"The proof of the pudding... "

The Bestestgundog waiting for the drive to start..

So - the decision was made: Bugler would start his working life on Wednesday 12 November at Baumber shoot. But "How?" was the question. It was not an easy decision to make. Seven years of setting off to bushbeat with Gunner was not a habit to be broken easily.  He knows from the moment I get up on a shoot day that we are going; watches me make the pack-up (his too) and follows me when I put everything we need in 'the bag' then shadows me whilst I do the jobs that need doing before we leave - leaps into the car as soon as I open the door and settles down peacefully to wait till we 'get there' - when he permits himself a little squeak of anticipation.
As ever, the Big Boss came up with a solution. "If you don't want to upset Gunner and you only want to test Bugler out on a few drives, why not take Gunner for the morning, bring him home at lunch-time and feed him and then take Bugler for the afternoon?"  So sensible. After all, Gunner is used to staying indoors while I exercise the Understudies and perhaps he would accept that a short day's work was nothing out-of-the-ordinary - especially if lunch was served!
Well; the trick worked. Whilst Gunner was preoccupied with his chicken dinner I fetched Bugler and off we went! It was later reported that he slept all afternoon............

Bugler waiting for the first drive on his first 'day'

The shoot I'd chosen for Bugler to start on is a 'small', well run, compact affair with ideal 'cover' and terrain to allow the dog to be seen at all times (assuming he stays on his 'beat' that is!!!). From the moment his feet touched the ground Bugler sensed something different from his normal training run was going on.  For a start, there were other people walking with us. That's never happened before.  He looked at them as if asking why they were there! Trembling with excitement he nonetheless remained totally on command and whistle when the drive was on: OK - he did stretch the distance on  his quartering but only due to the speed he was travelling! He flushed a rabbit and stood back in amazement - giving me time to 'turn' him with the whistle. He flushed the first bird without noticing it was due to his efforts that the pheasant flew out of the cover. Another flush a few moments later and I could almost hear the penny clang! His nose - and his paws - went into overdrive and I had to concentrate really hard on his every move to contain his enthusiasm for the rest of the drive. He climbed back in the beater's wagon with only half the hesitation he showed first time in and settled down spending the journey inquisitively glancing at his fellow travellers.
The next two drives passed in a flash; he didn't put a paw wrong. He's never heard gunshot before and the surprise made him instantly sit down and look at me! I could have kissed him! Such a natural. When I cracked my flag he immediately came to my side and looked at me - another natural reaction. I could not have trained that into him!
Since he was born I'd hoped that the 'son of Gunner' would be a chip off the old block - and last Wednesday afternoon he proved that he is - with bells on!!!!!

"Are we off again?"

"The young dog done good" our 'beat captain' said at the end of the afternoon.
Compliment indeed.
All those hours of training and the sleepless hours of wondering if he'd come good melted away.
Son of a Gunner proved worth the wait......
I drove home quietly elated. The boy slept all the way!

Waiting in the wings.....

Gunner's just over a month into his 7th bushbeating season and enjoying every minute of it. However, the effort he puts in takes a greater toll on his limbs than either of us wants to admit. The past 5 weeks have provided a relatively gentle lead-in. From now on though the 'work days' come thick and fast; some weeks we have 5 days booked. I'm not entirely sure that the human side of the team can cope with that (!)but I'm certain it would be too much for the 'faithful friend'. He would obviously disagree..... Being a typical spaniel, he would work all day every day regardless of aches and pains.......

But we have a remedy: waiting in the wings are the Understudies.

 Understudy #1, Jaunty (AKA "The Norty") was picked for the job over two years ago. I did a lot of research into finding "the right pup": Talked to a number of 'experts' about what to look for: Found a litter: Made three visits and still agonised over the final selection. He's well named: Jaunty by name and by nature - an irresistably lovable dog. But is he ever going to be a trustworthy working companion? He's intelligent, quick to learn, hugely enthusiastic - and a real trial to train. He's tested my patience and my resolution every step of the way. Fortunately, a bushbeating colleague told me the tale of how one of his best dogs was 2 years old before the penny dropped. I've carried that in my mind throughout Jaunty's education! Now he's turned two and the Norty is the "Not-so-Norty" and I'm entertaining the notion that he could be a very good Picking-up dog. He is tireless, resilient, boundlessly energetic and beautiful to watch. His occasional hunger to see what the rest of the world has to offer suggests that bush-beating would not be his metier!  However, he's still very much a play-dog and approaches life as a wonderful game so I think it will be next Season before he joins 'team Gunner' in the Field!

Understudy #2 is Gunner's boy Bugler. If ever a dog was bred for the job this one was. I had always hoped that Gunner's offspring would carry his good traits and this chap certainly does that in buckets. What he has uniquely though is a built in turbo which charges all those traits. Gunner was happy to learn; Bugler is a sponge. Gunner is steady: Bugler is steady-on-speed; Gunner hunts with enthusiasm; Bugler hunts as if his life depends on it. In contrast to Jaunty, Bugler has been a pleasure to train. He's absorbed and remembered every lesson - his main drawback has been having a handler who doesn't think quite as quickly as he does!

So the decision has been made. The #2 will supercede the #1 and join his dad at work this season. Interestingly he's the same age his dad was when he first started work! The plan is that he will work the alternate days when Gunner is booked for a string of consecutive dates. It's not quite so straightforward because he needs to start on small, well contained shoots. He's such a livewire that he could easily pop his cork and go wrong - wasting all the training. 

His first day will be Wednesday 12 November. It's a shoot that Rory-the-Trainer attends so it it all goes belly-up I'll have someone to hold my hand!

We'll see how we get on and take it from there.