A Season in Reflection: Shooting with Adge, Griff, Flora and Seth

A reflective look back on the shooting season with Adge and Griff, the lessons learned, hard decisions made, and why the journey matters.

A Season in Reflection: Shooting with Adge, Griff, Flora and Seth.

The season for us began in mid-October. This is my third year with our current shoot, following the closure of our previous one. We had been part of that shoot for fifteen years, and it had existed for over sixty-five, with some members attending since childhood. Sadly, its closure was the result of changing politics and views in the modern world.

We were incredibly fortunate to be invited to join our present shoot through contacts of my husband, Mark. The shoot is primarily a military one and truly international, with members taking part from all over the world. Many attend while posted to the UK to complete various courses. The shoot welcomes inexperienced dogs and handlers, endeavouring to give visitors the experience of a traditional English shoot.

Both Mark and I attend the shoot. Mark goes beating, working Flora, our much-loved Labrador, now eleven and a half. She no longer does all six drives — usually two or three of the easier ones — despite the fact that, given the choice, she would still do them all. Sadly, the mind is willing but the body doesn’t always agree, so careful management is essential. She knows the ground exceptionally well and hunts where she knows birds are likely to be found, rather than wasting energy searching areas where experience tells her there won’t be any. Unlike younger, less experienced dogs, she works economically and with purpose. She is still partial to a runner, though the chase is far more tiring than it once was. It’s hard to consider that this may have been her final season; Mark has worked alongside her since she was six months old.

Mark also works Seth, his five-year-old working cocker spaniel, sometimes alongside Flora and sometimes on his own. Mark and his dogs have become trusted members of the team, knowing exactly what needs to be done, when and where, with dogs that can be relied upon. A privileged position to be in.

I began the season picking up with Adge. Bless him. Adge always tries his best, but he is a sensitive soul and not blessed with great bravery or a particularly large brain. Undergrowth is a scary thing for him — prickles are not something he is keen to negotiate — yet it’s something all gundogs need to come to terms with to some extent, even as picking-up dogs. When birds are lost, that is often where they are found. He can sit quietly and calmly behind the gun line, watching and waiting for birds to fall. He can sweep and collect at the end of a drive, and if he has seen a pricked bird come down, he can usually manage it. Otherwise, it becomes more of a challenge. For some, this might be enough, but for me I would like more — while fully appreciating that this is not within Adge’s capabilities.

After a particularly trying and frustrating day with Adge, I decided it was time to bring out Griff and begin working him towards becoming the picking-up dog I would love to have again. It has been some ten years since I had a picking-up dog in whom I had full confidence. Picking up is just one of many things I aspire to do with Griff. I would also like to complete my Gundog Club Grades and return to competing. Who knows where this journey will take us.

Taking Griff out shooting wasn’t an easy decision. I know it was made partly out of frustration, and in many ways Griff wasn’t truly ready. He is, after all, not yet two years old and far from mature. I was very aware of the risk of making my dog hotter and harder to handle.

Griff has now completed his third and final day for this season — and I am so glad I made that gung-ho decision. He still finds waiting around while people get organised and moving quite difficult, but this has been helped by me taking some training dummies and doing small amounts of work as we go. Once he hears the beaters, he can settle. When the guns start, his focus is absolute.

He is learning to watch birds as they move through the sky and to remain calm. Deer aren’t a challenge at all; hares and squirrels can be, simply because they are not something he has seen regularly before. I have made sure that each day Griff has had at least one bird to pick, whether placed out by a fellow picker-up or one we have had to search for, while being mindful not to overdo things. On the final day we were short of pickers-up, so he did need to do a little more — and I couldn’t have been more pleased with him.

At one point I was following a back gun through woodland, with Griff walking at heel off lead, remaining calm and steady. He sat quietly to shot exactly as he should, while other dogs ran around beating and putting birds up. His ability to stay composed in that environment was hugely reassuring.

On a separate drive, I lined Griff out and sent him on a 150-yard retrieve for a big cock bird into white grass. He took the line confidently and completed the retrieve well. He is not confident with pricked birds as yet, but that is absolutely fine — he will learn to deal with them when the time is appropriate. He also had his first experience of a pigeon; sadly, while he was having a look at it, the pigeon took fright and decided it could still fly, disappearing off into the woods to the amusement of everyone around.

I end the season with mixed feelings. I will be pleased not to have to get up at five o’clock in the morning, but I will miss the feeling of accomplishment when things go as planned and the camaraderie that comes with the day. I won’t miss the frustration when they don’t. Over the coming months, I will continue to work with and build Griff’s experience and ability to work in whatever field his future takes him.

As for Adge, he may come out for the odd drive next season, or perhaps work alongside Griff once Griff is ready — but only if he wants to. He hasn’t been in the least bit upset by staying at home while Griff has been out. Seth and Flora — and even Griff — would not tolerate such choices nearly so well.

I love this sport that so many people dislike these days. I feel very lucky to have access to parts of the countryside that I wouldn’t normally be able to enjoy. I strongly believe that if we are going to take part in such a sport, the birds must have a good life. I can confidently say that on the shoot we attend, they are looked after superbly. Everyone is encouraged to take birds home at the end of the day — there are never any left — with recipes shared and meals proudly photographed. We even share birds with neighbours, whose young children appreciate the field-to-fork experience.

Now the season has ended, it’s time to get back to more intensive training with my dogs and helping my clients with theirs.