I was recently asked what is essential gundog handling kit. I thought about the question for 30 seconds before replying: a slip lead and a whistle. I’ve now given the question more consideration, but my opinion remains unchanged. If you have these two vital pieces of equipment, then there’s not…
Many of us dream of owning a dog that will obey your every command and hang on your every movement however it often seems not to happen and all we see is our canine companion vanishing over the distant horizon. David Tomlinson asks the question whether the trainers are the…
After a tricky on-again-off-again shooting season, don’t let your gundog training lose focus. Janet Menzies offers her tips on gundog training at home, to ensure your shoot day companion is still at their best next season. The worst gundog crimes can happen to the best of us. They are also…
Teaching your gun dog to sit, stay and drop isn't as easy as the professionals make it out to be.
Even a field-trial champion can be stumped by a difficult retrieve. Only one of the problems is that they are difficult to prepare for, as David Tomlinson explains. If you are planning on spending the off-season improving your own gundog’s retrieving, read pick up points on retrieving for our advice.…
Though edible rewards are banned by many professional trainers, or viewed as bribes by others, some advocate the use of gundog training with treats. David Tomlinson decides whether reward-based training is useful, or best avoided. We may be resist to treats, but are we over-reliant on the gundog whistle? Read…
Days in the beating line or on the peg may be on hold for now, but our gundogs remain busy come summertime. Most gamebirds are currently off the menu but there are still pigeons to pot and bunnies to bag. Others are revising retrieving in theory, rather than practice. It’s…
Today, the gundog whistle is essential kit, but look back to a century ago and all that is to be found clamped between the owners’ lips are pipes. David Tomlinson wonders if we are over-reliant on gundog whistles. For more on gundog training, read 9 gundog training tips from The…
Learning how to get a gundog steady to game is one of the greatest challenges for amateur dog handlers. David Tomlinson offers his advice on hares, deer, sheep and everything else so irresistible to gundogs. For more advice on training the perfect peg dog or picker up, following these 9…
Guns with an obedient, well-behaved dog at their side are a select society. But often the story is one of blushing guns, furious headkeepers and naughty gundogs – as Robert Gibbons discovered. To spare your blushes in the field, follow The Field’s 9 gundog training tips. NAUGHTY GUNDOGS When I…
