Almost three months later, I am finally here to write down what happened. On Sept 7^th 2017, in fact, Briony won Novice Stake on Partridge at Sandrigham, organized by the Pointer Club of UK. Some might argue that, well, it’s “just” a Novice Stake, but for me it is a great achievement. Briony is not my first English Setter, I got the first one, “Socks” (Slai di Riccagioia),  in 1999, but he was a rescue and he came to me after having be discarded by a “pro” trainer and with a bag full of behavioural problems. In his own way, he was a smart dog, we managed to go hunting alone together (he did not want men with shotguns around him), but there was no way I could rehab completely and train him for trials. I had not enough  skills, nor  experience,  and he would not have dealt well with formal training sessions.  He,  however, opened me new doors as we started training for rough shooting and I got a firearms and hunting license. I met people, got new friends and spent many years rough shooting over English Setters and other pointing breeds up and down the hills of the Northern Apennines. I, somehow, had the chance to watch- and shoot over- hundreds of dogs  during those years, and it was  an incredible experience. I also began attending trials and to work for canine and shooting magazines which lead me to meet breeders, judges and handlers…

After his death, when I started looking for another setter,  I had very clear ideas about what I wanted in my next dog, but not so clear ideas about where to find her! It took months, but I finally located my litter and my puppy, on a farm on the Swiss Alps, not too far from Sankt Moritz (posh dog!). I knew what I needed to know about Briony’s dad, but mum was quite a surprise: she was beautiful, gentle and smart. She came with us heeling off lead to the small village’s café and then sat quietly under the table. I loved that, as well the whole bloodline registered in the pedigree and the parents’ health clearances. When I brought Briony home, people thought she was cute, but too expensive, and that I was going to “ruin” her, training her in my own way and socializing her too much. I just thought she was a terrible pup who did not like me at all. It took quite a while to become friends, probably she was just testing me to be sure she was in good hands!

She was naughty, but smart, and she quickly developed in a good hunting companion. Sometimes she had a mind of her own and sometimes  she was not the easiest dog to handle, but she surely did not lack of determination and bird sense. She was, and she still is,  strong willed and sensitive at the same time. Thanks to friends, we had access to some private estates where she could meet much more birds that she could have met on more affordable – by me –  public grounds. Other people introduced her to woodcock and, I still remember the day, with my surprise, she pointed her first snipe. During these hunting seasons, she learnt to work with other dogs and we worked a lot on backing and on remaining steady on point. I must admit I had good teachers, and that skilled hunters helped us to locate birds, but steadiness to wing was not required. Hunters here want the dogs to be steady on point, but after the bird flies,  all they wish is to hit it, none cares anymore about the dog.

In the meantime, as she also grew prettier, I entered her at a dog show that took place nearby and, to my surprise, she was awarded a RCAC (RCC), so I decided to continue on this road. Briony, however, had other plans and after a stressful indoor show, she decided she wanted  to end her career  as a show dog. She had already a CAC in her pockets and I did not want her journey to end. I am not a show person, and I consider dog shows boring, but I wanted to prove that a good looking working dog, from working (mountain hunting and mountain trials) bloodlines, could make it. So, we went together to take handling lessons with Richard Hellman, a great handler and a great person. Briony seemed to enjoy the lessons and, in August 2015, she became a Show (full) Champion.  I also think that having learnt to face the ring she somehow increased her self esteem.

Field trials were next on my list, but there was a HUGE problem: I did not want to send her away for training, nor to hire a professional trainer as people normally do here. I wanted to train and handle Briony by myself, easier said than done in Italy where field trials are dominated by male professional handlers. But, thanks to an unexpected series of coincidences, in the summer of 2015 I ended up watching the Champion Stake for Pointers and Setters in Northern England and… I had an awakening! I saw some “ordinary people” handling their dogs to a very high standard and I saw very obedient setters! I was used to see very obedient Drahthaars (GWPs), but the average Italian Setter is usually quite a wild critter! I could not believe setters could be that obedient and, as naïve as it might sound, I was impressed.

Briony herself was pretty wild at the time and her nickname was “Tigress” but, again, unexpectedly, a good mentor came to us. You can read more about Briony’s taming for field trials and about “White Feather” clicking here but, in a few words,  I would describe her  training a demanding task,  it was equally rewarding though! It took a while to tame “Tigress”, but as soon as she decided to cooperate, she became impressively reliable and well behaved. This is how we ended up on the moor in the summer of 2016, and this is how my passion for British trials developed even further (you can read more here).  Our first experience with grouse was not that bad: she always behaved and she kept improving but paid her inexperience with grouse during the English Trials and she paid my inexperience with trials in during the Scottish – and the English- trials. She still needed some fine tunings but, overall, I could not complain. At the end of the circuit, I went home with no awards but determined to save money and to go back in 2017.

But, when the time to go again on the moors was close to come, I had to withdraw all my entries as Briony anticipated her season. I wasn’t happy, I was quite disappointed, no… honestly… I was quite upset, but there was not much else I could do. Some friends, however, tried to cheer me up advertising September trials on partridge. It is easier to get a run, they said, the atmosphere is very relaxed, they added and… we are going to run  at Sandrigham Estate, on Queen Elizabeth II’s  grounds, they  concluded. I must admit the last thing they mentioned was very tempting: it was thanks to such a good advertisement that  I decided to bet on partridge trials in Norfolk. That was a brave bet, I shall admit, as I was perfectly aware they were going to be more difficult than grouse trials. While gathering information, I learn that: 1) during the first round, usually on stubble, dogs were going to be evaluated mainly for pace, style and ground treatment and that 2) “a few” hares were going to be present. Uh, I was forgetting the sugar beet! So well, while I was going to do my best to show up with a well behaved dog,  going there to win was not surely  written down in my agenda. I just wanted to be there, see people, get to know things better, learn more and feel part of a world I like.

Briony started the circuit well (we went to the 2^nd round in 4 trials out of 9) and, even if, we could not find any birds on our paths, she was behaving well and respecting hare nicely (I do not have hare here, just rabbits and cats to train on). I was happy, we were learning more and enjoying the social side of September trials : I do not drink, but I was always at the pub! It was nice to see friends doing well and, especially after IGL Snettisham trials , when no awards were given, I was super happy to see Rhia (Tapper) and Sara (Chichester) receiving the Gun’s Choice rosette. Trials proved to be as difficult as I expected: while there were plenty of hare, feathered wildlife was scarce or, should I say, very  smart and very professional at hiding. On Thursday, 7^th of September, (Pointer Club trial  at Sandrigham) I was number 13 AND the bye dog (quite a scary combination), but she did well in the first round, and well again in the second,  so I knew I was going to get “something”, but I did not know what.

When the secretary announced that I had won First Prize, I could not believe it and indeed, the Vaux Silver Tankard, fell from my hands a couple of times! It was like living in a Disney movie and this article should have explained you why. She is the first dog I have ever trained for trials, and I trained her all by myself. Yes, many wonderful people helped me through the journey (in Italy and in the UK, and I am grateful to them all),  but I have always been the one in charge. I am just a normal person with limited training opportunities coupled with a high degree of stubbornness and self discipline which surely helped. This is why everything that could sound normal to someone else, is so special to me,  and yes, winning an award at Sandrigham confirms that Briony is a posh dog!

Ps. I promise I will also write on other dogs  – and not just on mine – as there will be more articles on September trials,  (all partridge trials  rusults can be downloaded here) in the meantime, if you have a chance, take a look at the research project I am working on for my Veterinary Medicine dissertation.

Still curious about British trials? Check the section A Month on the Moor or click here.

The transition from the toy varieties to a spaniel is somewhat violent. The one is intended to please the eye, to gratify the æsthetic sense, and charm by his manners in the house; the other is designed primarily, by serving the sportsman in the held, to accomplish useful duties, but at the same time his docility of disposition, sagacity of expression and beauty of coat make him also a welcome companion when the day’s labours are ended. In estimating the worth of a gundog I should lay much stress upon his fitness for associating with mankind, for there is no doubt that if we win the confidence and friendship of our four-footed servitors the pleasure in their possession is much increased, and we have them under far better command when at work. Of all the foolish things written the hackneyed couplet so much quoted has precedence:

The ladies are quite capable of looking after themselves, and need no champion. I daresay a walnut tree may be all the better for a good “splashing,” as we used to say in the Midlands, but I am certain the less a whip is used on a dog of any sort the more likely are we to be successful in our efforts to exact prompt and ready obedience to our commands. The man who uses physical correction too freely is in want of a practical application of the monition contained in the Book of Proverbs: “A rod for the back of fools.”

Of the many handsome sub-varieties of spaniels with which we are familiar to-day the English Springer, perhaps, enjoys the least popularity, although his merits as a worker entitle him to a high place in our regard. As a show dog he has never assumed much prominence, but at held trials and on private shootings he is constantly demonstrating his utility. No other spaniel has been bred less for “points” or more consistently for work. Less excitable than the volatile Cocker, his longer legs and sturdier frame adapt him to purposes which the smaller is unable to perform. On the other hand, unless well broken, he, by ranging too far afield, may put up the game out of gunshot. It therefore follows that in his early days he must be made absolutely steady.  Whether he becomes so or not is not so much attributable to the inherent wickedness of the dog as to the lack of patience in his breaker. One is almost inclined to say that the good breaker is born not made. At any rate, supposing you have the leisure, this is a task better undertaken by yourself than entrusted to a gamekeeper, who may have neither the time nor disposition to act as a wise schoolmaster.

A Springer is large enough to retrieve both far and feather, but whether or no he should be encouraged to do this depends upon circumstances. General Hutchinson says: “When a regular retriever can be constantly employed with spaniels, of course it will be unnecessary to make any of them fetch game (certainly never to lift anything which falls out of bounds), though all the team should be taught to ‘seek dead.’ This is the plan pursued by the Duke of Newcastle’s keepers, and obviously it is the soundest and easiest practice, for it must be always more or less difficult to make a spaniel keep within his usual hunting limits, who is occasionally encouraged to pursue wounded game, at his best pace, to a considerable distance.”

The word Springer is applied to all medium-legged spaniels, as apart from the short-legged ones, that are neither Clumbers nor Sussex. It is of good old English derivation, denoting the object for which the dog was employed—-to spring birds to the net or gun. The form of the dog has not undergone any marked change since a Dictionary of Sport, published shortly before Queen Victoria came to the throne, spoke of him as differing but little from the Setter, except in size, being nearly two-fifths less in height and strength. He is of symmetrical formation, varying a good deal in size from thirty pounds to sixty pounds, with unbounded energy. He may be a self-coloured liver, black, or yellow, or pied or mottled with white, tan, or both. Miss Earl’s picture brings out beautifully the correct shape of his body, and the handsome intelligent-looking head. Older pictures suggest that a hundred years ago or less the skull was broader between the ears, and the head shorter, but the refining process has not been carried far enough to jeopardise the brain power. In many breeds I have noticed that a broad skull indicates self-will and stubbornness, and therefore it seems to me that the slight change is all for the better.

The other variety of Springer indigenous to Wales is quite distinct from our own. He is smaller in size, and in colour he is red or orange and white, preference being given to the former.

From the same book: click here to read about the English Pointer.

The previous article on gun shyness triggered many reactions. This had pretty much been forecasted, but I hoped to find a larger number of open minded people. In the end, however, I must admit hearing that you, owner, can be deemed responsible for your own dog gun shyness is not pleasant. Modern ethology is not being kind here, and it is much easier to blame the genes, the bitch, the stud or the breeder. Acknowledging the role of environment, upbringing and training is tough, it can make us feel guilty.

What did the readers say? I was told stuff like “I never introduced the pup to noises, but when the first day of the shooting season came, I brought him with me and shot a whole covey of partridge on his head and nothing happened! The dog is fine! Socialization and all that stuff, bullshit.” If these people had carefully read the first article, they would have realized I wrote that sometimes people are very lucky, and a dog can survive such intense experience, without any prior training. Is luck often that blind? Not really, what most likely happens is that the dog has been exposed to noise and other stimuli, the owner is simply not aware of this. Maybe the pups grew up by the house, or on a farm, where he learnt to recognize the tractor, the lawn mower and other sounds, maybe they were born during a stormy summer and learnt not to fear thunders. Dogs living near humans are generally exposed to noise and this could prevent gun shyness.

It is now time to discuss the second objection “In the past dogs were not socialized, nor exposed to noise, yet, they were normal”. This is a false myth. Let’s thing about the past: about one century ago, almost all the hunting dogs used to belong to rich people. These people had professional staff taking care of the dogs, it is highly unlikely that these dogs were poorly socialized. What about ordinary people? At a certain moment in history, people with lower incomes started to become interested in hunting dogs. These people were mainly farmers and, usually, had some mixed breed dogs who could work like a hound, a spaniel or a terrier (their contemporary equivalent would be the lurcher). These dogs used to live on the farm, close to their owner, to other humans and to human made noises.

In Italy, lower and middle class hunters began being involved with purebred hunting dogs after WWII, more vigorously from the sixties. At the time, the idea of breeding dogs as a business had not yet been developed and most of the litters were homemade and raised by amateurs. It could be the rich man with his staff or the plain hunter, sharing the burden of raising a litter with his wife and children: dogs and humans, whatever the wealth, used to live close to each other.

Things changed later, as soon as people realized that breeding and selling dogs could become a profitable business. Dogs began to be seen as “livestock” and raised as you would raise a farm animal. Separate living quarters with kennels were built and sometimes multiple litters were raised simultaneously. Pups are nowadays sometimes raised at a distance from human made noises and sometimes experience less interactions with humans. Commercial kennels, however, are not the only ones to blame, hunters have changed as well. Some hunters now live in the city, they do not want to share their apartment with muddy dogs and send them to live “in the countryside” (locked in kennels) paying someone local human being to go feed and clean them. Some hunters have a detached house in the suburbs, but pups destroy gardens so they end up in a kennel far from the house. Hunters return home late from work, they are tired and they do not feel like interacting with their new pup, even if he has a great pedigree and was paid a lot of money.

If the pup would not be such a thoroughbred but just a farm mutt, things could maybe be easier for him. Some modern purebreds are not that different from thoroughbred horses and are equally nervous and sensitive. We selected these dogs taking speed and reactivity in great account, well… they can now be highly reactive even when we would prefer them not to be. Times and contexts have changed, why people refuse to acknowledge this? I think we should pay more attention to the dogs’ needs and remember that the dog is “man best friend”. We should put the pup first and do our best to make him grow into a happy and fearless adult. We should no longer bring a gun shy pup back to the breeder asking for a replacement or a refund, we should, in a few words, be responsible of our actions.

PS. Don’t forget to take a look at the Gundog Research Project!

I wrote about this on several occasions and, usually, I do not like re-writing about things I already wrote about but, last week, reading an online forum, I realized that gun-shyness is still a mystery.

People buy dogs, mate dogs, collect dogs but never “waste” time trying to educate themselves about dogs or, more simply, trying to switch their brains on. I am not sure whether you are familiar with Patrick Pageat, he is a Frech veterinarian and animal behaviourist who wrote the book “L’homme et le Chien” (The Man and the Dog), he writes: “How can a gun-shyness gene exists? How could nature have foreseen gun powder and shotguns?“

Obviously, nature could not have predicted shotguns, but some dogs are indeed gun-shy, why? Are they faulty? I hate seeing dogs labelled as “faulty”, their behaviour can be explained through a more refined explanation. These dogs are not “faulty”: did you know, for instance, that some dogs are more sensitive than others? This has been demonstrated in humans as well, some people are more sensitive to noise, light and so on and this has been proved scientifically. So, yes, some dogs might be more sensitive than others. Is this genetic? I think so and, in my experience, I found gun-shy dogs in some breeds more than in others. These dogs, and more generalizing these breeds, were also more difficult to rehabilitate. Generally speaking, again, these dogs were quite reactive, fast and somehow nervous and… sensitive! It is selection, it is how we want dogs to be: let’s try to compare and English Setter (or a Border Collie) and a Neapolitan Mastiff: they are not exactly the same thing.

We should not, however, talk about fear, analyzing sensitivity would be much more appropriate. Are there dogs who are more sensitive to noise? Yes, but being sensitive to something, does not mean being fearful of something. Yet, some dogs are afraid of gunshots, but fear came after sensitivity and was triggered but something external to them. What do, most of the fearful dogs have in common? Could environmental factors play a role? Most of the gun -shy dogs I met (in about 20 years spent around gundogs), had indeed something in common: they all had been poorly socialized.

I am not going to write about puppy socialization in this article, but I am going to point that, sometimes, hunters, as well as dog breeders, do not pay enough attention to this fundamental process. The “average” hunting dog is born in the countryside and grows up in a kennel, an environment which tends to be rather silent and lacks of natural stimuli. These quiet, rural settings do not fully prepare the pup for his future life.

Furthermore, once adopted by the new owner, the pup continues living in a similar environment and tends to be left there until he turns 7 or 8 months old. Only a few hunters start training pups earlie, as they fear they would get “ruined”. Once deemed old enough, the pups are put in the car (so far they had generally been in the car only to go to a veterinarian) and are taken somewhere to be tested on a bird (that is going to be shot), generally on a quail, or, even worse, to a shooting party.

Having had no exposure to gunshots, two things might happen: 1) the dog has a very strong temperament (and his owner is very lucky!) and he does not mind the noise or 2) we witness a disaster and the dog becomes gun-shy. Unfortunately, these things happen and… frequently! I did not invent anything and, sadly, I have seen this happen more than once and I can tell you about people who keep repeating these same mistakes. There are people who end up owning only gun-shy dogs: each pup they purchase will turn in a gun-shy adult. Some of them realized this and now only purchase adult dogs. Some other people, on the other hand, had never owned a gun-shy dog despite having purchased all their dogs as puppies, from different sources..

Let me tell a short story: M. Smith purchased a high quality puppy and raised her in the kennel. Once she turned 7 months old, he introduced her to birds and gunshots with the fore mentioned techniques and she became gun-shy. During the following YEARS she overcame, more or less, her gun-shyness but her breeder donated a second pup, a sister to the previous one, to Mr. Smith, as a replacement. Mr. Smith, after committing the same mistakes for many years, had the chance to meet some properly socialized puppies and decides raise her differently. The new pup grows up experiencing noises and living different experiences: she is not gun-shy and she is much much bolder than her older sister.

PS. Don’t forget to take a look at the Gundog Research Project!

FOR ENGLISH SCROLL DOWN 

Per tenere vivo interesse e partecipazione al Gundog Research Project, abbiamo aggiunto un nuovo premio: un servizio fotografico gratuito.

Dettagli: servizio fotografico all’aperto con possibilità di includere cani, bambini e selvaggina, se presente.  Possiamo programmarlo durante una sessione di addestramento, durante una giornata di caccia o altro.

Riceverete un numero illimitato di immagini sotto forma di files digitali ad alta risoluzione e quindi stampabili e i files saranno anche raccolti in una galleria online.

L’unico limite è legato alla località, il servizio fotografico dovrà aver luogo dalle mie parti, altrimenti ci sarebbero delle spese di viaggio.

Per vincere il servizio dovete solo compilare il questionario online,  più cani inserirete, maggiori saranno! le possibilità di vincere!

Cliccate qui per saperne di più

***

To keep the interest around the Gundog Research Project alive, I decided to offer one more “prize”: a free photographic session with me.

The photo session will take place outside and can include people (adults and children), dogs and, if present, wildlife. It can take place during a training session, during a shooting day or in a similar context.

You will receive an unlimited number of images as a high resolution (printable) digital files. The images will also be featured in a dedicated online photo gallery.

There is only one limitation: we should organize the shooting session not too far from where I live (Northern Italy ): I would be very happy to travel to another continent but it might be expensive.

Fill out our survey to win and remember, the more dogs you tell us about, the more chances you have!

Click here to know more

There is no doubt that seeing a well trained dog doing everything right is a pure delight to owner/handler or observer, not to mention a judge. The seamless way they cut up a field missing no ground, the sudden stop and lock up on point, the flush on command, the stop, the marking of the fallen bird, the glance for permission to retrieve, the retrieve and the delivery all flowing like a gentle mountain stream over smooth rock. Pure dog poetry in motion!

What few understand is how exactly you get a dog to that level. Many fail due to their lack of experience, the experienced fail due to their lack of adapting. There is nothing more heartbreaking to watch than a handler train one dog after another in the same way, and making the same mistakes, dog after dog. For the novice it is a minefield of advice and methods, some good some totally disastrous!! Some novices will seek advice from the old dog hands,  other will shun all help.
I have my own way of training a dog, most of it is old school, some of it is purely my way of doing things, I still do things wrong, but I learn from that pretty quickly when I fail my dog. Yes, I fail my dog, not the dog fails me. If I have not trained or exposed my dog to certain things, I am failing my dog, but that is another topic.

Getting back to watching a dog do everything right. To get to that level a good handler/trainer would have broken down every single step in the opening scenario and then he would have also compartmentalized the individual steps into single separate training sessions. Don’t get it?

The retrieve can be broken down as follows:

1. Dog sitting steady by your side
   2. Dog looks at you when you whisper his name or click your tongue
   3. Dog takes dummy, or bird, from your hand on command, does not chew or play
   4. Dog stays sitting as you walk away, does not drop the bird or dummy
   5. Dog comes straight in when called, still holding the dummy
   5.1 Dog does not keep circling you with dummy or bird
   5.2 Dog does not drop the bird/dummy at your feet
   5.3 Dog sits calmly with dummy in his mouth until you give him the deliver command
   6. Dog holds steady on a cast, waits for command
   7. Dog does not lift on the cast
   8. Dog marks cast
   9. Dog does not move when you walk and pick up dummy or bird
   10. Dog does not move when you place multiple dummies out
   11. Dog does not switch dummies/birds when they are placed together

This gives you a general outline of how small the different steps can be broken down into. It is the same for every single thing you train. The point, the flush, the way the dog works a field, everything.  I have said   times before, sit down and decide what signals you will use, whistle, hand or verbal, train them into yourself long before you try and teach them to the dog, this is crucial!

Do not be in a hurry to weave this all together into your invisible leash. Once the dog can 100% of the time complete these micro exercises you can start putting 2 together, then 3 and so on. This is the only way to forge a unbreakable invisible leash. Few dogs fall apart during trials, most of them fall apart under high volume high pressure shoots and hunts, this is exactly the time you can least afford it or correct it.

Many people wait for the season to open so they can let their dogs run on field and find birds, this is foolish when you can train so many other aspects before the field season opens.

Keep it fun, keep it focused!

Are you interested in gundogs? Check out the Gundog Research Project!

Tok Mostert, a Professional Hunter from South Africa, now living in Sweden,  is sharing his writings on dog training with us. You can start reading them from Part 1 here.

Qualche giorno fa, mi sono accorta di non essere riuscita ad incontrare il Prof. Raymond Coppinger, per un pelo. Quando ho frequentato alcune classi ad Hampshire College (Massachusetts) lui era in un anno sabbatico e io non sono potuta tornare il semestre successivo. Però, ritornando in Italia, ho avuto modo di incontrare e diventare amica di un altro studioso dello stesso calibro. Si chiama  Mario Canton e non ricerca sul comportamento canino, si occupa di morfologia, che analizza secondo un approccio scientifico. Mario è una persona molto umile e, quando gli si fanno i complimenti, si limita a dire che lui non ha “scoperto nulla”, si è limitato a mettere insieme le cose. Può darsi che sia così ma, mettendo insieme alle cose, ha reso disponibile ai cinofili un’incredibile quantità di conoscienze che ha altresì rispiegato nella maniera più semplice possibile. Se vi pare poco!

Mario ha pubblicato il suo primo libro nel 2004(Cani e razze canine 1a Edizione) dopo 35 anni di ricerche. Ricordo me stessa che su portava il  libro in bagno per controllare i refusi mentre insistevo sul punto 1) inserire fotografie e disegni e 2) farlo tradurre in inglese. Oggi questo libro è arrivato alla sua terza edizione ed è disponibile in 3 volumi in cofanetto o in tre ebook che  vi linko qui sotto:

Cani & Razze Canine – Vol. I

Cani & Razze Canine – Vol. II

Cani & Razze Canine – Vol. III

purtroppo il libro è ancora senza disegni e senza traduzione in inglese. Mario si giustifica affermando che 1) inserirei disegni farebbe lievitare i costi e che 2) esiste una letteratura vastissima su questo argomento scritta in inglese. Le sue affermazioni sono veritiere ma lui stesso dimentica il suo merito più grande: l’aver condensato tantissima letteratura in un unico libro, ok è un librone ma i contenuti sono esposti in maniera comprensibile.

Continuo a pensare che Mario debba trovare un traduttore e un editore all’estero. Il mondo intero potrebbe trarre beneficio dai suoi scritti. L’unico testo disponibile in inglese, per questo ve ne parlo, al momento riguarda il levriero afgano. E’ un libricino che raccoglie le slides del congresso mondiale sulla razza tenutosi nel 2014. Trovo i levrieri afghani molto belli ma non sono “la mia razza”, ne credo interessino molto ai lettori del mio blog, quindi perché parlo del libro

Levriero Afgano – Afghan Hound (Edizione Kindle)?

(E’ disponibile anche l’edizione cartacea a cura di Crepaldi Editore).

Semplice, essendo l’unico testo in inglese è il libro che può fare da apripista a tutti gli altri. Ho scritto la stessa recensione che leggete voi in inglese, potete trovarla qui e linkarla ad amici che non conoscono la lingua italiana. In secondo luogo, mi piace molto come analizza la razza dal punto di vista della morfologia funzionale: ne risultano spiegazioni chiare e stimolanti. Credo che libretti simili andrebbero fatti per ogni razza, cominciando ovviamente dal setter inglese! Questo libro è sull’afghano ma qualsiasi appassionato di razze da lavoro può trarne alcuni spunti. Inserisco sotto una piccola galleria del libro da Google Books, se non riuscite a vederla cliccate  cliccate qui.

Se vi piace quello che state leggendo, acquistate il libro o incoraggiate Mario a scriverne altri!

This morning I realized I missed meeting Professor Raymond Coppinger by an inch. When I was attending some classes at Hampshire College (Massachusetts), he was on sabbatical. Unfortunately, I was not able to go back there on the following semester but, by coming back to Italy, I had the opportunity to meet and become friends with an equally gifted scholar. His name is Mario Canton and no, he does not research on dog behaviour, his favourite topic is dog conformation, analyzed under a scientific perspective. Mario is indeed a very humble person and he often claims “he has not discovered anything”, he has only put things together. It might be, but he made a huge amount of technical knowledge available to the average dog lover, quite an achievement!

Mario published his first book in 2004, after more than 35 years of research. I remember being the one proofreading it in the bathroom, checking for any possible typos and bugging him about 1) adding images and 2) having the book translated into English. The book “Cani e Razze Canine” (Dogs and Dog Breeds) has already had three improved editions since 2004, but it is still without images and without an English translation. Mario justifies himself stating that 1)images will make the book too expensive and 2) English speakers already have plenty of scientific literature about dogs in their own language. Both his statements are true, but Mario forgets his greatest merit: having condensed an incredible amount of literature in one book (a huge book indeed! ) and having re-written it in a way it is now easier to understand.

I am firmly convinced he should get a good translator and a good publisher abroad, the whole world could benefit from his writings. As for now, only one of his books is available in English and, today, I am telling you more about it. It is a small book about the Afghan Hound and it is based on the slides he showed during the Afghan Hound World Congress held in 2014. Whereas I think Afghan Hounds to be incredibly beautiful, I am not into the breed and I think most of my readers are not as well. So why am I reviewing the book

Levriero Afgano – Afghan Hound (Kindle Edition)?

(Paper edition available as well (it is published by Crepaldi Editore)

First of all, it is Mario’s only book available in English and, most important, he analyzes the breed according to the most modern knowledge about dog conformation and movement. I think he could and should do the same with other breeds – beginning from the English Setter of course! And I also think any dog lovers interested in a working breed can learn much from this tiny book. I am embedding a small gallery featuring some of the contents.  (In case you can’t see the Google Books gallery below, click here)

If you like what you see, consider purchasing the book or encourage him to publish more books in English!

Spring is drawing ever closer and our field season has pretty much closed down. It has been a long hard season for Flake, many hours, many miles and many birds. Off days where non existing: we always had a trial or a hunt going on, that was in between the training.
A season like we had takes its toll on a dog, mentally and physically. No matter how well conditioned the dog may be at the start of a season, he is likely to lose weight during the peak of the season. Just like losing weight, a dog will also lose some discipline, it cannot be helped, or prevented, unless you cut way back on hunting time. As said before, an over disciplined dog does not hunt well, neither does a dog without any discipline. No matter at what level you start at, discipline levels will deteriorate during a field season. Prolonged periods of time that the dog spends away from you naturally make the dog rely more on himself, this is normal and part of the learning curve for a dog, but it also brings complications. Spotting it is pretty easy if you had a baseline for discipline when the season started. Tell tale signs are the need to repeat commands, the dog taking a extra second to respond to the whistle, or ignoring commands completely.

Fixing the issues that came up during the season cannot be done effectively without resting the dog and taking a step back from hunting or trials. Most of us cannot afford to do this without missing out on many opportunities to hunt with the dog. All we can do is try and limit the amount we lose during the season. What compounds things even more is that there is no real off season. Once our field trials end, along with hunting, our water training and tests start, so does our tracking tests. It is common that a dog does well during the first year and progressively slides away the year after if attention is not paid to the issues that came up. How do we fix this? The short answer is to go back to basics, some will have to go way back and others may start in the middle, how do we know this, a simple but extensive way of judging where your dog is at, is to do a “end of season” evaluation. A simple series of “tests” with increasing levels of difficulty to establish a baseline from which to start and to highlight the areas that need more focused training.

How do you establish a baseline

1. Control the environment, leash, no leash, fenced area, unfenced area, no distractions, many distractions.
   2. Here is the only place and time you DO want the dog to fail.
   3. Keep it simple, heal, sit, stay, come and stop. Increase the time or distance or both gradually until the dog becomes uneasy, that is your limit.
   4. Balls, caps, dummies can be used to distract or entice the dog into breaking, do not let them retrieve anything, you are not evaluating that part of their work now.
   5. Use other people and or dogs to distract your dog, see how your dog keeps contact with you.
   6. This is not the time to correct the dog, this is a evaluation.
   7. Make notes of the problem areas, there will be more than one.
   8. You will have picked up bad habits too, focus on yourself and see what habits you need to break.
   9. If you have to, break up the evaluation over several days, but focus on every aspect you can.
   10. Be prepared to be disappointed.

Personally I will be taking a break from any type of training but discipline as soon as our season is completely over. I have estimated that I will need 2 weeks of intensive obedience training before I will see a noticeable difference in sharpness, that is for both the dog and myself. It will take at least 6 to 8 weeks before I will have Flake back to her pre season level of obedience. This is with training at least 45 to 60 minutes per day on obedience only, dogs don’t make mistakes when they are fresh, they make them when they are tired, mentally.

Be confident, be firm and never forget that you and the dog should enjoy what you are doing.

Next article here

Tok Mostert, a Professional Hunter from South Africa, now living in Sweden,  is sharing his writings on dog training with us. You can start reading them from Part 1 here.

Unfortunately we need you to fill out a questionnaire for each dog and, unfortunately, we are also very interested in those of you who own and handle many dogs. The questionnaire was created ONLY for dogs used for shooting or competing in field trials (pointing dogs, spaniels and retrievers). These dogs must be purebred and have a pedigree. If your gundog is a pet, or a show dog, I am sorry but he cannot be included in our sample. The questionnaire might seem long at a first sight, but you can fill it out in a few minutes. We decided to have only a few compulsory questions, to make you feel at ease: you can skip the questions that do not apply to your situation, or that you do not feel comfortable about. Remember, however, that the questionnaire can be as anonymous as you like, and all your answers will be stored respecting the laws on personal privacy and will not be passed on to other people. The more details you will be giving us, though, the more you will help this research and my dissertation, I will therefore appreciate detailed and honest answers. Please specify the units of measure in open questions (year, months, hours…). An e-mail address, whereas not compulsory, is equally appreciated in case we need any clarifications concerning your answers. We also need an e-mail if you wish to be included in the drawn for the prizes we are giving away. For those who prefer working on a printed version of the questionnaire, a pdf file can be downloaded, printed, given to those who do not have any internet access and then emailed back to us.

If you wish to receive a feedback about the outcomes of this survey, please let us know: we will send you a report at the end of the project!

We will also be grateful if you could give visibility to the project by  sharing or forwarding these pages, or the questionnaire link, to anyone who could be interested or otherwise able to help us in this research.

Why and how to benefit from the Gundog Research Project (click here)

The team behind the project (click here to discover more)

Online survey

Prizes

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