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 recently by a reader. My correspondent added that he had never owned a dog before and that it would be…
Gundogs
Gundogs – In association with Chudleys.
Here’s just about everything you need to know about gundogs. This useful collection of information and advice covers field trial and working tests, gundog training and exercise, gundog health plus help with breeding and buying or selling your gundog.
If you’re looking for a companion in the field, browse through our section on different gundog breeds to help you decide which would suit you best.
History of dogs
You’ll also find interesting reading on the history of different breeds, for example the backgrounds of the Clumber spaniel, Vizsla and the difference between a Parson Russell and a Jack Russell. We’ve also written about the increasingly popular Sprocker.
Or if you have a query about gundog health – which could be something as simple as how often to feed your dog through to wondering whether gundogs get hypothermia, you’ll find the answer in our health section. Dogs frequently eat something they shouldn’t – particular the ever-hungry Labrador – and one of our most frequently read pieces tells you how to make a dog vomit in an emergency.
Finally 0ur panel of veterinary experts have a wealth of experience to help you take the best care of your gundog, whatever the breed and are always available to answer questions.
Why marking – watching the bird – is an essential skill for gundogs
Marking a shot bird is a skill that most gundogs need to develop, though some seem to have a natural ability to know where a retrieve has landed, while others need to be trained. If you plan to shoot over your dog or go picking-up with it, marking is an…
What do dogs see when being trained to retrieve?
A dog’s eyesight is far better than ours, especially where movement and contrast is concerned. It is useful to know and understand how a dog sees colour as we can use this to our advantage in training. How dogs see colour Dogs see colour in a very different way to…
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 Queen owned a dog, competing in cocker trials, that was allegedly a sprocker (English springer and cocker cross). A sprocker…
All about the cocker spaniel
Look around the shooting field today and you’d be correct in thinking that the cocker spaniel and the springer spaniel are two of the most popular gundog breeds. But the spaniel’s heritage stretches back centuries. It is one of the oldest “type of hunting dog” and was originally bred to…
Would a working cocker spaniel be right for you?
Once upon a time everybody had a black Labrador. Then chocolate Labradors arrived on the scene. Now fox red Labs are de rigeur it would seem. Mind you, the dog that you’re likely to see in the field just about everywhere now is a working cocker spaniel. Not so long…
When it’s best for your gundog to wrap up a shoot day early
One of the attractions of shooting is that it takes more than a bit of rain or a coveering of snow to put us off. It is extremely rare for a shoot to be cancelled because of the weather. But looking back on a long shooting carer I can recall…
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 Christmas present. For most of us the acquisition of a working gundog puppy is carefully planned rather than a surprise…
9 gundog health tips that vets wish their owners knew
Gundog health tips 1. Why you should never give your dog ibuprofen Canine under the weather? Never be tempted to give something from the family medicine cabinet. Here’s why and what you should do instead. 2. How to make a dog vomit Scrounging dogs (we’re particularly thinking of the ever-hungry…
What is this ‘limber tail’ my dog is suffering from?
Q: My 19-month-old undocked Hungarian vizsla developed limber tail after attending a working test. The condition came on very quickly and caused him considerable pain. We gave him Metacam and he recovered in about three days. Though he did swim in the working test, it was in relatively warm water.…
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 shoots where there wasn’t a springer to be seen, something that would have been unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago.…
How do I stop my gundog from swapping birds?
Gundog training: My spaniel bitch is doing well in her first season but last Saturday when sent for a retrieve she picked the bird then dropped it on the way back in favour of another. How can I stop her doing this?
Why does my sprocker refuse to retrieve?
I have a two-year-old sprocker that stops and hunts on command, stays very close and is highly attentive - but in the field she refuses to retrieve.
How to buy the right length slip lead for a spaniel
Coming back from a weekend with friends, I discovered that I had left the dogs’ slip leads behind. New ones were needed, anyway, so I went online. I like the natural rope slip leads made by the Devon-based company KJK, so went to the Dog Lead Shop to order my…
Teaching a young dog quartering
Quartering is probably the toughest lesson to teach a young gundog, and one of the most vital. Joe Irving discusses this most rewarding of lessons for the handler
How to keep your dog safe around fast-flowing rivers
Q: I will be picking-up this season on a new shoot, where there is a fast-flowing river. On two drives it can be necessary to put dogs over the river. I know that dogs have drowned in this river in the past, and while my dogs are good swimmers I…
Why you should never give dogs ibuprofen
Stiff legs in the morning Q: I notice that our Labrador, as he gets older, is starting to have difficulty getting up on his legs first thing in the morning. This was especially noticeable after he had been for a long walk the previous day and we are now limiting…
Beating a gundog’s first time anxiety
Here are five tips to lessen gundog anxiety on those first few times in the beating line. 1. Keep close A dog used in the beating line should never be any further than 15m either side of you and about the same in front. It needs to hunt close and tight at all times.…
How do I stop my gundog mouthing game?
I took my 18 month-old Labrador shooting for the first time this season, allowing him to pick no more than two birds on each of the three outings.