springer

[mal mason]

HI GUYS, just wondering if any one can help me, i have trained a couple of dogs in my time and both been quite good gun dogs and did everything i asked of them when in asked you know different tones of the whistle and hand commands or signals if you want, but since i havent been using shot gun and went to rifle after i lost my black lab to old age, i didnt really need the gun dog.

But after a while i got my self a harris hawk and have now been flying them for several yrs through the winter time when im not shooting and ended up very successful, so one day while i was out my harris hawk seen a springer spaniel working away in the distence as she did she took off and flew to the dog and started following the dog to my and the dog owners amaizment, i stayed around for a while with the owner of the dog and because he was a very well trained springer they both worked well for around an hour or so, anyway we became good friends and myself my bird and the two new friends had many good days of hunting that yr and had many real good kills working with dog and hawk.

So getting to my problem, i decided to get my self a springer pup and work it with two hawks i had the hawks took well to it and the dog was training up well and from an early age took to the whistle and was running around popping up pheasant and rabbit from every field and we had some great hunting, untill the dog needed to go into thick cover ie.. bramble gorse or the like he just wont go in so as much as we went back to the training ball throwing it in the bramble and ended up retrieving it myself, in open field he works very well and obays every whistle command and every hand signal, but just wont flush out of hard cover.

He also has a problem with water he will jump streams but if there too wide he will run around for 1000 yrds before he will swim, i have tried him with the dummy and the balls but i have lost many cos he wont swim, the dog is fantastic in all other aspects of flushing but just wont go to thick cover or water? can any one help me please any advise would be tried without delay, he is now 18 months old i know he is still young and still learning but any advise would be great as im not an expert just love the dog and want him to do well, regards mal

[helenthomas]

Hi Mal, with regard to the water - if he is a keen retriever, have you another dog, (like your new mate) that can go into some water with him? That is how all of mine have got into the water, by following another keen water dog. Or failing that - you in the water. Have done that too and also works well. Helen.