Working your dog in the beating line

Nick Ridley has probably walked thousands of miles in beating lines up and down the country with a spaniel, and has made every mistake in the book in the process... So, how can you prepare for the beating line?

t was just over 40 years ago when I first went beating. At that time I didn’t have a gundog, just a sturdy stick and a willingness to learn. The shoot was, at the time, a well-known big bag shoot and I can clearly remember being amazed at the number of birds held up at the flushing points. I can also remember the keeper’s spaniel rushing in and out of the brambles flushing the more stubborn birds, on reflection I am not sure the dog was “under-control” but he was steady enough and did his job.

A few years later I found myself standing in another beating line, and looking up at me was my springer spaniel, Meg. It was her first season as a gundog and the first

Itime I had worked a dog in the beating line. Since then I have never been without a spaniel and have probably walked hundreds if not thousands of miles in beating lines up and down the country. I have made every mistake in the book, mainly through over-confidence and there have been times I wished the ground would open up and swallow me and my dog. I have been shouted at, got lost a few times in thick woodland, and been scratched to pieces by vicious blackthorn – I've even lost my dog a few times. But, given the choice, I would rather take a day’s beating with my dog than standing at the back of a wood picking-up, you can’t beat the camaraderie or the dog work, especially if you have a spaniel.

Be prepared

The very first mistake some gundog owners make is that as soon as they turn up at the shoot they go through the meet and greet process with their fellow shooting companions, but at the same time they let their dog out of their vehicle and then proceed to totally ignore them. Over the years I have witnessed dogs being run over by moving 4x4s (fortunately none have been killed), I have seen quite vicious dog fights break out and I have even seen a sneaky spaniel disappear into an adjacent piece of woodland and cause mayhem in a release pen. The first rule of thumb is always know where your dog is, if you want to let it out to stretch its legs – either keep