Gun Dog Test Demo

With Chef John back from a visit to Fort William, we were treated to a very tasty and filling breakfast of sausage, black pudding, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tattie scones, and toast.

After that (no food pics here I'm afraid), some of us headed up Kirkton Road to the field reputed to be the site of Neil's Stone. There is a standing stone there but Tam says it's a bull scratching stone.

Harris was already there with his handler and they were both raring to go by the time we got there. After a short explanation of what a test was and what was expected of the dog, Harris got going.

So, we got an excellent demo of how a gun dog test is carried out. It's meant to simulate the conditions during a game shoot but there are no guns involved and no animals (or old men) are injured during the exercise.

The baits are canvas bags that are dropped or thrown around the course and dog basically has to go and retrieve them. In some cases he can see where they've been dropped or thrown to but not always. At the start, he was taken away off to the left and down the slope where a bait was dropped, and he was supposed to remember where that was as he'd have to go get it later on.

After he successfully retrieved several thrown baits, we sent our Rab far out into the field with a bait to drop and Harris was tasked with going and finding it and bringing it back, all of which he did. Then he was sent after the bait that got dropped earlier and he found that as well.

I think we were all fairly impressed by how well both dog and handler performed. Harris was really keen to impress and showed off his training very well...stopping and waiting when told to and fetching on command and no signs of any complaints. I could try that with some of our lot and all I'd get is moans and groans.

I think we all enjoyed the experience and next time, I'm suggesting we hide Raymond in the Cowdie woods and see if the dog can find him.

There are a few more photos on our Flickr page here.

Here are a few places to find out more about gun dog tests and trials:

• Field trials and working gundogs

• Country Sport Scotland - Gun Dog Trials and Tests

• The Kennel Club working gun dog tests

• The Surprising Benefits of Gundog Training for Every Dog

…and a few about the Springer Spaniel:

• Spaniel (English Springer)

• English Springer Spaniel