trial competitors who enjoy their sport – and stirs even greater concerns among newcomers who’d like to feel the governing body is at least prepared to investigate allegations of corruption.

The KC has an important role to play in the world of dogs, but has the time now come for it to acknowledge it is losing the iron grip it has always felt it had on everything which happens on the UK canine scene?

Death by red tape
Those who simply enjoy their shooting and whose involvement with gundogs is purely an adjunct to their sport would be amazed at the vast volume of regulation the KC invokes across every aspect of the dog world.

Anyone who picks up a copy of the monthly edition of Kennel Gazette magazine will quickly realise just how much work it undertakes.

But have its almost frenzied attempts to impose total control over the entire world of dogs in the UK simply created a bureaucratic monster?

Judging standards at spaniel trials have come under increasing scrutiny.

The running of its registration department – which registers over 250,000 dogs in the UK each year – is but a tiny fraction of its self-imposed mandate which also includes the licensing of thousands of dog shows, dog activity events, judging seminars as well as organising Crufts and major events like Discover Dogs.

So, for an organisation which regulates every canine activity from fly ball competitions to dog agility – and even holds seminars on sports coaching for agility handlers – is it now time to withdraw from some of the more specialised canine sports and hand over the running of field trails to a new organisation?

Presumably any such proposal made in the past would have been immediately shot-down on the basis that the KC’s imperious approach to regulation could never be equalled and standards would be undermined as a consequence of change.

But here we are in a situation which has brought precisely that issue into question.

Not only are allegations of trial fixing worrying, but it is even more so that the KC, as the sport’s ruling body, has seen fit not to make any statement to alleviate further speculation.

Spaniel trial problems
As more allegations have emerged, with seemingly no attempt to counter their credibility, it must now be time to open up a constructive debate on the future of field trials in the UK.

We live in changing times and things which have been written in stone for generations can no longer remain sacrosanct.

If, as has been suggested in the shooting press, the problem of blatant favouritism at spaniel trials, poor standards of judging and an unhealthy collusion between certain senior judges and field trial secretaries has been underway for some considerable time, it seems remarkable the KC and it’s field trial committee has not addressed these matters.

Would it be so harmful to the sport if the running of field trials was handed over to another organisation? I doubt it very much, but achieving this may prove extremely difficult unless there is an opportunity for debate and discussion.

The KC can be a very officious organisation and in many areas of the canine world it rules with a rod of iron.

So why is it such an important issue affecting spaniel trials has been allowed to fester for so long at a time when it has become even more assiduous in imposing layer upon layer of regulation throughout the entire world of dog activities over which it rules?

Finding a fair alternative
Prizing the organising of field trials away from the KC is never going to be easy, but if there are alternatives which can provide an effective, fair and workable regulatory body, we should be talking about them.

Perhaps BASC would like to throw its hat into the ring and make some worthwhile suggestions.

Or is there enough determination and commitment to see the sport create its own organisation to run field trials?

These are big questions, especially when we all seem to have less and less spare time to devote to new commitments – not to mention the cost involved if a breakaway were to happen.

All very hypothetical you may say.

But if nothing else comes from the disclosure of long-term judging discrepancies, it has at least given the world of field trials the opportunity to demand an explanation from the KC and to calI for a fresh approach to the sport which must inspire transparency and fairness for the benefit of all.

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Gundogs Training

My young lab is such a challenge to train…. Read more

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Gundogs Training

My spaniel has started to turn on other dogs on shoot day…. Read more

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Breeding gun dogs is not something the breeder should take lightly.

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By Mark Whitehouse

Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Breeding gun dogs: I would like to starting breeding gun dogs from my bitches. What are the basics?

Breeding gun dogs: This would be my first litter, so I’m not sure of the next move forward.

What signs should I look for that tell me that my bitches are in season?

At what stage do I take her to a stud dog, and how do I compare the pedigree to get the right match?

Mark Whitehouse says: Do your homework with the pedigrees first before breeding gun dogs.

Do not leave this until the last minute because if you contact the owner of a stud dog, especially a field trial champion, it could already be booked out and you will miss out.

Oestrus is the mating period of female animals prior to ovulation, and when oestrus occurs animals are said to be in ‘heat’ or in ‘season’.

Dogs generally have their first oestrus at six to 12 months of age and then in six monthly cycles thereafter.

The most common sign of this cycle beginning is the appearance of vaginal bleeding.

This will last for seven to 10 days, followed by increased swelling of the vulva.

At this time your bitch will be at her peak time for mating, between 11 and 13 days from the first signs of bleeding, and this will be the best time to take her to be mated.

When taking a litter of puppies for the first time, do all your homework and make all the necessary preparations up front.

Comparing pedigrees can be confusing, so ask for some advice from a registered breeder if you are unsure.

Ensure the whelping area is properly prepared with a whelping box and if necessary a heat lamp for cold evenings to take the chill away from the newborn puppies.

Working spaniel puppies should be booked in with the vet for their tails to be docked at two days old.

If you have a large litter make sure all the puppies are getting plenty of feed time.

If you cannot, you should try supplementing them – this will help their progress in the first few weeks and take some of the stress away from the
mother.

For more gundog breeding advice click here

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Gundogs Training

My two-year-old spaniel bitch gets very excited when the guns start to… Read more

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