Hunting Training Day on Partridge

Following on from the lecture yesterday, today I took Winnie and Coco on a Hunting Training Day being run by Chris and Peter Guest (Bardantop) on super ground just outside of Evesham, hunting partridge. Gary was unable to attend as he was off doing 'boys stuff' in Spain.
The weather started off clear and fresh but by early afternoon the dreaded weather front had set in and the day was cut short as dogs and handlers were cold and wet through.
A thoroughly enjoyable day. No points as the birds were wily after surviving the shooting season but I had two smashing runs with Coco (face wind and back wind) and a not so successful run of a cheek wind with Winnie who of course has had a season working shoots with Gary and was not so pleased with the change of handler.
Great to watch all the dogs that were training - there is a lot to be said for watching other dogs working and thrilled that Ian and Jayne brought Louie along, together with Gail with Isla.

Canine Nutrition, Hypothyroidism and Vaccination for the 21st Century with Nick Thompson

This weekend my friend and business partner and I attended the above seminar, the speaker at which was Nick Thompson a vet of over 22 years who specialises in homeopathy, acupuncture, nutrition and herbal medicine. Nick was a very entertaining speaker and certainly gave us all food for thought.
The talk covered - an introduction to raw feeding, hypothyroidism, behaviour, epilepsy and chronic disease and finally vaccinations.
Over the years Lisa and I have been very lucky to have attended several lectures and seminars given by some very notable (often world renowned) specialists including -
* Jean Dodds who is considered to be one of the foremost experts in pet healthcare and a specialist in canine hypothyroidism.
* Christopher Day - over 40 years experience, Chris Day specialises in herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, holistic/alternative/ complimentary and natural remedies.
* Wendy Volhard - over 35 years experience in working with dogs, training, nutrition, health and behaviour.
* Catherine O'Driscoll founder of Canine Health Concern.
I would like to think that my dogs' lives have been enriched by all the knowledge that these experts have imparted.

Week Away in Pembrokeshire

Early February and following on from the end of the shooting season, we took a week away with friends Ian and Jayne and the three dogs Winnie, Louie and Coco and went to Newport in Pembrokeshire. We booked a cottage with Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire and would certainly highly recommend anyone using them to book holiday accommodation as we were thrilled with our cottage, which had a definite wow factor - nothing was lacking and the proximity to the beach and town was perfect. The icing on the cake was discovering the local dog friendly pub The Castle Inn where the locals made us feel very much at home and the food was fabulous - our party voted their home made burgers, steak and sticky toffee pudding the 'best ever' and their Sunday carvery was in my daughters opinion the 'best Sunday lunch' she had ever had :-)
The weather was kind to us, not a drop of rain until our departure and the beach was just the best place to run and swim the dogs. Definitely intend to go back there in the future.

So now the end is near...

Can't believe how the time has flown, it seems only weeks ago that Gary was taking Winnie out on the first day of the shoot.
During the season Gary has worked Winnie weekly on two separate shoots, with an invitation to work a third but sadly day-to-day work commitments did not allow this - maybe next season.
Winnie has proved to be a star - steady to work amongst sheep, deer and hare, sociable around other dogs on the shoot, covering ground well and finding, pointing and retrieving game. On occasions she has been shot over by one or two guns unfamiliar with HPR's, who were pleasantly surprised by her endurance and relentless hunting.
Of course, there have been odd moments of her cheeky nature making an appearance and she is never slow to take advantage of Gary not paying attention but all of this has, according to Gary, made her a pleasure to work and made her a much liked and valued member of the shoots.

A mention must also be made of the fact that Ian, our friend and owner of Winnie's son Louie has driven over to Much Wenlock come rain or shine to join Gary on these shoots beating, a journey each way of an hour and a half. This was so much appreciated that one of the shoots rearranged Beaters Day so that Gary and Ian could participate.
A hard days work is always rounded off with a few beers in the local pub, with Gary enjoying a glass of apple juice and Winnie crashing out asleep dreaming of the days events. Not quite sure what either of them will do when the season finishes;-)

The Bardantop Bumble

Following on from The Wenlock Wander was our gundog training group Christmas walk and dinner.
We have made such a lot of good friends through training our dogs and what a great way to celebrate the end of the year but walk amongst 20+ hprs running together across the fields:-)

The Wenlock Wander

This weekend was the Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre and for the last few years we have invited doggie friends to join us on a walk across the fields into Much Wenlock. It has become a bit of a tradition which a friend has now aptly nick named The Wenlock Wander where we mooch around the Fayre,  meet up in The George & Dragon for a swift pint before wending our way home for a hot meal. It's fab meeting up with friends that we often don't see from one year to the next and 14 hprs turning up in Wenlock en masse does always cause quite a stir :-)

First Day of the Shoot

Yesterday saw the first day of the Shoot and I can't believe how quickly it has come around. Whilst she is still very keen to go Bronte probably would not manage a whole day. Gary will on occasions take Bronte and Flash but today was Winnie's turn. Gary and Winnie were picking up and Gary said Winnie Woo was a star, even working amongst sheep which we were delighted about given that she has not had any training around stock. As we always do, we rounded the day off in The George & Dragon, sharing ' first day on the shoot tales' with our friends and treating the dogs to a bag of scratchings:-)