Raw chicken wings for dogs – but never cooked If you’re looking for a healthy treat for your hard working dog then these are ideal. It might surprise you because…
David Tomlinson
Left or right pawed? Which side does your dog favour?
I’ve lived with dogs all my life yet never known whether they were left or right pawed. About 10.6% of humans are left-handed, but nobody knows for sure what the…
Dangerous cows: why you should know your livestock
Virtually all of our lowland shooting takes place on farmland, so if you are spending time on the land, it pays to understand not only the farming cycle, but the…
Wasp stings to dogs: are they dangerous?
The dangers of wasp stings to dogs One of the effects of such a dry and sunny summer has been a surge in wasp numbers and the little blighters are…
The value of a picker-up
So what is the value of a picker-up? I met up with an old picking-up friend last month. I didn’t recognise him at first, as he was driving a Fiesta,…
Grouse shooting abroad – David Tomlinson goes on a world tour
There’s a common fallacy in the fieldsports world that grouse shooting is a British speciality and that nowhere else in the world can you pursue these most extraordinary gamebirds. It’s…
Breeding sprockers – there’s a science to it
There’s a common belief that sprockers, the cross between a cocker and an English springer, are healthier than their pure-bred parents. Out-breeding, mixing two quite different spaniel blood lines, certainly…
Shooting over dogs and shooting with dogs: there’s a big difference
Shooting with dogs A few years ago, a friend of mine, a country solicitor, announced that he was going grouse shooting. Some of his pals had suggested that he might…
A dog’s sense of smell: is it the last of its senses to decline?
This morning I was walking my elderly spaniel Rowan on open access land. She was on a lead, as the law requires, when a hare crossed the track about 40…
Curing hard mouth: is it possible in a gundog?
Whatever fault a retrieving dog may have, be it running-in, whining or not listening to the whistle, there’s only really one that’s serious enough to end a dog’s career and…
Independent vet care: why the personal touch has won me over
I like my dogs to have an annual health check and realised that they hadn’t seen a vet for nearly two years. My previous vet was a delightful and helpful…
Long hair, short hair or wire hair?
Most of us have a favourite gundog breed regardless of what sort of coat it has, but the length and nature of a dog’s hair does make quite a difference…
In Search Of One Last Song
My study is filled with books on hunting and shooting, beasts and butterflies, flowers and fungi, but mainly books on birds. I’ve never counted, but there are hundreds of them,…
Poisoned dogs: the symptoms and the dangers to look out for
Reports of poisoned dogs There was considerable panic in my local dog-owning community last month, when a three-year-old labrador reportedly died from poisoning. The initial Facebook post indicated that the…
What diseases could my dog pick up from foxes?
Disease from foxes All dogs, including gundogs can get the following disease from foxes: Sarcoptic mange Lungworm Rabies Dogs and foxes do suffer from the same diseases, though, of which…
Gundog rabbit trials
Once the staple quarry of the rough shooter, the humble rabbit has become something of a rarity in the countryside, with the result that generations of modern gundogs have little…
How to keep an old springer going strong
There was uncorking of champagne in the Tomlinson household last month, celebrating spaniel Rowan’s 16th birthday. English springers are generally regarded as enjoying, on average, one of the longest lifespans…
Electric training collars for dogs: is this the end?
Four years ago, Michael Gove introduced plans for legislation to ban the use of electric training collars for dogs in England. It was a proposal supported by not only animal-rights…
Do spaniels smell more than Labradors?
Q: I would like a springer or working cocker spaniel to train as a gundog, but my father is not keen. My grandparents had a show-strain cocker who was a…
The golden retriever: why it is a golden all-rounder
Exactly a century ago, a golden retriever called Balcombe Boy became the first dual champion in his breed, an impressive achievement then and an unlikely one now. Bred by Viscount…