John it is not that far back because Mary Roslin Williams was running in trials and picking up with her show winning dogs twenty years ago like wise the Ballyduff dogs ? Peter hart was a game Keeper who owned Ch Kupros master mariner .
This is an excellant topic
Yes I agree, it’s a very interesting subject, I wonder if anyone has graphed the show / working gene split against time? (I’m mentally trying to work out how you could do that ).
I know you were bitterly disappointed that your showing career didn’t get off the ground, but to make “Miss July / August”, in a big time calendar must be more than consolation.
It’s an excellent photograph of a dog clearly enjoying and tuned into what she’s doing.
There was some sadness when September came and I turned my Shooting Gazette Calendar to the next page. I have been greeted each morning for the last two months by the lovely photograph of Indy, for July / August, featured at the start of this thread and I’m afraid September / November’s picture isn’t quite the same. Nice picture, but no dogs. So I was pleased to open page 103 of the October (October!! ) edition of Sporting Shooter Magazine to see that Indy is back!! She’s a great looking dog.
I noticed the picture as well John, I always thought Nick Ridley did all the photos for Sporting Shooter, so I was a bit suprised to see it in there.
Talking of Indy, we were out on the Grouse yesterday, (no pics, it was driving rain all day, left the camera in the car). Indy pulled off one of the best retrieves I ever seen one of my dogs do, unbeknown to me, in full view of the guns, the keeper, and the new shoot owners right hand man. .
We were about 50/60 yards up the slope on one side of the valley, the butts were about 200 yds in front, running up the slope. From where we were to the valley bottom, was a steep boulder strewn slope, then a bed of rushes, the stream was running very high with all the rain. The other bank is a mass of bracken running about 40 yds up opposite side of the valley, then white grass, interspersed with bracken filled gullies for about another 200/300 yds up the hill.
We were getting towards the end of the drive, as I could see a couple of beaters in the distance. The covey went over the butts, there were several shots, and three birds dropped out of the covey, a single bird veered out of the covey, and swung away to my right, I followed it's path, and it pitched in on the opposite side of the valley, about 200 yds plus up the hill. From the way it landed, I knew it had been hit, but still looked pretty strong.
I looked down at Indy, and saw that steely gaze, was locked onto the opposite side of the valley, I was certain, she'd marked it down, but as it was getting towards the end of the drive, and the guns would soon hear the horn, which instructs them to stop shooting in front, I did not want to send her, just in case she decided to go for one of several other birds that were lying between me and the guns. If one of the guns shot at a bird behind, I did not want my dog to possibly be in the line of fire, which with the terrain is possible.
So at the end of the drive, I made sure Charlie and Fizz were otherwise occupied, and then turned back to Indy, she looked back up at me, and I just said "Indy", and off she went. My main concern, knowing Indy, who is a hunting machine, was that she would get her nose down in either the rushes, or the bracken, and I'd have the devils own job getting her out of there.
I need n't have worried, I saw her clear the rushes, and go over the water, next thing she was up out of the bracken, and flying up the hill to where the bird pitched in, she soon found the fall, as I thought the bird appeared to have moved, she hunted the immediate area to no avail, then went back to the fall, and took a line back down the hill a little, into a bracken filled gully, which she went into, within a few seconds a bird fluttered up from the bracken, followed by a leaping Indy, and then fell back into the bracked again. Seconds later, Indy emerged from the gully, with the bird.
She made her way back to me, I despatched the bird, and made a big fuss of Indy. We then carried on with the sweep, with the other two girls.
What really pleased me was that she made such a good job of it, in terrible conditions, the rain was driving down, and the wind was very strong, too strong in fact, it spoilt the rest of the days shooting.
Did n't matter, I still had a big smile on my face all day long, replaying that retrieve in my head
Andrew, that's a great proof of what makes a good shooting dog and a good retrieve:
1) a good marking dog
2) a good, strong hunting dog
3) a handler that knows his/hers dog(s)!
Number 3 is perhaps the most important thing when working the dog on a shoot - for a start, there isn't always much point in sending a dog for a retrieve like the one that Andrew describes if the dog hasn't had a good mark on the bird and with that I mean that the dog does not take the eye of the bird until it actually goes down!
Another thing that I really love to watch is a dog that's so experienced that it will look at all the birds going over the guns and then it will actually know exactly which one(s) that are hit/wounded - fantastic!!!
So, remember when you're preparing for the 'real deal', to teach yourself to watch and study your dog and go and watch loads of other dogs and their handlers and see how they 'read' their dogs or indeed, if they're 'reading' them at all
Natasha
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WLF All the Way!!!!
"Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can´t eat it or hump it. **** on it and walk away..."
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) edition of Sporting Shooter Magazine to see that Indy is back!! 
