Just got back from our first shoot together (Lady and I). Had a fantastic day and she was really well behaved so very pleased with her. In the beating line so nothing complicated. Tried her picking up a real pheasant rather than a dummy - hmmm! More work needed there I think. She had no clue about what to do with it. ;D
Re: First Shoot So glad you had a good day Many young dogs are a bit confused with the first few real game retrieves. Practice really helps. Can you beg, borrow or steal a real pheasant to practice with. As long as you refrigerate it in between retrieves, you can re-use the same pheasant for a couple of days. (then eat it afterwards!)
Re: First Shoot Glad to hear it went well! Rocket really enjoys being in the beating line, and isn't too great at picking up. I tend to think of them as separate specialist skills. That being said I still get her to bring me the odd bird every now and again just so she doesn't forget how for when I'm out rough shooting.
