The importance of a working gundog

As usual David Tomlinson wrote an interesting but slightly controversial article (The winning formula, 12 January). His comments on how the

IGL Retriever Championship is largely based around a traditional walked-up day’s shooting were interesting, as driven shooting is now the only form of game shooting readily available for many people.

The old-fashioned walk-one, stand-one type of shoots are not as prevalent nowadays, while new-money entrants to the sport seem more interested in standing on a peg dressed like Bertie Wooster and having a sit-down lunch.

Have a look at the team of Shots at the end of the drive and you will see the ones who are really interested in the sport. They will either have a dog to work or will be watching the pickers-up and pointing out the fall of wounded birds — and not talking to their PA on a mobile phone.

It’s true that the walkedup method is not so popular these days but for field trials it still gets to show the best of the dogs’ traditional abilities, especially steadiness in the line and marking fallen game.

I’m sorry to say that David’s view that trialling is one of least defensible branches of shooting is quite ludicrous. He of all people should be aware that ethical live-quarry shooting cannot exist without a gundog to retrieve wounded game. That fact is both a cornerstone of shooting’s code of conduct and field trialling — the birds shot during a trial would otherwise be shot on a normal shoot day.

Also, I can’t see the championship being the blue riband event it is without being based around a live quarry, though

I know many working test competitors who only work their dogs on dummies and have no interest in fieldsports. My friend, a keen working test participant, went to spectate on the second day of the

IGL and said he enjoyed the Ampton event.

His only complaint was that, despite the warm welcome, he had cold feet all day.

William Robb, by email

David Tomlinson responds:

I agree that game shooting cannot exist, at least in a justifiable manner, without gundogs finding and retrieving shot birds. However, I did raise the point that it is difficult to defend competitions (trials) in which live game is shot purely to test dogs. There’s no reason why we wouldn’t continue to have top-quality gundogs even

if trialling stopped tomorrow.