As part of the WFRDP we were fortunate enough to run a live shoot day at North Wheatley courtesy of Helen Fox.
A hardy band of handlers started the day with light drizzle in the air, which fortunately cleared as the day went on.
All dogs sat the first drive, where plenty of birds were presented over the guns, which was a credit to the keeper Paul.
The guns shot well and there were plenty of birds on the ground for us to work with.
The guns moved onto the next drive and we were fortunate enough to have time to pick the game in an orderly manor. But more importantly we had a chance as a group to work on improving the dogs.
As traditional we caught up with the guns and had 11’s, some of us needed more Prosecco than others!
We sat the next two drives, which were a bit quieter but gave me a chance to talk more on strategies to improve the dog’s steadiness and about how we put pressure on our dogs without realising. Each dog then picked running along a hedge line, all did really well.
We finished the day sitting another drive with the dogs picking out of a hedge; what made this retrieve more challenging was the dogs had to run through an old fall. Caroline Hewisons dog doing a lovely job of picking a partridge that had rolled into the water and drifted downstream.
As you would expect the dogs were not just physically tired but also mentally tired by this stage….. sitting doing nothing other than watching birds shot and fall, then picking, is the challenge we all face with our dogs.
All the dogs showed really good potential to go further in the shooting field, but more importantly we had chance to work this wonderful breed.
Andy Sweeney.
