Better late than never

It takes years to train a gundog but seconds to ruin one, so use the weeks before your first day to iron out any issues, urges Ellena Swift

- Ellena Swift

It has been a long time coming, but the season is officially upon us. I, like many others, will be keeping everything crossed that it can go ahead uninterrupted, with no more lockdowns. My dogs are going to be rusty, to say the least. It has been ages since they were consistently working on live game, having had a limited season last year, and I know plenty of other people for whom this is the case. Because of this, there is a danger that many handlers are going to be so relieved to be out that they will initially not be too concerned about what their dog is doing. It is easy to think “let’s just get out and deal with the problems after”, but the time to try to iron out any issues is now, before you set foot on your first drive of the year.

For most of us, especially if pheasants are your thing, there is still a month or so before the season really starts in earnest. So, while you may not be able to resolve serious issues fully, you can certainly sharpen up any problem areas and plan how you will manage and improve them as the season progresses rather than watching things get steadily worse.

The common problems can vary massively depending on your dog’s role in the shooting field. If you and your dog intend to be in the beating line, invariably hunting tightly and responding to recall and the stop whistle are the biggest challenges. In the early season in particular, there tends to be a lot of game on the ground and this can prove a bit of a temptation for a fresh dog. The easiest way to prevent this problem is to get out and train on game. Not all will have this opportunity, but most gamekeepers will appreciate some help walking and dogging birds back in.