How To Build A Partnership With Your New Dog

But those days have to be memorable for all the right reasons! Whatever the stage of accomplishment the dog had achieved with his former owner/trainer, the golden rule for the months ahead is to take things calmly and steadily.

If you have bought a dog from an established breeder or trainer they will no doubt have done everything possible to make the transition of ownership as seamless as possible – primarily for the dog’s sake.

So hopefully you will have had some contact with the dog during the final months of its education and had the opportunity to work with the dog under the guidance of the trainer.

Of course some dogs that come on to the market will not have had the best of preparation and care and may not be quite as skilled or as experienced as you had been led to believe. There are always the horror stories of dogs that have been subjected to harsh training as a “quick fix” to achieve subservience and impress the purchaser. All too often they carry the psychological impact of these experiences for life.

But no one can plan for the unexpected loss of a dog and at this time of year I receive many urgent phones calls from distraught guns who have unexpectedly lost their dependable shooting companion. They usually admit they had fully intended to buy a younger one to have “waiting in the wings” but it never actually happened – and they now find themselves dog-less. 

As one man said to me last week in the aftermath of suddenly losing his much-loved companion: “I can’t imagine walking to a peg without a dog at my side”.

Give a new dog plenty of time

Like many in a similar position he was searching for a fully-trained Labrador in late-summer – not an easy task if one is to be procured from a reputable source because the best are not conveniently sitting on a shelf just in case a buyer comes along!

But if you have had no alternative and have bought a fully-trained dog quickly, it’s even more important to take the coming weeks and months very steadily – irrespective of what you have seen the dog do in the hands of an experienced trainer.

For those fortunate enough to have been able to plan well ahead and acquire a new fully-trained dog in good time, it’s to be expected that you will have been given an impressive demonstration by the trainer and then been observed as you took over the reins to see how the new recruit settled down to working with you.

Of course there are always little niggles when taking over any new dog. Here we have a highly intelligent animal that has been professionally trained and one that will inevitably have forged some sort of bond with the trainer. So be mindful of that and appreciate that there will be some issues that will not be the dog’s fault, the trainer’s fault or yours – they are just the result of having a different captain at the tiller.

So don’t be in a rush to prove how good your dog is. While the grouse may be seen as a tempting pipe-opener for the new gun and dog partnership, all too often it can lead to a new dog being put into tricky situations in testing terrain in wide open spaces. Just because his marking, scenting and distance work was impressive in the experienced hands that had probably had the dog since he was a pup, it can be a very different situation when a new handler takes over.

Heed all the advice and guidance given

If you have yet to acquire your new dog make sure you listen very carefully to any advice the trainer can give you. Stick rigidly to what they have instilled into the dog in terms of commands and follow their guidance about how much work to give the dog in the early days. Make every effort with the dog’s early work to help him succeed at what he does and don’t put him into situations where he may flounder.

All too often a new dog will appear to be very confident and the proud new owner will have high expectations. But make sure you don’t over-stretch him too far too soon. And if you over estimate his confidence at this stage of your partnership and he gets into a pickle, be ready to bail him out quickly and don’t let him struggle.

Don’t be in a rush to shoot over a new dog

If you can’t resist taking a new dog out early on I would say your best bet would be to take the dog for a day or two of picking up; that way you will have far more control, you can have a much better perspective of the work the dogs will have to do after each drive and you can tailor the work you want your dog to do far more fairly and effectively. Believe me it will lay a solid foundation for the future, instead of lurching headlong into a situation where the dog and you are at odds from the start.

Talking to a fellow trainer at the end of last season and he told me of a super dog he had just sold to a very keen and accomplished shooting client. A good deal of time was spent with the man on the day of collection to make sure he was fully conversant with what the dog could do; it was explained to him precisely how the first few weeks of their partnership should be undertaken to ensure all would be well in the long term.

But a phone call within a week announced that all was not going according to plan so the trainer agreed to travel some distance to watch the partnership at work. At the end of the day it was agreed the dog should come back to the kennels, albeit temporarily. But following day the cheque was returned to the buyer on the basis that he had simply not followed the few basic instructions of how to “ease” the dog into his new life with a new handler and there had inevitably been issues that were not of the dog’s making. 

Even if you are prepared to wait until September 1st or for the pheasants to start in October, the first venture of new gun and new dog should be very carefully planned. Taking the dog as part of the picking up team – providing you can be allowed to work and handle the dog and not simply be expected to “hoover” up birds -  will give you the best possible opportunity of seeing the dog in a situation that cannot be replicated in training. You will be surprised at what you learn about him that perhaps you didn’t know, but remember that he too will be given the first chance of responding to you in a truly working environment with all the temptations that brings.

If that isn’t possible I’d suggest bringing someone along who can stand with the dog while you shoot. At least that will ensure you can enjoy your sport while the dog soaks up the occasion but still has a “minder” who can keep a close eye on things.

While I am sure you will have been impressed by the dog’s steadiness when in the hands of the trainer, the screw-in dog tethers are often out in force as when new recruits take up position in the line – just in case! A minder will do a far better job than a tether on those first few outings but to really get the measure of a new partner there’s nothing better than leaving the gun at home for a few days. A small price to pay to lay the foundation of what should be many years of a happy partnership.

Jeremy Hunt is GunsOnPegs' dedicated gundog writer and is also the owner of Fenway Labradors. He has been breeding Labradors for over 25 years and is based in Lancashire, England.

Jeremy also runs gundog training days offering individual or small group training sessions, by the hour, half or full day.

jeremy@fenwaylabradors.co.uk
07798 826179