A JUMP AHEAD

As usual, David Tomlinson’s column raised a lot of important issues for gundog owners (Jump at the chance, 20 May). Like David, I don’t think it wise to let young dogs jump until they are over 12 months of age, and a wise local trainer advised me to lift puppies and immature dogs in and out of the car until their joints had ‘set’.

His thinking was that the frequent jarring of young dogs’ joints could cause chronic damage that might later have a deleterious effect on their hip and elbow scores, which are all-important if the dog is to be considered for breeding. It’s only my friend’s theory, but it’s one that I have followed religiously ever since because I believe it to be correct.

My dog is only a ‘plodder’ of a picking-up dog but my boyfriend’s friend Allan has a couple of working test novice winners that will both achieve jumps that I would never dream of my dog tackling. One will clear a five-bar gate with ease. But I have also seen him jump a sheep-netting fence of the same height and partially hook a paw in the process, narrowly avoiding an accident that might have caused a fine young dog a horrendous — and possibly even a career-threatening — injury.

As for barbed wire, I absolutely abhor the stuff. Apart from ripping my brandnew Barbour waxed jacket on its first outing, I have seen several dogs nick their pads and ears on long-forgotten strands of wire hidden in hedges.

Another bitch tore her chest, requiring stitches — and a large vet bill — while one of her adult puppies injured his manhood

‘‘The wildlife of today is not ours to dispose of as we please. We have it in trust. We must account for it to those who

come after.’’ King George VI