Professional trainers and field-trial competitors have been hard hit, with the loss of the various national championships and only a few trials fitted in during periods when lockdown was lifted. Fortunately, they know how to be inventive and adaptable with their training programmes. One successful trials man used to train his dog on a local trading estate, using the lanes between the units to get his dog’s outruns ramrod straight. Another Welsh-based trainer regularly recruited seagulls on the beach to improve his dog’s steadiness. So most of the professionals see solutions where we normal dog-owners lose the plot. Leading spaniel trainer Ian Openshaw has always maintained that, in any case, the typical driven shoot ruins a dog’s steadiness, discipline and precision. So maybe we are better off being forced to do something a bit different.
This story is from the March 2021 edition of The Field.
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This story is from the March 2021 edition of The Field.
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