Some years ago, a pal of mine achieved a lifetime’s ambition: he took his dogs picking up on a grouse moor. His trio of black labradors – a mother and…
David Tomlinson
News this week: English gunmakers thrive across the pond but sadness at disappearance of lapwings on Dartmoor
English gunmakers continue to thrive across the pond US sales of shotguns from English gunmakers continue to soar. James Purdey & Sons Ltd, whose shotguns can easily exceed £150,000, do…
RSPB takes pragmatic approach to grouse
While Chris Packham’s Wild Justice remains committed to a ban on driven grouse shooting, there are signs that the RSPB’s stance is becoming more conciliatory, even going as far as…
A tale of two moors: one managed and one no longer
Opponents of grouse shooting repeatedly fail to acknowledge the importance of managed grouse moors for a host of moorland birds, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The Berwyn Hills Special…
Why hasn’t the German longhaired pointer caught on?
It’s nearly 25 years since I shot my first pheasant off a point. Shooting birds over pointing dogs may not be particularly challenging, as the shot is often quite simple,…
Are golden cocker spaniels really more aggressive?
Where does the story of golden cocker spaniels suffering from rage come from? You might never have heard of VetCompass — I admit I hadn’t until recently — but it’s…
Red grouse on the decline, while red kites are booming
It’s long been known that grouse populations rise and fall in cycles, and this is confirmed by the Breeding Birds Survey (BBS) 2022. Produced by the British Trust for Ornithology,…
Dog walking injuries – why you need to teach your dog to walk to heel
I was bemused to read an article in The Washington Post about injuries sustained by dog walkers, as (remarkably, it would seem) I’ve managed over 50 years of walking my…
Is farming to blame for Europe-wide bird decline?
Intensive agriculture has long been suspected of being the major cause of the catastrophic decline in bird numbers across Europe. Now, a new study, published in the journal PNAS, provides…
Puppy familiarisation with livestock: how to make a dog sheep-proof
All of us with gundogs to ensure that training includes puppy familiarisation with livestock. A young dog that shows interest in livestock should be scolded fiercely and left in no…
Why do labrador genes dominate?
Here’s a question I can’t answer: why, when a labrador is crossed with almost any other breed, do the resulting puppies invariably show the greatest similarity to their labrador parent…
Dog harnesses – are they really a good idea or the sign of an untrained dog?
Are dog harnesses the answer if a gundog pulls on the lead? I’m sure dog harnesses are popular because people feel that they are much kinder to a dog than…
Calls to ‘lek it be’ to protect capercaillie
When capercaillie first became extinct in Scotland in the late 1700s, their disappearance was blamed on destruction of the native pine forests and excess hunting. This iconic species — the…
GWCT’s annual bird count paints a positive picture
White-tailed eagles, white storks, bitterns and cirl buntings were just a few of the rarer birds recorded in this year’s GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count (BFBC). This was the 10th…
Lagotto Romangolo: a fine Italian import
Lagotto Romagnolo – is it really a gundog? “I loved the look of that Italian dog that won Crufts, but it’s not really a gundog, is it?” That was the…
Gundog names
I recently met a chap with a pair of black labradors named James and Thomas. He explained: “I was going to call them Purdey and Boss, after the shotgun manufacturers;…
Dry eye in dogs: symptoms and treatment
Medical names are often tongue-twisters but few are more challenging than keratoconjunctivitis sicca, which is the official description of a common canine complaint — dry eye. For the sake of…
Studies conflict over how to help curlews
Up to a quarter of the world’s curlew population breeds in the British Isles, but in recent years, populations of this iconic bird have been in sharp decline, prompting studies…
Pick of the litter: how to choose your best working dog puppy
There are few young animals more irresistible than a gundog puppy, a fact that makes choosing the one you like best out of a litter of puppies all the more…
Puppy prices go down
It is a question that, until a decade or so ago, would have been easy to answer simply by looking at the classified advertisements for dogs in the back of…