The difference between my two dogs

[Judy]

Quite apart from the fact they are both black Cockers with bibs they couldn't be more different the bigger, older one is beside herself if I leave her with anyone while I pop into a shop or to the loo or whatever, the youngster doesn't give a ****. Big one is always in sight out picking up the other likes to sweep quite a lot of wood or the entire field I'm in, sometimes both...
Today I decided to trim their feet; I sit on the kitchen floor with a pair of scissors to hand and call them one at a time, wedging them between my legs while I trim. I decided to do the difficult one first, called her, two recalls a flip over three pin downs and a knock out, I managed to finish her feet, eventually, whereupon she did the wall of death round the kitchen scattering hair everywhere. I called the young one, she came over carrying her blankey, carefully put it down between my legs and laid on it before offering me a paw. Smart ass.

[Billybeau]

LOL! my youngest is so much easier to clip, trim ears etc, the older boy is a complete twit sometimes!

[Judy]

Yesterday it was too hot for them to stay in the car so they were taken shopping, it was busy and older dog did a duck me there's way too many people, I haven't seen this many in my entire life! Youngster, "ooh wowweee, people! All here for meeee!" and managed to get quite a high percentage of them to make a fuss of her but failed dismally on the shop's mannequin even after jumping up to get her attention... My mate managed to catch it before it toppled.

[PRH]

I ended up taking my 3 on a simulated game day at Shakenhurst on Saturday. It was a late invite and Mrs H was out for the day. I kept them in the truck during the drives and let them out in between. It was funny to see how they processed the environment, the old lab never goes far and stuck pretty close to me, the young lab flew about like a fool for a bit and then stuck close to me….the spaniel who is normally super chilled was an absolute fool all day, just didn’t stop beetling about in the cover / stream / woods. She was completely filthy and knackered by the end of the day, the combination of thick dust and stream took some sorting out. Other folk had dogs and took them on the drives but I couldn’t see the value in it, a huge amount of banging, guns all quite close, nothing for the dog to do. Maybe I could have got something out of it?

[Judy]

I did a FT training day many years ago, we walked up rabbits all morning and then had a clay "drive" sitting off lead while some lads shot at clays coming over the line. One was missed and my dog turned to mark it down... It was a good job there were unseen dummies to pick in the same area 'cos she shot out like a bullet out of a gun, straight to the unbroken clay.

[PRH]

Solid mark, can't fault it

[Nickheref]

The difference between my two younger dogs is subtle but interesting, the dog is straight forward, fast hunting uses the wind well etc finds game and loves retrieving and giving the bird to you. The bitch is simply a predator who uses every sense she has to find game, eyes, ears, nose. If she is hunting and sees or hears something she will note it whereas the dog would just rely on his nose, she also loves retrieving and has a nice delivery but you always sense she is allowing you to have it. He handles slightly better than her because she doesn't get much practice and therefore doesn't think I am much help. He is a confident swimmer and loves doing water work but she doesn't even acknowledge water exists, it is just another medium she can hunt in or over and when on exercise will sometimes swim in the river for long distances parallel to the bank if she thinks that is how she will find stuff. When it is time to go home he will be stood at the back of the truck waiting to get in, she will be stood 5 yards away hoping we can keep hunting for a bit more and has to be told to get in (although that may be because she doesn't like travelling as much as he does). Having said all that the moment a bird is flushed she stops and watches, if it is shot she waits to be told to get it but if missed or not shot at, it is no longer of any interest to her and has gone. That's why I never think a dog who will chase an unshot bird across 3 fields has high prey drive, it is simply a dog who doesn't understand the job and likes chasing.

The dog is eye catching and people admire him but she is my first choice for the tricky runner that's had a few minutes head start!

[Judy]

Ah, prey drive, the excuse for training "errors".

My oldest isn't going to set the world alight, she does the job, mostly, quite efficiently. She had the misfortune of being ready to work just before covid so had two seasons with very little work then along came bird flu so what should have been her first few season's of learning from her elders and betters were pretty much missed, she was four before she did her first full season's work. The youngster missed out on training due to circumstances at home but was chucked in the deep end and learned on the job. Her handling skills lack refinement, to say the least, but she can mark a bird down on the other side of a valley and hunts like her bum is on fire.

[PRH]

Sounds similar Nick, my bitch is much more wired and driven whereas the dog works things out at his pace - I’d be confident of getting the same result on a runner but via quite different routes. It would be dull if they were all the same! Might pop to the river today to do a bit of water work.