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.

I seem to have a real gundog

Well, almost.... Henry and I are just back from our first shoot!

Sorry no pics, this was not exactly planned and I didn't have my camera with me...

So, this morning I drove up to my parents' house in Leicestershire, and when we arrived I took Henry to Bosworth Battlefield for a walk. We saw this group walking towards the path towards us, I thought they were ramblers so put Henry on the lead... but it turned out they were a load of beaters and guns about to start a drive. Got chatting to a nice man (Mike) with a cocker called Charlie, and he asked if I'd like to tag along for the last couple of drives! So Henry and I have been beating this afternoon!

Hen was quite good, he did whine a bit, but just through excitement. I kept him on the lead, and we ended up stood quite close to a gun, but he was ok. At the end of the last drive I let him off, he was off in a flash to meet all the other dogs and thoroughly investigated the pheasants (and tried quite hard to pinch a squirrel someone had shot). In fact he ended up in the game wagon.... I am taking this as a sign he wants to go again. He liked it so much that as we walked away and I let him go, he turned round and tried to get into the game wagon again - the shame! But someone caught him and so all was well!

We can't have been too much of a hindrance as we were invited along again - although sadly they shoot during the week and are 100-odd miles away from me, or I would definitely go. Everyone was really welcoming and even though Hen was not on his best behaviour no one seemed to mind.

So I am just sitting while my dog walking coat goes around in the wash - it looked a bit mucky after all that climbing through the woods... All that worry about being properly dressed, and I end up wandering around in a bright green puffa jacket...

I don't suppose they will see this, but a big thank you to Mike, David the shoot owner (who looked a bit non-plussed to have gained a beater halfway through the day, but didn't seem to mind!) and all the other lovely people who I spoke to!

Can't stop grinning!

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).

Introducing feather

We just did it. I was a bit worried he might eat it, but so far, so good...




The feathers here are the wing of a pheasant I found out walking today - most likely a fox kill. At first there was the leg of an old pair of tights covering the wing, but he did so well we soon took that off and moved on to the big dog stuff.

Good boy Henry!

Eeeek!

I think we may have found a good shoot for Henry to start out on. Oh. My. God. I hope my friend warns them what they are letting themselves in for!

On another note, I think two hares on one little lunchtime walk is a little unnecessary, don't you? There's just No Need.

I think we'd better go and do some training...!

Why gundog training?

Well, why not?

But seriously - because I have a gundog, and I had a serious problem. Henry had a nasty case of SOD, with which all dog owners are familiar - Sudden Onset Deafness. Basically, his nose ruled his ears and everything else - the lure of sniffing and hunting bunnies was stronger than anything a mere human being could muster. To make things worse, the fitter and leaner he got, the more stamina he had, and the worse his behaviour got, to the point that a year after taking him on I was starting to contemplate a future where he could never be let off lead again. For such a bright and active dog, this would be nothing short of cruelty. (Damn straight - Henry).

Gundog training offered a way to channel these instincts, allowing us to work together instead of against one another.


Pardon the silly hat. It was really quite chilly. Oh, and I said there was a lot less of him these days, didn't I? (Never mind that, I want my reward for bringing the dummy back - Henry).






I hope that we will go to our first shoot in the new year, although we both have a lot to learn before them!