AVB Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Is there anything more satisfying than training your own Gundog? My cocker, Benson, is now 2 (tomorrow is his birthday) and this will be his first full season. He did come out with me last year twice but mainly watched. I have resorted to getting professional help, more for me than the dog, and that is proving to be very valuable. I know that Benson will never be 100% perfect, as he is a pet first, but I am confident he will be good enough. Somebody posted the other day about the problem with their wife/girlfriend walking the dog and potentially ruining him. My wife walks Benson and he takes the **** with her. Runs in, doesn't drop etc. with me he is as good as gold. He just knows when he is working and when he is playing. Great fun all round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Fab isn't it, just the best thing ever. Sounds like youve done a cracking job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farma Geddon Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 The running in bit will change when you take him shooting I'm afraid. If he does it with your wife , he most likely will do it with you once he has a go on game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Have a good season, get ready to start training all over again for a "battle" environment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 My second dog has just turned 2 and this will be her first season on our syndicate shoot. The first few shoot days I will be leaving the gun in the landy in the mornings so I can concentrate on working her and the afternoon with my other dog I will take the gun. Thats the plan but I expect as with most things to do with animals it will change but I am flexible even if I don't shoot at all and beat more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted September 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 The running in bit will change when you take him shooting I'm afraid. If he does it with your wife , he most likely will do it with you once he has a go on game. Maybe, maybe not. So far he is steady when he has flushed the odd pheasant during training. He is steady to shots, and has picked cold game to shot. It could all go pear shaped but that's the danger of having a pet and a Gundog. If he fails the basics of being a Gundog then he will become just a pet. Disappointing but not the end of the world. I plan the same for my first few days this season. Dog only in morning, gun only (with dog watching) in the afternoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farma Geddon Posted September 11, 2015 Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 I don't think the dog will fail , I just think that you will have to go steady for the first season because it is very easy for a spaniel to become extremely hard work and because he has already run in with your wife and ignored the whistle , I can guarantee it will happen in the field. It just means a lot of work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted September 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 I don't think the dog will fail , I just think that you will have to go steady for the first season because it is very easy for a spaniel to become extremely hard work and because he has already run in with your wife and ignored the whistle , I can guarantee it will happen in the field. It just means a lot of work for you. Ah you see my wife doesn't use a whistle so it's not that he has ignored it. This was deliberate so not to confuse him (or her!). My trainer seems quite relaxed with the approach. I will take it easy for the first few days out in the field anyway. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cockerman59 Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 (edited) If taking him out this season, and I know it's difficult, try taking him out on small days first and then progress to bigger days, if in beating line, have you had him hunting will your using, carrying a flag Edited September 15, 2015 by Cockerman59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 I think a lot depends on a lot as regards two owner gundog for want of a better expression. I don't give much care about how my kids and wife mess with the current dog and this works for me and this dog others have and will be different Don't expect to do lots with a two year old build slowly and retire it early rather than give it too much on any day. Prepare for fault fixing more than showing off your dog or risk much They are all different but don't try it out and see how fast you can go but run the engine gentle for the first few thousand and you will get more miles in years to come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted October 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Yesterday went as well as expected. Benson was very wound up in the morning so I got my son to hold him and watch for the first few drives. I had the opportunity to work him in a large field of rape looking for a bird that I don't think was ever there! He covered the ground well and was quite focused. In the afternoon I let him have a couple of retrieves from the peg and he was fine. Then he had to look for a bird in a lot of thick ferns. He was quite nervous of this as he couldn't see me and kept coming back for reassurance. On the final drive he retrieved four including two runners. I realised his response to the 'back' command wasn't good enough. We had a lesson this morning and my instructor pointed out that it was my fault as my hand signal was clear enough. So something else to work on. Overall I was quite happy with his performance although not perfect by any means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted November 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 So after day 2 it's official. Having a dog ruins your shooting. I now stand at the peg hoping for the drive to finish so I can get on and work him. Yes i am paying a lot of money to stand and wait for it to be over. I also realise now what pain guns are who say "there is a cock bird (or hen) down over there (with vague waving of hand). It was stone cold dead (I think)". After he had picked my birds on the last drive of the day on Saturday I went into the adjoining field of rape to be faced with just that scenario. Anyway he worked his legs off up and down this field and eventually picked two. One runner and one dead. Both of us were chuffed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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