Cocker Activities > Working
Hi
ips:
Ha, it sounds great. I have done a couple of boundary days and shooting over your dog (or having it shot over) is imo the very essence of what we all train for. Everything else such as beating is very much an alien man made environment , great fun of course. 😃 The problem i see with beating is that dog never gets an immediate reward for all its hard work, as in a retrieve having marked the shot bird that it flushed, its a sort of working day without a pay packet 😁
Emilyoliver:
Yes, I feel the same. All the training is geared towards rough shooting, yet most of us beat or pick up so there's no complete sequence for the dogs.
On the shoot where mine work, I pick up during a drive or two so he gets at least a few retrieves. And we sweep up after drives too. Luckily it's a small farm syndicate and I'm able to do whatever i choose. Personally i prefer beating to picking up as it's more social and I find it more fun than my dog and I standing around in a field on our own waiting for birds to land... Other bonus is that the shoot has some great beaters'/ keepers' and invitation days that are combined walked up in woodland with a bit of driven. But while i worry about the shoot not replicating the training, I don't actually think my dogs mind what they do - it's all great fun for them. Pip absolutely loves dogging in :D
ips:
Interesting that you mention dogging in. I dog in daily from aug to nov and i love it. I think it replicates a walked up day or rough shoot but without the gun. I take a ball and sometimes a dummy and reward good steadiness with a run in to the ball or a blind or marked retrieve of the dummy. I consider it excellent training if its done right and used to your advantage. I probably prefer dogging in to anything else but i am quite anti social and enjoy my own company 😁
Emilyoliver:
Sounds like me :lol2:. Love rambling around the farm herding birds - just me and Pip. Pip knows all the boundaries so pretty much does it with little interference from me. He's developed a 'sheepdog' style when the birds are out in the open. Stops to let them move on. Never rushes in to chase. Stops, waits for them to move, then moves really slowly - sort of stalking them. He's brilliant and it's beautiful scenery too.
Helen:
Good to hear things are going well!
We're out at a local shoot with Jago most weeks. He's doing brilliantly and works his heart out. I have to say he needs to learn patience between drives and his heel walking is a nightmare when he's excited but once he's properly working he's a joy to watch.
Last week on the second drive through cover crop (you can't see them at all so you just cross your fingers and whistle them close) he just appeared at my feet with a pricked hen from the first drive and delivered it beautifully for me.
On the 3rd drive the keepers springer and cocker couldn't get hold of a cock runner so we sent Jago in and he returned being pecked and clawed by a massive pheasant (who was mortally injured but needed some help). No fear and it's just getting the job done for him :luv:
4th drive was masses of contact flushes but he didn't lose his head as others did, still responded to a stop whistle and had to sit while a dozen birds went up around him.
On the last drive he flushed a hare and sat to stop after taking 2 paces.
So proud of this little one <3
IMG_6714 by helen_noakes, on Flickr
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