20/08/2024
Sit!
One Man & his Gundogs
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I help you to train your pet Gundog in the basics required of a family pet & a shooting companion
(41)
16/08/2024
I don’t think we’re going to have a problem with retrieving from water … “as long as you come with me, Dad!”
28/07/2024
Super proud of my little Whirlwind following her debut appearance at a gundog demonstration we did yesterday in Dorset.
This was her first time in public, hearing my voice come out of speakers, of crowds. But she was just perfick!
She showed us her “watch me”, sit, stay, off-lead heel work, recall, stop whistle and a couple of puppy retrieves - all off-lead and using placeboards, clicker and treats.
I had feared she might shut down or just run to the audience, but she rose to the occasion, full of confidence and wowed a very appreciative audience.
She was very gentle with all the visitors, including small children, who came to meet her afterwards.
Dad was/is soooo proud!
08/07/2024
It’s taken time, but I think we’re all going to be friends! 😌
01/07/2024
My favourite job of the year.. not! Ragwort pulling. The amount seems to grow each year!
I should invest in a Ragwort puller to save my rickety back. Don’t want to have to resort to spraying.
25/06/2024
All these new experiences……
22/06/2024
Veeka. 11 weeks old.
Proof that having a good scratch is much more important than the silly recall whistle!
17/06/2024
02/06/2024
Day 1. Lesson 1.
“Getting used to a Placeboard”.
Result: ✅
Night 2. Lesson 2.
“Dad does not need a 3 hour serenade to help him sleep”.
Result: Work in progress.
31/05/2024
A spectacular litter of 12 pups from FTCH Arcklebear Caribou. They’re 3 weeks old at the moment.
4 bi***es and 4 dogs left.
Contact Amber for more details and mention my name!
07787 516910
24/05/2024
12/05/2024
I’ve been persuaded to come out of retirement and stage a series of gundog demonstrations at the Tank Museum in Bovington this summer, the first of which will be on 25 May during half term week.
Dogs and human are much older and rusty after 5 years of not performing - and things certainly won’t be the same without Pops, the star of the shows. But I’ll dust off the routines and try once more to both educate and entertain.
Later in the year, I’ll be combining these demos with a talk about my time in East Germany as a Tour Officer with BRIXMIS (Google it!)
And if you’re wondering what the link is between Tanks and Gundogs, let me know when you figure it out!
04/05/2024
Yes, it’s that time of year again - the sun is out and the Spring “digging out” of the dog room and washing all the bedding can begin.
It’s going to take all day to Spring clean everything. The dogs hate it and are always suspicious of the new smells before going back into their crates!
22/03/2024
A dog owner’s dream!
2016 DMax Yukon Vision 2.5 TD
*NO VAT*
12+ months MOT until 19.4.25, no advisories
Only 53,000 miles
1 owner and Isuzu dealer serviced since new
Aeroklas Commercial Canopy
Leather upholstery
Immaculate truck, customised for dog owners.
Fitted with £2.5k of bespoke dog storage cage and drawers, including full length gun drawer.
Camera in canopy allowing constant monitoring of contents from the truck’s entertainment screen.
Fitted with tailgate damper
Yokohama all terrain tyres
Pedders brakes
Described by the MOT technician as “a seriously clean car, inside and out. More like 20,000 miles than 53,000”.
£17,650
Location: near Warminster, Wiltshire.
DM me for more details.
03/03/2024
Telling a dog what NOT to do ….
Improving retrieving accuracy using the “No!” command.
12/02/2024
Moo Moo (aka Daisy) now very much looking and behaving her age….. 😔
Still a beautiful girl .
04/02/2024
I’ve been thinking about cutting right down, potentially even stopping, helping other people to help their dogs. Lost my Mojo a bit and have loved the extra time I can devote to my own dogs.
It’s messages such as this that cause me perhaps to reconsider. It makes it all worthwhile.
“Training is going well! ****** went to the vet today and he even commented on how much his behaviour has changed in such a short space of time.
Mum did some training the other day and on the way back from the park she had to pass a lady on the same side of the road. I have never seen ****** like that, he total ignored the lady. I couldn’t be more proud of them both.
He didn’t bark once on our walk today. Overall he seems so much calmer.
He has come so far. I’m amazed at the results. He’s not perfect….yet.
Thank you so much for giving Mum her confidence back. She walked him for the first time the other day since he pulled her over. I’m so proud of them both.
Thanks again. Keep up the hard work helping other owners.”
26/01/2024
Celery stick vs Mars bar.
All is explained in the audio track accompanying this video 😅
25/01/2024
44 years ago today.
Parade Commander and Sword recipient.
Salamanca Company, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Like yesterday.
4 days later, I was on the tank ranges in Hohne, West Germany, being woken by wild boar eating sliced bread off my sleeping bag. Thanks Alf! But that’s another story…..
20/01/2024
Daisy has just completed her last day picking up on a driven shoot.
Aged 12, after 10 years of picking up, the star of 110 gundog demonstrations country- wide and a bedegezillion retrieves under her belt, this was her last ever retrieve on a driven shoot before she starts her well-earned retirement.
She’ll still come out training and rough shooting, but today was the end of an era. Things will never be the same again.
What a wonderful, sweet-tempered, gentle, kind and fantastic dog she has been.
Time now for her to lie on the sofa in front of the fire and dream about all of her special moments in a glittering career.
Thank you Daisy Moo from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
18/01/2024
I recently posted a video of a young lad heeling an adult male lab with confidence.
I thought I might even up the balance by posting a video of a more mature owner. The “before” video doesn’t look too bad. But this very lively & boisterous 9 month old male lab, Tucker, was on a double lead and nose halter and had recently pulled his owner over causing injury.
Such was the owner’s anxiety at being pulled over again, Tucker now had to be walked by the owner’s daughter.
Seeing someone re-bond and renew confidence in their dog is always a joy to witness!
13/01/2024
For me, rough shooting is the most enjoyable form of shooting. It’s the complete package: hunting a dog, flushing a bird, shooting a bird, retrieving the bird, “crowning out” the bird there and then, taking it home and eating it.
I can’t see the point of paying a fortune to stand while thousands of birds are driven over you, ending up with a bag of 300+ birds and then driving home.
Here is the product of 2 hours of rough shooting in Heytesbury Wood in Area Z on Salisbury Plain.
The 2 girls took it in turns to hunt with the other one at heel (Daisy still recovering from yesterday). Both Tilly and Choo had a flush of a pheasant, a shot was fired at each but I only connected with one hen pheasant 🙈. I crowned it out on the spot, came home and popped it in a food bag with the other bird I shot last week awaiting a slow cooker curry.
For me, this is what gundog work is all about. And the girls loved the excitement too. Perfick.
11/01/2024
If anyone is interested in what I was doing against the Soviets in East Germany in the 1980s (or suffers from insomnia), here’s a link to our story:
https://youtu.be/RsJA-TKOQsY?si=h9K2nijmVzkz-iH4
Sleep tight!
During the Cold War, spies and military observers from both the West and the Soviet bloc operated extensively, with East Germany as a focal point for Western...
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Videos
I don’t think we’re going to have a problem with retrieving from water … “as long as you come with me, Dad!”
Veeka. 11 weeks old. Proof that having a good scratch is much more important than the silly recall whistle!
Veeka week 2
Telling a dog what NOT to do …. Improving retrieving accuracy using the “No!” command.
Celery stick vs Mars bar. All is explained in the audio track accompanying this video 😅
Daisy has just completed her last day picking up on a driven shoot. Aged 12, after 10 years of picking up, the star of 110 gundog demonstrations country- wide and a bedegezillion retrieves under her belt, this was her last ever retrieve on a driven shoot before she starts her well-earned retirement. She’ll still come out training and rough shooting, but today was the end of an era. Things will never be the same again. What a wonderful, sweet-tempered, gentle, kind and fantastic dog she has been. Time now for her to lie on the sofa in front of the fire and dream about all of her special moments in a glittering career. Thank you Daisy Moo from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
I recently posted a video of a young lad heeling an adult male lab with confidence. I thought I might even up the balance by posting a video of a more mature owner. The “before” video doesn’t look too bad. But this very lively & boisterous 9 month old male lab, Tucker, was on a double lead and nose halter and had recently pulled his owner over causing injury. Such was the owner’s anxiety at being pulled over again, Tucker now had to be walked by the owner’s daughter. Seeing someone re-bond and renew confidence in their dog is always a joy to witness!
An 11 year old heeling a headstrong, “pulls like a train”, 28 kg male lab after 10 minutes coaching. Brilliant work! Always lovely to involve children in training. P.S. His mother allowed me to post this video.
With his Mother’s written permission, I post this video of an 11 year old young man teaching an 18 month old, 28kg, male labrador to walk beautifully on the lead. This dog had been described as: “headstrong, pulls on the lead, has an abundant energy and of late, he has been running off during our daily walks which we find frustrating, not to mention, a nuisance to wildlife in the area. We would also like to learn ways in which we can teach him an effective recall” After one lesson, both the adults and children can walk and recall the dog with confidence and without fear of being pulled over. Where possible, I like to involve all members of a family in handling a dog. I find that children, who can inadvertently encourage a dog to engage in undesirable behaviours through unstructured play, are always enthralled to be part of the training process - and make really good trainers! Aside from enthusing and giving the children confidence, by involving all family members we can avoid the “one man one dog” mentality and remind the dog of their status in the pack - below that of all the humans, regardless of age. Brilliant work, young man!!!!
The staples are out, the wound has healed and the vet has passed Choo fit to resume working again. This was her first retrieve in nearly 3 weeks. I chose a 140m blind retrieve of cold game with clingy, long grass and a small pond for her to negotiate. She went ok but has clearly lost some conditioning …… Back to picking up on Saturday. I’ll take it easy with her until she has regained full fitness. Apologies for the wind noise on the video. It’s been really blowy here - loads of trees down on the Plain.
With Choo still recovering from her injuries, it was left to the golden girls to pick up the slack. As the video demonstrates, they don’t need me at all! Done it, been there, got the dog coat! Still trying to work out the significance (if any) of furious tail wagging and none at all 😅
Daisy Moo, at 12 years of age, still has the heart for it, just not the body any more. It now takes longer and she can only do it once before she needs a rest. Bit like her owner ….
I’m normally sceptical about potions for dogs that promise to improve moods etc ………. Tilly has always been an anxious girl. 2 months ago, I agreed to try something from Protexin. Since then, she has been a much happier dog both at home and when out training. Of course, this may be a coincidence and the transformation in her could be down to other factors. All I know is that the change in her has coincided with taking this medication. Here’s a video of her undertaking the longest retrieve she has done. Previously, this would have overfaced her completely. She would have stopped, looked for reassurance or just shut down. But now ……… I’m just so happy that she is now a more contented little girl ❤️
Blind Man’s Buff! A blindfolded Tilly having to rely on my voice to relocate me 😅 Collecting wounded birds is a priority when picking up in order to prevent unnecessary suffering. On most shoots, collecting a wounded bird is the only occasion when you should send your dog whilst a drive is still in progress, providing it’s safe to do so.
Could there be a link between tail wagging (i.e. excitement / happiness) and levels of focus? Only when I watched this video back did I notice a potential link …. The girls, when out picking up & sat nicely waiting for a retrieve, had different rates of tail wagging: Daisy was fast, Choo was slow & Tilly had none. And then, when a bird flew over their heads, I noticed different levels of focus on the bird: Daisy was short duration, Choo was medium & Tilly was long. I just wondered if the 2 behaviours could be linked? Tilly is certainly best at remembering the exact locations of fallen birds. Or perhaps I just need to get out more! 😅
Choo had an off day yesterday, swapping runners like a novice 🙈🙈🙈. Uncharacteristic and embarrassing. But Tilly played a blinder. She was steady, fast and the most observant of all the dogs. Here, she marks a running bird that I had missed. I know when this happens, as she always turns to me as if to say “Dad, I’ve marked a runner, let me go!” I trust her and send her. My trust in her is never misplaced. Now back to reprogramming the little black monster ….. 😅
Tilly on a running partridge, fending off a marauding spaniel !!
When I took Tilly for a session with Graham Slater earlier this year at Hectorkirk Gundogs, he said of her “That dog could pick nits off the moon!” in his inimitable style. I asked his wife, Heather, what he had meant by that. Her reply was “Don’t worry, it’s a compliment“. I still didn’t really understand what had been meant, but now I think I do. The other day, I posted a video of Choo trying to hunt and “hold” an area. I said that she still needed to slow down, get her nose down and really start hunting properly. Today, I set up the same scenario for Tilly, the most anxious of my labs. When I asked her to hunt, the contrast between her and Choo was huge. Tilly takes her time, gets her head right down and hunts thoroughly and methodically. It may not look as flashy but it’s certainly more effective. These 2 videos show the different approaches by Choo and then Tilly. And now I know what “picking nits off the moon” really means!
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