A common misconception

[Dan Newcombe]

On the bigger shoots beating dogs will not work as hard as picking up dogs because they spend a good deal of time at heel to walk rather than fly birds forward and then covering relatively small amounts of ground. The picking up dogs admittedly will be sitting for a spell at the start of the drive but then covering a lot more ground flat out than the beating dogs.

On the smaller shoots then the dogs will be about equal in my experience because the beating dogs are very much more given their heads to cover the ground and actually find game.

Neither are better than the other and to be honest a good amount of the time the picking up dogs arent as well trained as the beating dogs because they can get away with more unruly behaviour.

[beechessam]

If my dogs spent most of the day at heel I think I'd find another shoot.

I beat and pick up on a number of large private and commercial shoots (300-500 bird days) and the dogs work all day.