Good to hear you're all out and enjoying yourselves. What a star Honey is. Rowan sounds like she's coming on well. That first season with a young dog is quite hard work isn't it. You need eyes in the back of your head sometimes! I only had to flinch and Barney would take that as a sign to 'go' last year, not very clever really. Made me realise I was about to ruin my dog if I didn't get a grip on things. They just love it sooo much don't they? Barney now has the 'shakes' on drives. Sits as good as gold but just quivers all over.... I'm taking this as a good thing...
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 8:27 pm Post subject: First Time Out – End of Season Update.
Well the final shots of the season have been fired and I can now assess how well I have done in bringing Rowan on as my peg dog. The plan was always to review how things went at the end of the season and then decide if she was going to be good enough to be with me at the peg and leave room for a spring pup to bring on as my wife’s picking up dog along with Honey.
I’ve certainly done a lot wrong and have made fundamental mistakes along the way. We started the season with her sat back from the line with my wife and Honey. To start with she did really well, joining me at the peg on some quiet drives, running in a couple of times, but also sitting drives out. Her retrieving is fantastic; she’s a fast dog and will chase down runners with no fuss and bring them to hand.
As the season progressed, I felt that some unsteadiness was creeping in, particularly to ground game, but when you are shooting it’s not easy to keep an eye on the dog at all times. Then in mid December she came into season and we lost her for a month. In January our shoot moves more towards a walked up shoot with some drives. I really like this kind of shooting but it’s not what you want for the peg dog. We have only walked up a few drives, but Rowan hunts very well and she’s fairly easy to keep close and most importantly she has come face to face with live game and has just worried the birds into the air with no attempt at pegging.
My biggest problem in the final shooting days has been standing at the peg with Rowan, when my wife has been in the beating line with Honey, where she can see and hear her; this has led to a few problems.
So what would I have done differently? Well my lack of time has led me to try to be a shooter and a dog trainer and I don’t think you can do that. I should have taken the advice at the start of the thread and left my gun at home and spent as many days out on shoots as I could, just handling my dog. Using the dog to hunt game is certainly not recommended, but I have actually really enjoyed this part of it and after all I do want a good general purpose shoot dog, as well as one that will sit out a drive.
I’m really pleased with Rowan, she’s far from being the peg dog I want, but we have really got to know each other this winter and there’s lots of work to do in the spring, which is basically steadiness, steadiness, steadiness. With this in place I have no doubt that she will be by my side during the 09/10 season and she has definitely made way for a new pup to bring on.
Here’s a pic of Rowan and me (rare) taken back in October and another of her last retrieve of the season, midweek in the rain.
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 8:49 pm Post subject: Re: First Time Out – End of Season Update.
EJW wrote:
Well the final shots of the season have been fired and I can now assess how well I have done in bringing Rowan on as my peg dog. The plan was always to review how things went at the end of the season and then decide if she was going to be good enough to be with me at the peg and leave room for a spring pup to bring on as my wife’s picking up dog along with Honey.
I’ve certainly done a lot wrong and have made fundamental mistakes along the way. We started the season with her sat back from the line with my wife and Honey. To start with she did really well, joining me at the peg on some quiet drives, running in a couple of times, but also sitting drives out. Her retrieving is fantastic; she’s a fast dog and will chase down runners with no fuss and bring them to hand.
As the season progressed, I felt that some unsteadiness was creeping in, particularly to ground game, but when you are shooting it’s not easy to keep an eye on the dog at all times. Then in mid December she came into season and we lost her for a month. In January our shoot moves more towards a walked up shoot with some drives. I really like this kind of shooting but it’s not what you want for the peg dog. We have only walked up a few drives, but Rowan hunts very well and she’s fairly easy to keep close and most importantly she has come face to face with live game and has just worried the birds into the air with no attempt at pegging.
My biggest problem in the final shooting days has been standing at the peg with Rowan, when my wife has been in the beating line with Honey, where she can see and hear her; this has led to a few problems.
So what would I have done differently? Well my lack of time has led me to try to be a shooter and a dog trainer and I don’t think you can do that. I should have taken the advice at the start of the thread and left my gun at home and spent as many days out on shoots as I could, just handling my dog. Using the dog to hunt game is certainly not recommended, but I have actually really enjoyed this part of it and after all I do want a good general purpose shoot dog, as well as one that will sit out a drive.
I’m really pleased with Rowan, she’s far from being the peg dog I want, but we have really got to know each other this winter and there’s lots of work to do in the spring, which is basically steadiness, steadiness, steadiness. With this in place I have no doubt that she will be by my side during the 09/10 season and she has definitely made way for a new pup to bring on.
Here’s a pic of Rowan and me (rare) taken back in October and another of her last retrieve of the season, midweek in the rain.
John
Looks like Rowans got her eye on something more interesting John. Good photo to add to your collection.
She's a cracking dog your Rowan, with obviously a lot of drive and talent, which is really great and then also tricky when it comes to training and steadiness (I know this only too well myself!).
Overall it sounds like you have had an excellent season and one you have enjoyed lots. It would be very boring if we and our dogs were all perfect wouldn't it?
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