A Dog’s Life
Diary of a Gun Dog Episode 7: The End of the First Year
Oscar is now turned one year old and a lot has happened in the last year. He has settled well in his home with his family. He has taken to gun dog training like a duck to water, making his owners exceptionally proud. Oscar’s turning-out to be a well-behaved and good-natured dog and has grown…
Puppy Power! Part Two – Settling In
In Part One of our three posts dedicated to puppies, we discussed choosing a puppy and looked at the first eight weeks of a puppy’s life. In Part Two, we’ll be starting with the momentous occasion of bringing a puppy home and what happens between eight to twelve weeks. This is a period of huge…
Top 5 Reference Books For Dog Owners
Whilst many of us opt for a quick search engine over a reference book these days as a quick fix for those niggling questions like ‘Who won Crufts in 2005?’, there are definitely times when a good book, written by a knowledgeable expert is the preferred option. Detailed issues regarding dogs require the right kind…
Diary of a Gun Dog: Episode 6 – The Training Continues
With Oscar fully recovered from his bout of kennel cough and going from strength to strength on his new dog food, his owners are making sure they don’t rest on their laurels in the off season. By keeping up with his training and ironing out little foibles and problems now, they can be sure to…
Diary of a Gun Dog: Episode 5 – Oscar the Teenager!
It’s been a busy month, with Oscar contracting a bout of kennel cough and he’s also trying out a new diet. He’s now a junior dog and moving into the ‘teenage’ phase, which can potentially bring its own challenges to rearing a dog and is a classic time for rebellion and boundary pushing. As Oscar…
Diary of a Gundog: Episode 4 – Oscar’s First Shoot
Here is the fourth episode in our Oscar series, Oscar attends his first shoot, albeit mostly as an observer, rather than a retriever. He still has a lot to learn before he will be deemed mature enough and obedient enough to take part fully in a shoot. Let’s find out how Oscar’s retrieval skills are…
Top 10 Gifts For The Dog That Has Everything
It’s that magical time of year again! Christmas will be here in no time, so let’s start thinking about food, presents, trees and decorations. In all the hustle and bustle, don’t forget to treat your canine companion to a little, or big, something, especially if he or she is a family pet. Children or grandchildren…
Diary of a Gundog: Episode 3 – River Stories
Episode Three of our Diary of a Gundog series will concentrate on a combination of rivers and dogs. Now approximately five months old, Oscar the yellow labrador is being trained to be comfortable and confident in water in preparation for his first day of shooting in a few weeks. Why is it so vital for…
Diary of a Gundog: From Puppy to First Shoot. Episode 2: Exploration
Here in the second episode of our new series we’ll be keeping up with an excited Oscar. Having had a little more time to get used to his new home, it’s now the moment for him to finally go out on proper walks, as he’s had all his jabs. It is imperative for gundogs to…
Diary of a Gundog: From Puppy To First Shoot. Episode 1 – Entering The Family Home
Our new series of blog posts will follow a gundog puppy from meeting his family to first shoot. We’ll look at the huge amount of work involved in training a gundog, any unwanted behaviours and how they are dealing with them. We’ll also find out a lot about the pros and cons of combining a…
