Trialling prospects

[DazAllison]

To work or not to work is the question?? I was reading an article today which the author was saying he dose not take his young trialling dogs on a shoot at all and they are kept solely for trialling and this got me thinking, if you dont shoot personally how do you educate young dogs for trialling? Ie gun sense, picking fresh shot birds, runners etc?? Surely there is only so many live training days you can do and surely working with dummies wont do the job? I know a big commercial shoot can be the downfall of alot of dogs but surely if your sensible if would be good experience for young dogs to get out on a days picking up or beating under close control will stand them in good stead before they are experienced enough to trial??

[Miesque]

Shooting over your own dogs and training days

[DazAllison]

Shooting over your own dogs and training days

Sorry I am meaning if you dont personally shoot yourself

[Miesque]

Make friends with those who do shoot and/or have access to game. It's not easy

[westcountry]

I have two groups of spaniels. I have a team for picking up, some of which are also used for the odd days beating. The dogs that show the right potential are trained for trialing and never go on a shoot until their trialing days are over.
The trialing dogs are trained on dummies first and then on rabbits and gamebirds. I am fortunate enough to be able to shoot over my own dogs at times, although I much rather someone else does the shooting whilst I handle the dog. Some of these game training days are quite expensive and we just have to accept that it is part and parcel of the trialling game.

[newf]

Sounds as if trialing is for the well to do and beating and picking up...well, not so much. Then, where does rough shooting stand ?

[westcountry]

I have a little rough shooting available and that is what I use to train dogs for trials. A trialing dog is really just a very well trained rough shooting dog.

[reidller]

And herein lies the problem.... Trailing dogs aren't allowed to do the things most people want and have access for their dogs to do, yet are bought and bred from their trialling credentials. The kc state trials are supposed to replicate a shoot day, but either trials have changed or shoot days have.

[Naj]

You’re quite right. Trial dogs were jst roughshooting dogs that their owners competed with when trials began but it’s nonsense to continue pretending that a trial dog is simply a well trained roughshooting dog when no trainer properly roughshoots over their dogs. When or if they do shoot over them it’s just another carefully managed training session and no trialler would roughshoot over a dog for any extended length of time for fear if it losing trial ‘condition’, or slip into bad habits as handler and dog became tired and distracted.

Naj

[ips]

Sounds as if trialing is for the well to do and beating and picking up...well, not so much. Then, where does rough shooting stand ?

Newf
Rough shooting is for folk who are very very fortunate and in the grand scheme of things there are few of them. As has been said many times beating is what most folk do however small DIY syndicate shoots seem to replicate proper dog work the best.......I will get me coat