A gundog is not, as Sam points out, a dog with a gun.This week Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner get into the dogs that make a day in the field possible, from pointers and setters to spaniels, Labradors and the assorted pets that somehow find themselves in a beating line.They look at the different jobs gundogs have been bred to do: finding, flushing, pointing and retrieving game, and why the perfect dog for one job might be completely wrong for another.But this isn’t really about perfectly trained demonstration dogs. Most people have a dog that spends far more time being part of the family than working on a shoot, so how much should we actually expect from them?There are spaniels that won’t retrieve, Labradors that can apparently straighten corkscrews, dogs that know when there’s absolutely nothing in the cover you’re trying to send them into, and the occasional reminder that a badly behaved gundog can ruin a drive remarkably quickly.They also talk about picking up, beating, peg dogs, steadiness, recall, trusting a dog’s nose and the work that goes into building a partnership between dog and handler.And eventually it comes back to the reason most of us have them in the first place. They might be muddy, stubborn, expensive and occasionally embarrassing, but a day in the field is almost always better with a dog.In this episode:What actually makes a gundogThe different jobs of pointers, setters, spaniels and retrieversFindy dogs, flushy dogs and fetchy dogsThe difference between a working dog and a family pet that also worksWhy expectations matter when your dog only shoots a handful of days each yearHPRs and the hunt, point, retrieve combinationCockers and springers in the beating lineLabradors and the art of picking upPeg dogs and what makes a good oneWhy recall and a stop whistle matter so muchSteadiness around game and other dogsWhat makes a useful beating dogWhat makes a good picking-up dogLearning to trust your dog’s noseWorking dogs in water and on wildfowling daysWhy some dogs are simply better suited to certain jobsThe reality of owning a spanielWhy the relationship between dog and handler matters more than perfectionThe memories you build with working dogsWhy a day in the field is nearly always better with a dogUseful links:– Support SideCountry on Patreon– The Game Fair: Dogs and Gundog Events– The Game Fair: Home International Gundog Competitions– Royal Kennel Club: Field Trials and Working Gundogs– Royal Kennel Club: New to Field Trials?– Royal Kennel Club: Gundog Training Days– The Gundog Club: Graded Training SchemePart of the SideCountry Network.DISCLAIMERViews are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
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Oct 14 202637 min