What they grow up with

[ips]

As I say this one never stops, gets on your nerves actually.

There you go, it is very annoying and it disturbs game. Barking at strangers who appear unannounced and uninvited at home is acceptable to me and may just stop them getting nicked!!

Yep, that's how I see it nick

[Naj]

Back in the 70s I went for a look-see at an HPR working test and a couple of Munsterlanders were penalised for being noisy (when hunting, I think). Their handlers were very annoyed and claimed that in Germany it was recognised as a breed characteristic. We in the U.K. do seem to be hyper sensitive about noise, a bit surprising when you hear trainers saying that every dog has a squeak in them. It’s a long time since I was in the gallery at a spaniel field trial but I did once attend regularly and most of the dogs waiting their turn were noisy. I was talking to Erlandson once and his springer was having a right old singsong. I’ve had a cocker that whined quietly while waiting for duck to flight but she was mute when hunting and it didn’t affect the quality of her work. And a GSP that was frustrated by inactivity. You can get used to it. I suspect a lot of the problem is sheer embarrassment or the fear that your dogs will ‘catch’ it from another. But I’m not of the opinion that even a dog that yaps on game has much to do with scaring it off. When you consider the whistling, gunfire and general hullabaloo of even a modest shooting day a few yaps ain’t going to make much of a difference.

Naj

[nanalander]

Maybe it is a breed characteristic in certain lines? I have a talking one, but then he talks to everyone all the time, and not just when hunting. My others have been fairly quiet, same lines.

I often have to introduce people to the Large Munsterlander, and one lady repeated back to me ' oh a Large Mudslider'
She wasn't wrong , they can often change from black and white to brown all over, given their love of mud wallowing.

[Nickheref]

I’ve had a cocker that whined quietly while waiting for duck to flight but she was mute when hunting and it didn’t affect the quality of her work. And a GSP that was frustrated by inactivity.

Naj

I occasionally shoot with a lab who whines when waiting to go, the only springer I have had who had a small whine was heavily trial bred but this didn't progress and she became completely mute when out. However, here is my problem, both my spaniel and my friends labs are/were not the keenest hardest going hunting machines of gundogs and so I do not think it is due to frustration at having to wait to get stuck in, more lack of focus on the job in hand and bored with sitting still. The dogs who are really wanting to go and get on with it in my experience have all been completely silent and focused so they do not risk any chance of missing the signal to go and eyes glued hoping to get a 0.5 second head-start in case my hand was signalling GO before I spoke, not looking around getting up, sitting down or walking around in a circle and whingeing or whining which is what I see in most of the whiners I see out.

[munstyman]

Back in the 70s I went for a look-see at an HPR working test and a couple of Munsterlanders were penalised for being noisy (when hunting, I think). Their handlers were very annoyed and claimed that in Germany it was recognised as a breed characteristic.

Don't you just love people who can read something and then interpret it to cover their short comings There are specific situations where giving tongue is tolerated or even encouraged, If you hunt in cover behind a long range dog or track you can appreciate those circumstances Yapping whilst hunting or on a retrieve or whilst waiting is not the same thing
In a test or Trial, you have to ( are suppose to ) Judge the dog against the rules in the first instance, as a group in the UK, the HPRs are lumped in together, so certain breed characteristics are not always taken into account. In the matter of giving tongue the rules are clear Personally, I think we have got it right ...especially given that `interpretation' element I mentioned at the beginning In the field I appreciate a dog that tries to communicate in the most appropriate manner so long as it is limited to getting the message across

Maybe it is a breed characteristic in certain lines? I have a talking one, but then he talks to everyone all the time, and not just when hunting. My others have been fairly quiet, same lines.

`Lines' will always carry traits, and the mental make up of the dog is no different in that regard. If most dogs have the ability to make a noise it falls to the nurture part how this materialises. It is difficult to know whether we have encouraged it by our actions, or inactions, as it often falls down to how the dog interprets our reactions not how we think they do

[CockerCanuck]

One of the many things I have learned on this forum is how hypersensitive you all are to noise from dogs in the field. We are much more tolerant on this side of the pond. Now I think both points of view make sense given how most of us use our dogs. I can certainly see on a big social shoot where there might be many dozen dogs a lot of them yapping and howling could be infectious and highly irritating. Here where dogs are mostly used alone or with a single brace partner there is much less likelihood that they pass it on or it get's out of hand. Don't get me wrong, no one here likes a really noisy barking or whining dog but I can tolerate, even appreciate, some audible communication back. My CBR is absolutely silent in the boat or blind while waiting for birds to appear, but he does whine after birds are down but before he is sent. Just seems to me to be communicating he has the mark and is keen to go. He also makes very happy growly grumbles when delivering a bird I find amusing. I had several spaniels who would tongue on rabbits. I thought it helped in knowing what was happening.

[Judy]

There is nothing that gets on my nerves half as much as a whiney dog, except, perhaps, a whiney kid.

[CockerCanuck]

There is nothing that gets on my nerves half as much as a whiney dog, except, perhaps, a whiney kid.

I know you would not use it on the dog Judy but how about an e-collar on the whiney kid?

[Judy]

There is nothing that gets on my nerves half as much as a whiney dog, except, perhaps, a whiney kid.

I know you would not use it on the dog Judy but how about an e-collar on the whiney kid?

I have a very convincing stare. Shame its no longer acceptable to give them a wee clout, especially not somebody else's kid...