Had a go at picking up....

[ips]

....and it was considerably harder than i imagined. Beaters day, keeper asked if i fancy picking up when my team is beating, yep says i that would be great, it wasnt. We were picking just behind the guns during the drive in order to speed things up, this will be a doddle i reckon as she likes to retrieve...it wasnt. She was swapping birds as birds were falling around her, she had lost her head in a big way. This picking up mallarkey is much much harder than i thought up till today she has only retrieved birds i have shot this was a whole new thing. I now have great respect for picker ups and the training that goes into it, i have no idea how you train for picking whilst numerous birds are falling around the dog ? Massive respect to anyone who picks up
PS
I dont want to go there again as i reckon its a great way to feck up a beating dog. I only hope it hasnt fecked mine up

[trekmoor]

I used to ruin my dogs picking up on Saturdays then spend most Sundays re-training the buggers ! Serves you right for being so close to the guns. Only iggerant newbies who want to show off or folk with dud dogs stand close behind the guns.

You can go picking up and still keep a dog at field trial standards of work.... I did it for donkeys years but it does take more thought than just going beating or rough shooting or decoying.

Wullie

[Naj]

Yeah, bad decision about standing close to the guns but it might not have been Ips to make. Much easier when you’re working in cover farther back and you don’t have birds raining down on your dog. Or when you have several dogs with you so you can shelter the inexperienced ones and gently introduce them to greater temptation. But even then it’s a bit of a lottery because you can’t always see what your dog is doing and they can quite easily start swapping without your knowledge until it ‘suddenly crops up’, seemingly out of nowhere, on ground where you can see it happening. I rarely train for stuff like this these days and if I were to shoot another bird while my dog was returning with a retrieve or it had to pass dead birds lying on the ground I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it swapped. Picking up is a separate discipline and one that needs a bit more specialist training, just as any other.

Naj

[ips]

It wasnt my decision to pick em there it was a case of getting through six drives Very quickly.
Wullie, its something i havent done before, i was just having a go

[PRH]

Well done for having a crack at it IPS, it isn’t for everyone and being asked to be close to the guns is a real challenge. It’s always good to get an insight to a different activity though. Nice one.

[ips]

Well done for having a crack at it IPS, it isn’t for everyone and being asked to be close to the guns is a real challenge. It’s always good to get an insight to a different activity though. Nice one.

Exactly that PRH opportunity arose to have a go so i did. Have to say though that i wouldn't personally make a carreer out of it as i much prefer the beating line

[PRH]

I took my old black lab beating years ago and to begin with it was a bit hectic, but she soon settled into a rhythm. She always worked close, which was a pain when picking up as she wouldn't go back far enough sometimes, but it suited when beating. She was also quite thorough and made an effort to work the little tumps etc. I enjoyed the odd day I did, but not as much as picking up. The main thing was when beating I was unable to see the guns or the birds flying, which felt like missing out.

[ips]

I took my old black lab beating years ago and to begin with it was a bit hectic, but she soon settled into a rhythm. She always worked close, which was a pain when picking up as she wouldn't go back far enough sometimes, but it suited when beating. She was also quite thorough and made an effort to work the little tumps etc. I enjoyed the odd day I did, but not as much as picking up. The main thing was when beating I was unable to see the guns or the birds flying, which felt like missing out.

Its a good job we all enjoy different aspects of the day or the day would not happen

[PRH]

I took my old black lab beating years ago and to begin with it was a bit hectic, but she soon settled into a rhythm. She always worked close, which was a pain when picking up as she wouldn't go back far enough sometimes, but it suited when beating. She was also quite thorough and made an effort to work the little tumps etc. I enjoyed the odd day I did, but not as much as picking up. The main thing was when beating I was unable to see the guns or the birds flying, which felt like missing out.

Its a good job we all enjoy different aspects of the day or the day would not happen

Very true IPS!

[Judy]

I once took the Boss's Husband picking up when we were desperately short, he didn't do a bad job and we gave him the easy spots but at the end of the day he said "never again, I hadn't realised just how much hard work it is!" Always amusing to take a beater out of the line, it tends to shut them up when they've been banging on about how hard beating is compared to picking up.