Today Piper went beating for the second time.

He is a gem and by the afternoon he was off lead, sitting or staying close while waiting for the drives to start then hunting nicely but closely. Recall is great even when the birds were running on the ground in front of him clearly in view.

He doesn't have a Stop Whistle command which I will have to work on but as long as he isn't chasing and he is coming back (even when I can't see him in crop like asparagus) then he is an asset to the shoot.

We are back again on Thursday and two days again next week - lets hope he stays as well behaved .

Great news then, it sounds like most of the bits are in place Sue hope you enjoy the rest of the season and Piper does himself and you proud .

Presumably you'll be working on his stop. Does he have a command that you can associate with the whistle?

Steve

Go Piper...go Piper....good lad ...oh and well done Sue

Yay

Good boy Piper, thats cheered me up a lot

Brilliant Piper and Sue

Steve, a stop is a basic sit and to a one whistle peep, thats what I aspire to

Does it count if they don't sit?.....our "wait!" with a single gentle whistle blast works.....but no sitting.....yet

Steve

Lol I'm still working on it

WTG Piper :D

So pleased it's working out how you hoped.

Will Mugi mind abdicating some of his 'responsibilities' do you think?

I prefer to train a sit to whistle (even though in Brittanys it is not needed as such as they should stop in a stand) so that is what I expect from the boys in training, that means in the field I am more likely to get a firm stop even if it is in a stand when arousal is high (kind of like a second line of defense ). After a day beating I will do some basic control training the day after - so even Mugi will have some remedial stop training tomorrow.

I use the same whistle command for sit whether the dog is by my side (on or off lead) and then in various positions in relation to me without much movement. I then will add the dog moving away from me and pipping it at various distances (initially pretty close) and then with it moving at various speeds away from me. My final stage is stopping the dog as it is running in towards me as especially with a youngster or rehome I don't want to mess with my recall .

I think Mugi has a plan . We have a new beaters van and the Range Rover pulling it has a Lintran crate in - chatting to the keeper today I think Mugi will continue beating partridge and duck but then will pop in the crate while we do the more physical pheasant drives, that way Mugi will do what he enjoys most (partridge) and won't need to be left at home once the pheasant season starts.

Go Piper Go - hoping to get Hilda out this season - the shoot on our farm where we live starts next month -so fingers x'd she will be as controlled on the shooting days as she is usually. Edgar will take a while longer as I want to get it right - he has learnt the whistle sit this week and so light hunting and retrieve work. Doing some heel/sit work and will move to steady him up when the time is right. Stanley has a great whistle stop - will do it at any distance running away or towards - except........when he is on the chase!!! Which is why it is unlikey he will ever get to flush the real thing! Still, he is great at agility and the gundog obedience is a steady base for everything else. How lovely to see the rescue dogs doing the job they love. Good on you Piper!

Way to go Piper

Helen

Another day and mostly hunting free, he has been such a good boy!!

He did pick up a partridge and there is a minor issue with the fact he did not wish to let go although he was not clamping on so hard he damaged the bird. A fellow beater tricked him into releasing it and I whipped him away as soon as it dropped so he couldn't get it again. I have a few partridge now to play swapping games and I feel confident we will crack that little issue.

I did have a giggle when someone who I hadn't met before advised me I needed to teach him to walk better on a lead. I agreed but didn't comment further, later in the day he lost his dog on a drive while Piper was sat by my side off-lead - I felt sooooooo superior as Piper was complimented on his behaviour by the keeper who went on to mention how well he was settling in in such a short time.

I bet you enjoyed that smug feeling, I hope the other beater was in ear shot