How time flies!The Bestest Gundog in all the World turned 2 years old on Friday. What a lot we've learned together since his first birthday. To think that this time last year we were worrying about teaching him not to chase rabbits and now, with his first shooting season behind him, he's proved himself an excellent gundog with not the slightest intention of chasing fur under any circumstances! (Well, OK, occasionally just for 5 yards or so out of bravado - or to show the rabbit that he could if he wanted to!). Instead of spending the next few months teaching him everything from scratch (like last year), we can concentrate on stretching him and developing his ability and confidence 
for his second season without losing the much-admired control......
for his second season without losing the much-admired control......The plan includes taking part in some Gundog Working Test competitions. Which may prove more difficult than just the competition itself..... first we have to find a club which holds Spaniel tests. This excludes our local club who only hold Labrador Retriever tests (although I have been invited to 'help' at their Field Trials - which are the Real & Serious Tests which take place during the shooting season - in order to learn first hand what's involved). One of the reasons our part of the county is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is because we have hills and woodland and hedgerows - ie. quite a lot of rough ground and thick cover. The rest of the county is mostly flat and devoid of any meaningful 'cover' : though highly regarded for grow
ing vegetables, corn and flowers it is better suited to Labrador Retrievers than bramble bashing Spaniels. Hence, there are not enough bbS's to warrant holding Spaniel Tests. We therefore need to join a club further afield. Initial conversations indicate that we could be excluded from one or more of these since we do not know anyone in the clubs to 'propose' or 'second' our joining! Not an insurmountable problem if my dog "is as steady" as I say he is! Oops; probably should not have sung his praises! Membership is, therefore, an ongoing project. All part of the larger Taking Part in Field Trials project....
ing vegetables, corn and flowers it is better suited to Labrador Retrievers than bramble bashing Spaniels. Hence, there are not enough bbS's to warrant holding Spaniel Tests. We therefore need to join a club further afield. Initial conversations indicate that we could be excluded from one or more of these since we do not know anyone in the clubs to 'propose' or 'second' our joining! Not an insurmountable problem if my dog "is as steady" as I say he is! Oops; probably should not have sung his praises! Membership is, therefore, an ongoing project. All part of the larger Taking Part in Field Trials project....Which Gunner is blissfully unaware of!
And as he is now quite grown up there were no toys for this Birthday - instead a long walk/hunt across some strange territory full of wonderful smells with the chance to flush out a few birds and rabbits..... which he enjoyed far more. Not as good as the real thing, but the nearest we can get out of season...... and all part of working towards those Tests......
No comments:
Post a Comment