Henry does it at last

Yes, Henry can now really call himself a working gundog, as since last posting he has been out on not just one, but two shoot days. What a little star he is.

On his first day, he stayed mostly on the lead (which he greatly disliked, being a dog who likes to be in on the action) but was allowed off on a couple of drives in the afternoon. He immediately attached himself to two more experienced dogs and did what they did - not ideal from my point of view, since he wasn't actually with me (!) but he was learning the ropes and doing it well. We can work on the rest - what mattered to me was that he was doing what he was supposed to, and was totally unphased by all the noise, gunshots, other dogs and so on.

On his second day he was off the lead for most of the day. He isn't too great at stopping (he tends to complain - loudly) but he is hugely enthusiastic (common comment - 'He's keen, isn't he!' as I am towed from drive to drive). He also paid a bit more attention to me (well, a little bit more attention): indeed, at one point my friend and I took our dogs (she has a gorgeous 12 month old Springer named Purdey) to work along a hedge and both of them really were fantastic - listening, going where they were directed, coming back on the whistle. If only we had a video to prove it!

The best thing about this shoot is how relaxed and friendly it is. None of the dogs are perfect (Henry was not the worst behaved!) but it really doesn't matter. I think many people can feel intimidated about taking their dogs out (I know I did!) and worried about their dogs misbehaving. Well, of course you should train your dog, and of course different shoots have different standards, but they don't necessarily have to be pod puppies, perfect in every way. If you can find the right shoot, then go for it. I'm so glad I did.

Progress

He CAN do leave it... in the living room anyway!





(Just in case you can't see, it's Henry resisting the temptation of a chicken breast. Sorry it's sideways, I don't know how to fix it!).

Now, all we need are some volunteers to have a picnic so we can see what happens... anyone? Don't all shout at once!

the good, the bad, and the stinky...

All the same dog, of course...

The good:

Was playing fetch with Henry this evening next to the lake, and he dropped the ball into the water. After a while I went to see if I could find it - no sign of it, so told Henry 'find it'. He kept digging and digging at the side of the bank, standing in the water - I thought it was where an old branch was stuck and that the ball was long gone. So eventually gave up and called him away, but he refused to come, digging at the bank - only to pop out with the ball, which must have been somehow wedged under there. Clever puppy!

The bad:

Shortly after that he caught the scent of the cat that lives in a big house, the large garden of which runs down near to the lake, leapt over the big brambly ditch that forms the boundary and ran about on their immaculate lawn on the trail, totally ignoring me. He then leapt back onto the land we're allowed on and vanished into the woods for about a minute before eventually coming back (and looking very sheepish - think he realised he'd crossed the line big time!)

The stinky:

Well he's been swimming in the lake - who do you think the stinky is?

DOGS! Who'd 'ave 'em? Talk about your emotional rollercoaster!

Second post of the evening!

Just decided that now would be the ideal time to get Henry used to gunfire, so searched on Youtube for some driven shoot day vids.

We started with the speakers turned down, and he went to sleep on the sofa (Well it was a boring video - Henry). So prodded him awake, and cranked the volume up to max - still, not a glimmer of a reaction.

So decided to make it interesting with a dummy or two - basically whenever a loud shot went off I chucked a dummy across the room then sent him after it. By the end of the second video, we were using two dummies at once and I was directing him to the appropriate one.

I always said he'd be great if I could hold a shoot in my living room!

A breakthrough!

Henry has a thing about bunnies. He just loves 'em. In particular, he loves chasing the dratted things.

This is less that desirable in a gundog, since they are supposed to be steady to fur (i.e. bunnies), feather (i.e. birds) and livestock (i.e. errrmmm.... livestock). Are you paying attention Henry? Steady! I said STEADY! STOP! GET YOUR HAIRY LITTLE ARSE BACK HERE! And so on.

Today however, with the aid of the Best Treat Ever (roast chicken skin) Henry successfully walked to heel past a rabbit warren, with actual rabbits actually up ahead in actual sight. Wow. Just wow! What a Good Boy.

May these be the first wibbly wobbly steps towards getting a steadier dog (As long as you keep making with the chicken skin, we'll all stay friends - Henry).