Things we hate to hear on shoots

[Judy]

"I wouldn't have bothered to go looking for that" from a picker up on the Boy's day when I came back with a Partridge he'd shot up the bum.

"There's not much gone in the pen" from a picker up as he walked off forwards to the pegs, I put my dog through the pop hole and found two in quick succession.

"Why bother to go all that way for a runner, you'll never find it"

"I didn't see anything go behind me so swept forwards" - I found two pricked birds, at £35 plus vat that's an awful lot of money for the Estate to lose especially when multiplied by the number of drives and the number of days. I know we will miss some but we have to try and cover all the likely ground, its not about what you see because you will never ever see them all.

"My dog never damages birds" OK, does it ever go into the thick brambles?

Picking up isn't about standing watching and sending your perfectly behaved dog for runners it has seen and, after the drive, for birds you have marked. It looks pretty but it isn't picking up as it should be done.

Anyone else got pet hates?

[lee-kinsman]

"You'll have to excuse him, he has no manners." I was picking up on a shoot and the whistle was blown for the end of the drive I put a young dog onto a drake as directed by the lead picker up and just as she was cautiously mouthing the duck and trying to find the best way to carry it a black lab came over, shouldered her off the drake and carried it of to his owner (also a picker up) who found it amusing.

[WGD]

Not being given enough time to do what needs done.

More a pet hate than a hate to hear.

[Tungulria]

The shrill voiced woman who always parks in my spot, (yes I know I'm being precious) has whiney dogs and when I told her where to go on a drive the other day as directed by the shoot captain, argued back at me, ignored me, got shouted at by the shoot captain to cut across the field (what I'd told her) and said she hadn't been told!!!! WTF!

[Muirdubh]

"There's definitely two birds in this area... I think"...

I hate to hear keepers slagging guns or beaters/pickers up complaining about 'posh folk'...

[Judy]

Not being given enough time to do what needs done.

More a pet hate than a hate to hear.

Doesn't that go with "Where TF are the Pickers up? The guns are already lined out!" coming over the radio?

[greenshank1]

" I definately got 4 , I think , " and with a sweep of the arm they proudly announce "they came down just over there" .

The sweep of the arm takes in a burn and boggy margins, reed bed,the corner of two fields, 1 hedge , a bank of blackthorn, approx 10ha

I don't actually hate hearing it, I love it as you are getting the best opportunity having come through on the beat team to now help with the picking up and work the dog I just struggle not to laugh :-

[Rascal]

Or the dreaded "whose is that feckin dog"..... .?

Or when you've been miles back and picked the long ones and then swept forward taking in all the likely areas. You finally get back and some bright spark says "I've got a hen down that's not been picked I don't think, you see that line of trees over there pointing to where you've just wented from, I'm sure it pitched in there..."

Rascal

[Strathcraig]

"its because he's a pet as well..." or "because we rough shoot he thinks all the birds are his"... if that's the case, get a lead on him!

[Gazelle1000]

"He's never normally like that, he's a 100% when training" - clearly not a 100%

A gun the other week told me there was 3 birds down in a field. Worked the dog for approx 20mins while the gun watched on saying he loves watching the dogs work. I started to get concerned as Oscar hadn't found any of the birds and only a small field. The gun then said "sorry it's the other field, my mistake"