Well im off on my very first shoot on thursday. I have been training my golden bitch throughout  the summer for the Show Gundog Working Certificate. I then had some problems during my pregnancy so we haven't been since June. Her trainer is taking us on a shoot to see how she gets on as she is very eager to join in when shes with other dogs.im really looking forward to it in one sense but not looking forward to seeing the birds being shot, i think ill struggle with that part. Any tips for a scaredy cat novice????
mel.

sorry but if you are taking your dog to work on the shoot then not only will you have to SEE birds being shot but you will have to learn how to dispatch them yourself, as thats part of the job and inevitably your dog will bring back a runner at some pont and you will have to dispatch it. I think if you are this worried then you shouldnt be attending. I know if someone came on our shoot but made  it clear they didnt like the idea of birds being shot, they would not really be welcome :(

i thinks shes kinda kidding sam, if she was really against it i doubt she'd be going.

sorry, not a gun breed person so no advice for you, i say just try and enjoy your dog enjoying it! after all its what its made for

For a SGWC, you won't have to dispatch the birds yourself.   Your dog just has to show it is capable of doing the job it was bred for to gain the SGWC.

Hope that your trainer is as friendly as the ones that I go to and not like Sam's especially for your first time!!  We all have to start somewhere Sam and I'm sure that she'll harden up!

Sure youll be ok, but I see where youre coming from.
I can understand people enjoying the working side to see the dogs enjoying themselves but no way could I ever find it Fun or Game seeing birds shot!

If I ever make up my gundogs think theyll have to remain a SH Champion.
Just against my ethics to do something like that.

However I really dont think the swgc is too difficult my friend has just done it think they only had to retrieve a couple of birds

Luckily the people on the shoot i am going to, know that its my first time and that we are not used to being on shoots as we spent the summer just picking up dummies. They have invited us to see how my girl gets on and hopefully help us on our way to achieving her SGWC,  and im sure they will make me and my girl welcome. Im pretty sure i won't have to dispatch any birds myself on our first shoot and by the time i have to do that, im sure i will be a little tougher and have gotten used to the whole thing.
Thanks to everyone for your responses.

Good luck, Peaches.

We have all but finished the season - just 3 more days left next week.   I think you'll find that in most shoots, the team work is fantastic - either between beaters  or pickers-up.    You make life long friends, many of whom will do anything to help you.

The harvesting of food is a big plus - we live on frozen game all the year round - none of your supermarket 2 for a fiver chickens here!

Jo

you know what peaches, if your actually gonna use the birds after i think its a great thing to be involved with...adds a kind of honesty to eating meat i think. i feel a bit guilty about how when i cook meat it doesn't look like what died for it, so i think actually being involved and facing the reality of hunting is very honest. does that make sense? anyway, hope it goes well

Good luck peaches1 I'm hoping to have more involvement in this side of things next year.  Just hoping that Carmen who is doing quite well this year provides me with a youngster to start training up in a year or twos time.

If I ever make up my gundogs think theyll have to remain a SH Champion.
Just against my ethics to do something like that.


Just curious to know why you would have a gundog if you are so against the idea of them doing the work they werebred for?

know exactly what you mean lincolm imp....my thought exactly!!!

[iIf I ever make up my gundogs think theyll have to remain a SH Champion.
Just against my ethics to do something like that.

Just curious to know why you would have a gundog if you are so against the idea of them doing the work they werebred for? ]

I would think like most people who own Gun dogs..... they love their temperament,  their outlook on life , their easygoing ways.

If only those who "shoot" "work"   their Gundogs, where allowed to own them,  there would not be many around most will go to family homes as pets.

I don't own a Gundog, (will with my next dog)  I own a working breed,  does not mean I have to put my dogs to work  to what they where bred for.  I own them for their exuberance of life,  their silliness, their love of their people.

Peaches,
Enjoy your day, things happen so fast, one minute all seems quiet then a large flush may happen with lots of birds being shot. hopefully there will be experienced pickers up that will mark the birds down, where a runner goes etc, birds that have been pricked and carried on for a far while. Enjoy yourself, I am sure you will. Don't do too much with your girl though as it is very exciting for them on their first time, you don't want to get her that excited that she yips. If it is too much for her, walk her quietly away from the action as I am sure you wouldn't want to ruin your hard work. Has she picked game before? If not she may go out with gusto to a marked retrieve but you may find that she 'blinks' the retrieve ( will not fetch it back ). I wouldn't worry too much as it is her first time but pick the bird yourself and if you are allowed play with the bird with her (Not tug of war before I get jumped on), put it down, let her sniff it, drag it a few feet with her sniffing it, place it a little bit away and really encourage her to fetch it. Some dogs when progressing from dummies to warm game don't like having feathers in their mouth at first but this is easily overcome.
I think you will find that everything happens so quickly on the shoot that rather than being scared at the birds being shot you will be concerntrating on your dog and where the birds fall to worry to much about the shots, also you should be a fair way back from the guns also.
Enjoy your day, I hope it goes well.Rachael

Hope you have a good time and your girl does you proud.  I'm sure as you are going with your trainer, she will be able to despatch any birds if necessary.  It is something that you may need to do in the future if you attend more shoots, particularly as a picker up as unfortunately, not all birds shot are killed outright but as others have said, you have to start somewhere.

Helen

If you are going to attend regulary during the shooting season (next) it would be worth investing in a priest for yourself to dispatch the birds. There are 3 types, a heavy end weighted pocket size device that you use on the back of the skull to dispatch the bird, these I think are quite difficult for a novice to get to grips with at first, the other types are neck pliers that quickly sever the spinal cord behind the neck and the newest type is called the armadillo, this type is quite expensive. Have a look on Jhn Norris, Gear & Gundog, patrick pinker game supplies, quest etc to give you an idea of the types in use.
Just enjoy your day, it will fly by and I am sure you will be hooked.

Thanks rachel for that excellent post. That has really given me more idea of what to expect and i must admit, it does sound quite exciting for dog and owner. She hasn't retrieved game before, we did get to practice one day with a pheasant that our trainer brought for us to have a go with. We got her to hold it for a little while and she ran to it but wouldn't pick it up. That is exactly what im expecting her to do on the shoot too. If you had met my girl before we started training you would never have believed she would even pick up a dummy. She came on in leaps and bounds and made me very proud. Im determined to stick with it after all the hard work it took for my showdog to realise there is more to her than prancing round the showring. I hope i can mail you on thursday with the news that she made me proud again. I won't expect nothing of her other than to enjoy the whole experience.
mel.

> after all the hard work it took for my showdog to realise there is more to her than prancing round the showring.

LOL Now I'd like my girl to think prancing around a showring is as exciting as prancing around the fields with a rabbit in her gob. :)

Hi mel, You are welcome, I hope that it helps. I wouldn't worry too much about her not picking the bird up on the day as she will be so excited, the smells, sounds and noise are all totally different for her. freshly shot game has a different smell to cold game and is obviously warm, you may find that she will have no problem picking it up. The problem with cold game being used for training is that some dogs do not like picking things up that other dogs have mouthed, I hope your girl gets on well, I am sure she will and you will come back feeling 10 feet tall.
I know exactly how you feel as I started training a show bred golden 14 years ago, I made mistakes along the way but she did it and made me proud too. We were asked to do the demo's at the Royal Show and Town and Country too with her. I remember feeling so nervous the first time I went on a shoot, worried that i would or my dogs would do something wrong, everybody makes you feel at ease, they really are friendly and helpfull. I am sure you will get the bug, I did, I now pick up with 3 goldens and 2 spaniels, my daughter started beating at 5 and now is on the picking up team (aged 14) and she was very anti shooting as a little one.
Look forward to hearing how you get on and if you want any tips etc feel free to pm me..........Rachael

mmm well to answer that, I suppose why would someone have a staffordshire Bull Terrier if they didnt agree with bear baiting?
I love all dogs and all animals thats why I have them, I dont agree with shooting and maiming animals of any kind.

I have nothing against working tests and love to watch the dogs work, but think in this day and age it is rather archaic to be going out shooting Birds for fun! As it would be going Bull Baiting or Fox Hunting!

>in this day and age it is rather archaic to be going out shooting Birds for fun!

Just to clarify Meadowhay, you shoot birds to eat :)

thats my feeling to. if your using the birds afterwards why not? its quick and doesn't involve torture/cruelty (like fox hunting/bear baiting etc)

why would someone have a staffordshire Bull Terrier if they didnt agree with bear baiting?


???? Not many bears around when the Stafford was first developed :)

In any case, this is a breed that was always regarded as a family pet/guard, as well as a fighting dog. They can be a bit iffy with other dogs, if not properly socialised, but are usually absolutely fantastic with people.

Surely the serious point is that if you own a gundog, whether or not you want to work it, you should understand the way in which that breed works so that you can understand why it behaves in a specific way - at the simplest level for example, why many gundogs rush to pick up a toy when they go to meet people.

If you are completely against gundogs working, it's more difficult to get your mind around this. :)

Yep the Elk in scandinavia are an important part of family meat supply.

Lincolnimp I do understand how and why a my gundogs were bred and how they work.
I have gundogs because they are usually nice natured energetic dogs which fit in with my lifestyle, they live on a farm with acres and acres of land to run in, and guess what? They chase pheasants!   I dont think they are deprived in anyway simply because I dont choose to go and blast birds outo f the sky, they do obedience, showing, and even done a bit of working test training which Id say out of all disciplines they enjoyed the least

Now Ive nothing more to say on this subject, I think it would be more inappropriate for a person to own a gundog who lives in a built up area and hasnt the access to open countryside, or someone that works full time leaving the dog stuck at home on the sofa bored and alone! 

>Just to clarify Meadowhay, you shoot birds to eat 

Yep - free range, organic meat. Much more humane and healthy than the intensively reared stuff from the supermarket.

Here here
Jg well said
:)

Ive just noticed that this thread has started up again, and id just like to let those know that may be interested that the shoot was great. It was much more a social event than i expected and everyone made me very welcome. My girl had the time of her life and we will be training throughout the summer to hopefully get her out on lots more shoots next year. Fingers crossed she will be ready for her SGWC in december. Im even going to do some with my girl who i cant show because she is so keen and much more of a working dog than my girl im currently working on.I think its safe to say ive pretty much got the bug!!!!  I say this, but i totally respect anyone who doesn't agree with the sport, we are all entitled to our own views and wouldn't it be a boring world if we all felt the same.
mel.

So glad you found it a good experience.

I was never totally against it as such and now that I've got a dog that's doing well in this field I'm really hoping to get her to the level where she will be working properly next season! 

Really upset that I missed training today because it was the SWD party.  The gundog side of things is the only thing that my youngest girl really excels in.

Well done and sooo pleased that you had a great day!

I have just finished picking up with my three girls. we love it soooooo much that we dont like showing anymore! giving the choice I kbiow what the girls would rather do.  I cant say that I enjoy the dispatching 'bit' but you wont get anymore 'free range, than on a shoot. only time they are caged is when they are chicks. I dont eat pheasant or any game but the satisfaction  we get after a days picking up beets anything. our last day of the season rained the whole day, but we still enjoyed it.  I feel proud that I am accepted in a mans world as an equal. I me and the girls have earned the respect from the men as we can do what we are meant AND bred to do, Well the dogs are!