Can anyone recommend a book about working gundogs which would be suitable for a complete numpty with no experience whatsoever of working gundogs? I want to know how a shoot is organised and what the jobs are of all the different dogs; for example, what to pointing dogs point at? Surely not live game? Wouldn't that mean that the person with the gun would just shoot the bird on the ground? Or do they point at birds after they have been shot? So the birds can be retrieved. But then what does a retriever do? Aaaaagggg! See what I mean? To a complete beginner it seems very complicated. Help!
Have you looked here:? http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/fieldtrials This will give you an overview of gundogs, the sub groups and their roles on a shoot.
I have read that, but it's not very specific. I can't find an answer to "what do pointing dogs point at?" It really just says how field trials are organised. I know what beaters do on a grouse moor (though that iformation is second hand from a friends son who spent a season beating. It seems to involve a lot of alcohol afterwards!) That's about the extent of my knowledge :-( I came across Gundog Training Made Easy by Eric Begbie and The Pet Gundog: A Common Sense Approach to Dog Training by Les Graham which I thought might be good, but they are very expensive and one of them is quite old fashioned; talking about "heirarchy" and "pack behaviour" (which, if the book was otherwise good, I could just about ignore)
Thank you! That's a brilliant site. Explains all. I may pluck up the courage to ask a shooting friend if I can accompany her on her next shoot.
Eric Begbie explains the stages a dog goes through in their training, with regard to its age but stresses all dogs are different and times will vary. Does not explain how to train these steps. Pet Gundog is as it says bringing up a working dog in a household environment. More of a training book. Both of these are more oriented to the Spaniel type gundog. Quartering ground, sit to flush, mark and good retrieve. Nothing about pointer setter sighthound type of dogs
An experienced dog will point only at live game that is right in front of it. They should not point residual scent, pricked birds (those shot but still alive) or dead birds. A dog that has had enough scent and game under it's nose knows the different scents that are left by the above situations and how to act accordingly. Once a dog is on point it should flush on command, then at least stop once the quarry has broke cover for the gun to shoot it. It should not move again until told to, whether that be to retrieve, recall or hunt on. Hope that answers some of your questions.
Many thanks for the replys. Certainly explains things much better (I originally thought that perhaps HPRs pointed at dead game Jet and Copper, I have PM'd you.
