Paul Morrison - Hunting with Spaniels: Training Your Flushing Dog

EDITORIAL

Andrew DePrisco Editor-in-Chief
Amy Deputato Senior Editor
Jamie Quirk Editor

ART

Sherise Buhagiar Senior Graphic Artist
Bill Jonas Book Design
Joanne Muzyka Digital Imaging

The publisher would like to thank the following photographers for their contributions to this book: Mary Bloom, David Dalton, Tara Darling, Isabelle Francais, Carol Ann Johnson, Paul and Lynn Morrison, Philippe Roca, Alice van Kempen, and Haja van Wessem.

Cover photos by Philippe Roca.

Kennel Club Books Country Dogs Series

HERDING DOGS

Copyright 2009

An Imprint of I-5 Press
A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC

3 Burroughs, Irvine, CA 92618 USA

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Morrison, Paul, 1955
Hunting with spaniels / by Paul Morrison.
p. cm. (Country dog series)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-59378-729-5
eISBN 978-1-59378-638-0
1. SpanielsTraining. 2. Hunting dogsTraining. I. Title.
SF429.S7M67 2008
636.752435dc22

2008033755

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Kennel Club Books, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Printed and bound in China

15 14 13 12 11 10 09 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Contents

C HAPTER
What Makes a Spaniel a Spaniel?

C HAPTER
Where to Find a Hunting Spaniel

C HAPTER
Making a Den for Your Dog

C HAPTER
Training: An Overview

C HAPTER
Teaching the Fundamentals

C HAPTER
The Started Dog

C HAPTER
Moving On Up: Intermediate Training

C HAPTER
The Finished Dog: Advanced Training

C HAPTER
Measuring Your Progress

Paul and Lynn Morrison with two of their American Water Spaniels.

Introduction

It has been more than twenty years since I entered the land of the flushing spaniel and discovered what I believe to be the quintessential type of field dog. At the time, I was not necessarily looking for a flushing dog; I simply wanted a versatile dog that would be all I needed in a gundog, rolled into one tidy package. I did not begin my search looking for a single breed or a single type of dog; in fact, just the opposite was the case. You see, I have never specialized in any particular type of hunting but simply in the sport of hunting, and I like it that way.

What I hunt is predicated not on what my friends hunt or what type of hunting is most prevalent in my area but on the type of quarry available on any given day. I needed then, as I do now, a dog or dogs that would make it possible for me to successfully hunt that quarry and return home with a full game bag. As an upland enthusiast, I sought a dog that would have a keen nose, good speed, and boldness and not be too much trouble to clean up following a day spent in the swales and underbrush of the nearby coverts. As a waterfowl hunter, I needed a dog that loved to retrieve. Such a dog would sit comfortably on a cold and blustery day, calmly waiting for the next opportunity to fetch a duck from the marsh and retrieve it gently to hand. To my way of thinking, I needed two dogsone a pointer and the other a retriever. My wifes way of thinking, however, was that two dogs were going to be one dog too many, and well, her way of thinking was, of course, more correct than mine.

When my search began, not only was I looking for one dog more than I was allowed (I mean, one more dog than I needed) but I also was seeking something that would be far too big for a house dog. You see, I had assumed that since I was no hunting specialist, I would need two dogs, as this would allow me to cover all bases and have the best dog for each situation, land and water. I had been considering the usual suspects: a nice Labrador that would be more than enough dog for my waterfowl hunting and could, if called upon, perform adequately in the uplands; and a good performing Brittany that would tear up the pheasant fields or grouse woods while showing some versatility as a retriever. This was my idea of the ideal combination. When reality set in, though, it became apparent that my game plan had to change. So, with a new understanding of the course I would have to take, I returned to the books, the magazines, and the conversations with other hunters, which I hoped would eventually lead me to the ideal dog.

Surprisingly, it was my wife, Lynn, not me, who found the ideal dog. She had been told of a breed that excelled at retrieving and flushing and had a long, albeit obscure, history of huntingthe American Water Spaniel. Her suggestion that I look into that breed led to the usual spousal skepticism, followed by a great deal of research on my part as I tried to prove that she had been led astray and that I knew best.

My skepticism centered not only on the particular breed in question, which was little known and difficult to find but also on spaniels in general. A spaniel for hunting? I had never run into a spaniel while grouse or pheasant hunting around Michigan, and I certainly had never seen a spaniel around the marshes while duck and goose hunting. Why in the world would I consider a spaniel? Undoubtedly, this was going to be a short detour on my path to the ideal dog. Well, not so fast! My research turned up not only a good amount of information on the American Water Spaniel in particular but an overwhelming amount of information on spaniels in general.

I came to learn that spaniels are not specialists, in the sense that they primarily either locate game or retrieve shot birds, but jacks of all trades, performing both functions equally well. In short, they are much like me and probably many other hunters, who lean toward hunting whatever game provides the best opportunity on a given day. The hunter who goes out one day to push through the corn stubble and fence rows in pursuit of a clever old rooster pheasant and then spends the next day looking out across a few dozen decoys is probably best served by having a spaniel as a hunting partner. The guy or gal who likes to walk the edges of a beaver pond for grouse and needs a dog that will retrieve a bird from the water as quickly and easily as he will from land is probably best served by having a spaniel as a hunting partner. And the hunter who likes to occasionally test his skill at putting a rabbit or two in the game bag will find the spaniel a truly versatile companion. Add to all of that the fact that most spaniels are compact enough to take up only a little room on the couch as they curl up next to you, and you really begin to wonder why do we not see and read more about these great little dogs.

When it comes to hunting dogs, the flushing spaniel is about the least popular of the three basic types: pointers/setters, retrievers, and spaniels. This is borne out by a variety of numbers provided by the American Kennel Club (AKC). For instance, if you add up all of the spaniel pups registered with the AKC in any given year and compare that number with the number of retriever pups or pointer and setter pups, you will see that the spaniels finish a distant third. If you look at the number of field events, both hunt tests and field trials, run each year for spaniels and compare it with the number of such events held for either retrievers or pointers and setters, you will see that the spaniels are, once again, least popular. The question is, why?