Graham Watkins, Sporting Gun’s gundog guru offers a solution The causes First of all, this is a problem that can be overcome but it needs to be taken slowly and carefully because you don’t want to totally put the dog off entering cover. You haven’t mentioned whether you have a springer or a cocker spaniel and…
Gundogs
Help! My gundog steals others’ birds
Q: I thought I was doing a brilliant job on my woodland shoot where I pick-up. I always seemed to have more birds than all the others after each drive, but I did not realise my dog was pinching most of them off other dogs or stealing from the gamecart…
The rising popularity of the Hungarian wirehaired vizsla
Every season I enjoy a day or two brushing — that’s Norfolk for beating — on a shoot where the gamekeeper, Tracie Rickman, is a Hungarian wire-haired vizsla (HWV) enthusiast. Her dogs are brilliant advertisements for their breed, as they are good-looking, steady and responsive workers. They do, however, create some consternation among new Guns who have never seen them…
Clumber spaniel wins AV field trial
A Clumber spaniel won an any variety field trial last month — the first time this breed has done so in living history and only the second time since field trials began. The victory by three-year-old Midori Diamond Huddlestone (Rigg), in an any variety spaniel novice stake held by the Tyne Tees and Tweed Field Trial Association, against 15…
How to treat paw injuries in the field
A: It can affect a dog but tetanus is relatively uncommon, particularly if a wound bleeds to any extent. There is no equivalent vaccination available for dogs as there is for humans. Treatment for paw injuries Though small wounds are probably best left open to heal naturally and larger wounds may require stitches, when you are out…
Rocked by sprockergate
Earlier this month, I did something I’d never done before: I bought a copy of The Sun. I’d had a tip-off that the paper included a gundog news story, and sure enough, on the cover was the headline Royal exclusive: Queen’s dog in cheat storm — see page 7. I turned to the page to find a picture…
20 things to know about the Korthals Griffon
The Korthals Griffon is known as the Griffon Korthals on the Continent Or the Griffon d’arrêt in France and Quebec It was founded by the Dutch breeder Eduart Karels Korthals in around 1873 He dedicated 20 years to developing and perfecting his “Griffon” It is fully recognised by the Kennel…
A cockerpoo as gundog?
I must admit that I’ve never seriously considered the potential of the cockerpoo (cocker spaniel-poodle cross) as a gundog, but a recent encounter on a Sussex shoot did give me food for thought. Four cockerpoos were in the beating line, and from what I saw they were doing an excellent job, hunting with enthusiasm and no fear of cover.…
A day with bracco Italiano and spinone Italiano gun dogs
The day had been arranged by the Bracco Italiano Club, which had invited its friends in the Spinone Club of Great Britain to come along, Mike Fellows, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) regional chairman for Sussex having provided the ground on the shoot he keepers near Robertsbridge. Mike has worked voluntarily for the NGO for…
Sprocker or cocker? Row rocks Kennel Club
The Sun recently reported that rival competitors have called for DNA tests to prove the breed of field trial champion bitch Mallowdale Diamond, which was given to the Queen as a present by handler Ian Openshaw in January 2013 to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. No evidence that Mallowdale Diamond is a…
Teaching a spaniel to work cover
A: The more naturally you introduce her to working different types of cover, the better. Throwing a dummy into cover can make the process confrontational. If she is caused any pain by the entry, this could seriously affect her progress and her desire to retrieve. Avoid nettles, thistles, gorse and other such prickly covers until she is more experienced.…
There are big differences between Labradors and spaniels …
As the shooting season draws to a close it is time for us to reflect on what has gone well with our gundogs, but more importantly what has gone wrong and will need working on during the spring and summer months. For a few of us the search for a new shooting companion will start in earnest and the…
What ground cover is the hardest for a gundog to work?
A multi-purpose gundog of any breed should be able to deal with anything that is put in front of it. But depending on what part of the country you live in, or whether you travel to work your dog, it may not come across certain types of cover and develop the different styles that are needed to…
Are DNA tests required for breeding gun dogs?
A: The advantage of DNA testing is that not only does it indicate if a dog is affected by an inherited disease but it also determines the likelihood of the dog passing on the disease to its offspring. Consequently it enables owners to make informed choices of suitable dogs to use to avoid breeding clinically affected puppies. For…
What to do if your gundog gets lost on a shoot day
Make sure all the dog’s microchip details are up-to-date on the Petlog website Upgrade to the premium account (£16) and if you have to register your dogs as being lost, Petlog will automatically inform all of their agents such as vets and dog wardens etc. Also, make sure you upload a picture of your dog so it can be…
Should gundogs live in the kitchen or a kennel?
Across the dog-owning fraternity there is one debate that always brings out a strong difference of opinion. Where should the dog(s) live? In the house or in a kennel? And there is usually no fence to sit on. Camps seem pretty divided on the issue and opinions run high as a kite. Google it and you get 11,700,000 results…
Gundogs and scent
Scent is truly an act of God. We have no direct access to it, still less any ability to influence it: and yet nothing is more critical to the way our dogs work and the way we choose to handle them. For we see, time and again, how challenges that are almost effortlessly overcome can, in other circumstances, present…
My dog ignores me out shooting
A: The dog may be trained to a very high standard but it is not mechanical and you, the handler, must form a strong bond with it and be trained how to handle your dog using commands delivered in a way in which the dog is familiar. Dog-to-human communication is not simple and you need to be able…