Ashleygrove Gundogs

Sunday 5th September 2010

Howard Kirby of Mullenscote Gundogs was here, to Ashleygrove Gundogs, as invited trainer for the day tutoring a pre-shoot training day. He talked to the group of 9 students about shoot etiquette and asked them lots of pertinent questions to bring out their knowledge. His style of teaching is to get the students to ask questions and then throw it back to the group. He teases them with scenario’s that mimic real situations and listens to their solutions. He always validates the answers given and then adds his own slant on the issue raised. He will sometimes also give a practical demonstration of a solution if appropriate. This allows Howard to get a feel for the knowledge the group have so that he is able to stretch them further and not go over old ground in their learning. If during the day the dogs throw up a challenge in the way they are working Howard will address that situation making sure the whole group benefit from the corrective work.

For the morning session we worked the dogs (a mix of retrievers and spaniels) on long white grass where there is lots of scent. They did long (100yard) seens with shots and blinds up a track to guide them. Then we did hunting exercises both individually and as small groups. The last exercise before lunch was to work in a team of 4 to clear an area of fallen birds(dummies) as you would on a shoot day. Howards added a sense of competition at this stage as the students were all very relaxed together. It was clear that these more advanced dogs knew what they were doing but that the handlers were not quick enough to correct the behaviours when they went self employed. Howard explained how fast they must react in order to get the dogs placed exactly where they needed to be to achieve the blind retrieves. When a dog is sent out for a blind it must be handled well to get that bird back fast. Letting them hunt about aimlessly is not efficient or in the interests of an injured bird. You need to learn how to talk with your whistle in your mouth as by the time you have found it and blown the stop your cocker will be in the next county!

Howard also explained that it was not a failing to keep your dog on a lead if it is not steady. Lots of dogs who are used regularly to pick running injured birds will become unsteady and having one on the lead especially for this job is often very useful and keeps your other dogs nice and steady for the directional retrieves. Equally you may be asked to stay behind after the guns have moved off to sweep an area. This requires your dogs to have lots of natural ability to find birds and work away from you. These older experienced dogs may also have trouble staying steady during the shooting so don’t be shy about using your lead. It is worth mentioning that if you are using your dog for dogging in the birds before the season starts he may no longer be interesting in retrieving them and will almost certainly be wary of picking running birds. With experience and solid training a dog can distinguish between a shot, blood scented bird and a healthy one but with a young dog the more they pick runners, the more likely hey are to ‘peg’ live healthy birds. I have often had an apparently fit bird delivered to hand and on releasing it find it dips and falls. The dog’s nose is a powerful tool and I now know that my 6 year old spaniel only brings me birds with shot or blood scent so I trust his judgement and dispatch them.

For the afternoon session we worked on a large grass field with a valley. The dogs had 200yard seen retrieves from the bottom of the valley up the slope and also blinds, up the other side of the valley, with shot. The teams of dogs were working on both exercises concurrently so there was much to distract them. Finally Howard set the same exercises from a more difficult angle from 200 yards. This time 2 teams with judges scoring each retrieve and making an accumulative score. The element of competition again focused the efforts of the handlers and ended the day with some fun and laughter. Howards teaching is always inspirational to me and his high energy levels keep the group motivated really well. Annie Buckley who comes to assist him is also a solid teacher. Her style is quieter and more methodical but she is a wealth of knowledge and complements Howards lively style perfectly. Annie is able to break down what is happening while the dogs are working and explain it very clearly. She gives out lots of information in a gentle easy manner to the students waiting in the gallery, while Howard is working with each dog.

All the dogs had run well and were very tired. The clients were happy with the day and asked for me to have Howard back next season.

Great write-up Avis, it was a good day's training and Sunni and I enjoyed it.  Sunni did some strange and unexpected things (probably down to my poor handling, ha!) but overall I was very pleased with him, especially with the first long blind up the slope of the valley in the afternoon as Sunni missed his turn for the seen retrieve, so he had to go straight for the blind which he did brilliantly.  He also did very well with the first 200 yard blind when we split into teams (which is the furthest distance he's done so far).  I was also very proud of him  for sitting steady and waiting his turn and also during the walk-ups and hunting exercises he did very well, as this was only the 3rd time he's worked in a line and around other dogs.

The advice and tips from Howard and Annie were very informative and helpful, especially to a newcomer like me to the shooting field.

It was great to meet everyone that attended the training and of course their lovely dogs too.  Best of all, what I loved most was seeing all the dogs in action and thorougly enjoying themselves!