Gundog Training Forum

The ones which are silver but also absorbent - you pour water on them - are very effective. They work in the same way as a wine cooler - evaporative cooling, as well as reflecting the sun rather than absorbing it. I used one in Greece on my black flatcoat - the only way he could cope with the heat. ...

I disagree! :oops: You can shape a gundog's desire to perform but what SP and others are saying is you can't make a dog which has no drive perform as well as a dog which has built in desire. If you could you would be able to take a show Spaniel and win Field a trials with it, that's unlikely to hap...

I do some work with the stuff that Susan Garrett teaches (agility based). She talks about different types of drive: prey drive, food drive, tug drive, drive to work etc. Some drive may be instinctual (prey drive in a gundog. herding drive in a collie).. some.. like tugging on a toy (used a lot in ag...

Ah ha! Just put two and two together... That was You and Merlin! He did look a tad excited! I was there with Bliss, in a different group. We chatted at the Barbie and at lunchtime. Nice to meet you! Bliss was rather fixated by the water too, but managed to hold it together in the main. Straight wate...

Naj I very much appreciate you taking time to write all this out.. seems like an excellent plan of action. We've been doing long memories and then long blinds to the same place, ditto long marks and blinds (when I have someone to throw), and some short blinds in the opposite direction to a mark. But...

I'm glad you have asked this question, because I'm at the same stage with my flatcoat :) She is getting the idea of blinds, but wouldn't yet do your three card trick, Naj. Its as if she believes she knows better. On a single blind without distractions she is starting to get the idea that if she stop...

As I have a sailmaking sewing machine and some spare canvas, I'm going to have a go at making some .. just wondered what to fill them with to get the weight. What are the commercial ones filled with? I'm reluctant to dismember one of the ones I've got to find out.

Ah..much sympathy! My flatcoat pup (yearling) has a great recall virtually everywhere other than outside my front door. She will recall from 100s of yards out in the field, but when we get home, the thought of coming indoors is not appealing, and she just stands there and looks at me. She won't run ...

I have now spoken to the Chairman of the Worcester gundog soc, who lost two of the dogs. Apparently whilst the initial cases (5 dogs: 3 died) were in Worcestershire, vets are now reporting similar isolated cases in Herefordshire and Sussex. He and the vets don't think its location specific. The init...

Arghhh...very worrying.. I was out beating last weds near pershore ( on my training course). If there is any more specific information on where the affected dogs had been beating, I would be most grateful for the info.. Meanwhile , I will phone the vets when they open... Gulp...