Keep up regular training

GUNDOG TRAINING

When I completed my first shooting season with my new cocker, I wasn’t sure whether to let him have a good rest or continue with training to maintain his interest and ability. Now that we are in lockdown, we have had no choice really other than to rest and do a bit of light ‘training’ on our daily walks. Under normal circumstances, what would you advise?

I’m sure he is enjoying some time off and a chance to gain some condition after a strenuous winter’s work. A well-trained gundog shouldn’t lose any of its skills or enthusiasm during the off-season, but it’s good for you both to keep up with some regular training if possible.

Under normal circumstances, I would advise taking some gundog training classes. These are held across the UK, starting in the spring, and many are run by local gundog clubs.

These classes can be addictive to the point that you want to enter a working test in the summer. Such tests are a great way to help you learn more about your dog’s ability and perhaps enable you to put your handling skills to the test in competition.

Gundog scurries are also held widely at country fairs and agricultural shows during the summer months (though it’s doubtful they will be held this year). While they are good fun, it’s important that you don’t allow their entertainment value to undermine the skills you have gained from your training classes.

However, given the current situation, perhaps you could get hold of a catalogue produced by one of the gundog training equipment companies and buy some training dummies and launchers to train with during your daily exercise.

One thing I would advise is to be careful not to let your dog fall into bad habits during the summer. The level of obedience, steadiness and response to commands that you have demanded of him in the shooting field must be maintained.

That doesn’t mean to say that you can’t enjoy some ‘off time’ with your dog, but don’t start letting him get away with things that you wouldn’t normally tolerate when out shooting. When you ask him to do something, he must do it — no matter what the season of the year. JH

Vets rely heavily on what owners can tell them of their pet’s malady in making a diagnosis. In many cases, the owner will tell us they suspect their animal has been poisoned, or otherwise eaten something it shouldn’t have done, and the signs they have seen that it’s unwell.

The owner’s account of what they believe to be wrong with their dog can be enlightening because some poisons do have characteristic signs. This ‘history’, as it’s called, together with the presenting signs that the vet finds on examining the patient, will often indicate the nature of the illness and the possible cause of the poisoning.

In circumstances where there are no particular characteristic signs by which the cause of the poisoning can be recognised, the vet will often treat the dog symptomatically. In this way the signs that demonstrate the dog is ill for some reason (say vomiting and diarrhoea) will help determine what treatment is indicated.

Finally, in cases where poisoning might be a reasonable diagnosis but the specific cause remains unclear, blood samples, stomach contents and so on will sometimes be taken and subjected to a toxicological evaluation. TB

Dummies can be used for gundog training during lockdown