looking for experince picking up

[fuffy1]

hi, im 23 and from dorset, and am really wanting to get in to picking up on shoots! but with no luck, i have just moved to a new area and dont know one as such i have written to, rung and approached several gamekeepers, all ending with the same responce, a normaly polite, ''we dont need any one else thank you''! im allways reading write ups about trying to get the younger generation in to country sports, yet experience has told me otherwise. i did a little picking up with my older dog where i used to live and did get invited picking up on a small syndicate shoots, most of the birds were runners and of no use to me with my young dog. im not asking to be paid, or to replace reg picker ups, just the oppertunity to go along, watch and pick up a few bird with my young dog. i belive she may have great potential. if anyone can help out,, maybe a keeper, or someone that picks up and i could acompany them on a few days, it would be greatly appreciated.

many thanks

stephanie

[JonnyR]

Hi. I appreciate your frustration but you may want to start off by offering to do a bit of beating first. That way you will tend to find out a bit more about the local shoots. Any gamekeeper is likely to be wary of anyone with a young dog, especially if they don't know you either, even more so if all you are trying to do is really train the dog. If the shoot is commercially run the last thing any keeper wants is a loose dog piling into the next drive and spoiling it.

 

One thing I did was to approach my local keeper out of season and ask him to help with training my dog. OK, so I had to pay for it but now I am friends with the keeper and the dog gets the benefit of his 30 years of experience plus use of the lake, rabbit pen and all the other training facilities which are so vital to training your dog really well.

 

Hope this helps,

[Raja Clavata]

May I suggest you remove your number from the original post as it's against forum rules (and intended to protect you). It's best to ask people to PM you.

 

Afraid I can't help unless you ever get over to Essex.

 

BR

Raja

[MM]

ive two kids here if you want to let them trash your house for the day. that will give you plenty of experince picking up.

[kent]

Get yourself and your dog known first, either via the beating route or even as a gun with own dog i doubt any keeper will have you any other way. Also consider joining up with far smaller outfits even a shooter who might have lost his /her dog or unable to keep one through circumstances if your just looking for experiance picking up aint a good place tp start but i am assuming too much perhaps? Remember though so will the keepers

[Gun & Dog]

You should try contacting your local area representative on the below:

 

www.nobs.org.uk

 

Membership is only £5 per year

[butcherboy]

http://pubs.myfunforum.org/index.php

 

Free website. Try contacting them

[mikee]

why not join a gun dog training club, should be able to get a few contacts

 

http://www.christchurchgundogclub.co.uk/

 

http://www.crofter.com/wotsit/organisation...setspaniel.html

 

good luck

[partridge60]

Difficult to get any picking up without being known first- and have a team rather than one dog - having said that i have found picking up came after beating regularly on a shoot I found through www.pubs.myfunforum.org. Most shoots prefer to select pickers up from a proven team player and they must have steady dogs. Nothing worse than a wayward dog running through the gun line- and it distracts the guns too, not only that but it attracts the ire of a stressed keeper or shoot captain!