Time to hit refresh
Fran Ardley goes over some old ground as a refresher for the new season to ensure your spaniel’s hunting technique is up to scratch
Some aspects of gundog training need constant tweaking, especially as we head towards the shooting season, and one in particular will almost definitely need attention.
There is a saying that “the gundog at the beginning of the shooting season isn’t the one you have at the end of the season.” That is certainly true in terms of a spaniel’s hunting pattern. If you do your groundwork properly your spaniel should be hunting nice and tight to you, working with the wind and steady to any flushes. Granted, after four or five months of beating or being shot over things start to slip and we tend to become lax over the control of our dogs and as a result they quickly learn to take full advantage. I have said this before but make no apologies for repeating myself, as a trainer I am never afraid to go back to the basics and remind the dog of what is required. In this vein and towards the end of the summer I start all my spaniels on a rehabilitation course – a gundog boot camp, if you like.
Pattern
A spaniel’s hunting pattern is something that is often discussed among gundog trainers and although there are various interpretations the common factor is that the dog must hunt efficiently. Now, whether that is in what has become commonly known as a ‘windscreen wiper’ pattern or a more open pattern, the dog needs to be working within the killing range of a shotgun, which is around 25–30m; wider and any flushed game would be out of range by the time the gun is mounted and fired.
If a dog is to be worked on rabbits, it is fair to say that the spaniel will need an even tighter pattern to ensure it doesn’t miss any close sitting game. On the other hand, a dog hunting pheasants must be discouraged in pulling on the foot scent of birds running forward.
In your early training you will have hopefully conditioned your spaniel to be hunting in an area around your feet, but it will soon pull out once it gets a few flushes and some scent under its nose. It is not easy to be constantly vigilant when working your dog in the beating line to ensure it stays nice and close and is working a decent pattern, so this will inevitably have to be readdressed at some point during the off season. These exercises can also be used when establishing a sound hunting pattern in a young dog as well as getting an older dog back on track.
How
Ideally you want to practise this exercise on an area of rough grass with minimal scent to concentrate the dog’s work in a relatively tight area. You will also need a fur or a tennis ball to create interest for the dog and for the small amount of scent it will generate.
“The dog must hunt efficiently, whatever the pattern”
Now you see it …
If you train with a helper, you can hide the dog’s eyes and get them to pick up the rabbit ball, but if you train on your own you have to be inventive. If you are on your own, a clever trick is to grab a handful of grass and throw it out to one side and at the same time pick up the ball with your other hand. The grass will draw the dog’s eye away from the hand that is picking up the ball.