If you were planning to buy a puppy to train as a rough-shooting and beating dog, which would you get, a springer or cocker? It’s a question I was asked…
David Tomlinson
Why dogs love an AGA
Until recently I knew little about the extraordinary cast-iron cooker known as an AGA, but for the past three months I’ve lived in houses with AGA kitchens, so I’m now…
Should there be random DNA tests for cocker spaniels?
You may recall sprockergate, the scandal that shook the cocker trialling world a couple of years ago. What brought the story into the tabloids was the accusation that HM The…
Christmas presents for working dogs
A dog is for life not just for Christmas is a saying that will be familiar to most of us. But I’ve never met a working gundog that was a…
Why you should consider taking on an English springer spaniel
Throughout the 20th century English springer spaniels were the most popular shooting dog in Britain. Whether it remains so today is debatable. In recent years I’ve been on a number of…
The history of the pointer
When someone tells me they own a pointer I always have to ask what sort. Usually it turns out to be a German shorthaired pointer, as this is the most…
Do spaniels smell more than Labradors?
Q: I would like a springer or working cocker spaniel to train as a gundog, but my father is not keen. My grandparents had a show-strain cocker who was a…
Is the Nova Scotia duck-tolling retriever a good gundog?
They’re intelligent, they hunt well and they make superb retrievers. So why aren’t tollers more in demand as working gundogs
What exactly ARE the differences between cocker spaniels and springer spaniels?
Our two most popular breeds of spaniel Cocker spaniel or springer spaniel. Which is better? Choosing between the two breeds has never been more difficult. According to the Kennel Club’s…
The Irish water spaniel
The joker in the spaniel pack. No, not my words, but those of an Irish water spaniel owner and enthusiast, talking about the foibles and idiosyncrasies of his favourite breed.…
How did traditional gundogs fare in Kennel Club registrations in 2018?
Has the dog-buying British public gone barking mad? Last year, as was widely predicted, the French bulldog became Britain’s most popular pedigree breed, ousting the Labrador from the top spot…
Should you vaccinate your dog every year? Is it necessary?
Vaccinating gundogs If you read any of the old dog books, you will be reminded that distemper was once the most feared of canine illnesses. A highly contagious virus, it…
Keeping your dog safe in the snow
Dogs in snow Arguably the biggest problem with working a dog in snow is ice balling in the dog’s pads and, if it is a spaniel, its feathers. Ice balling…
Be careful of the water your dog drinks
Dogs need lots of water. There are records of dogs living for weeks without food, but if they are deprived of water their survival is limited to days. Quite how…
Blowing the whistle on harsh dog handling
Earlier this year, the resignation of the honorary secretary of the Utility Gundog Society (UGS) Kent and East Sussex, Bernadette Restorick, not only caused ructions in the society, but also…
How to stop your dog chasing livestock on a farm
If you are going to work your dog on a shoot, there is one thing of which you can be certain: sooner or later you will encounter livestock. As a…
Stinging nettles are a menace to dogs
Have you any advice on how to protect my gundog's pads when working?
How to stay safe when you’re a picker-up on a shoot
Pickers-up: The job of pickers-up is not an easy one.
Should you clip your dog’s coat for the summer?
I own a working cocker spaniel that is 12 months old. Can you please give me advice on how to look after its coat, as some say you can cut…
What happens when you bring a sprocker puppy home for the first time
It is 12 years since my springer Rowan was a puppy but as she was home-bred she had her mother for company, who not only provides companionship but also discipline.…