Worth posting this photograph of Oscar the pointer which my girlfriend took this afternoon in the miserable rain and high winds on the Chayne. The shepherd has been seeing a bird which I think can only be a greyhen on a totally different area of the hill, far away from the usual red grouse haunts Continue reading

Having been dancing around the issue of getting a pointer for the past six months, the issue was carried forward on Friday when I was lent Oscar, the Heather Trust mascot. Oscar represents more or less everything I want from a pointer, and I was itching to get him up onto the Chayne on Saturday Continue reading

After an extremely long and difficult weekend fraught with stress, I find myself looking down at the daft-headed labrador at my feet with a sense a real relief. About ten days ago, she started to behave a little strangely. She would run ahead on our walks, but sit suddenly down with a bump as if Continue reading

The past few days been almost totally consumed with woodcock – reconnoitering the various rides and woodlands that I have access to has been extremely revealing. Of all the locations I have been scoping out, I’ve only found one or two which would be really good for shooting, but at the same time, I haven’t Continue reading

Given that it’s the dog’s first season of proper work, she’s doing alot of working. So far, she’s learnt a hell of a lot but I want to make sure that it’s all positive and enjoyable for her. The past few times that we’ve been flighting ducks, she has got soaking wet and then freezing Continue reading

Just thought it would be worth including this picture of the dog pretending not to notice a party of approaching hens. She’s never shown the slightest inclination to chase them or have any dealings with them, but until I realised that, I watched her very closely whenever she went near them. She must have picked Continue reading

According to the paperwork, Scoop is one  year old today. To celebrate, I took her for a morning’s fox walk along the south march of the farm, but what with the showers last night, the rushes looked rather wet and uninviting. If I were a fox, I would have chosen somewhere drier to lie up Continue reading

I am not one of nature’s swimmers. I don’t enjoy the feeling of sudden and panicked terror which overcomes me as soon as I go out of my depth, and I have such an inefficient swimming technique which means that I am totally exhausted after just few feet of wriggling and thrashing through the water Continue reading

In the past few days, Scoop has been introduced to her first lessons in retrieving. Using a stuffed canvas dummy, the little dog has been showing some great potential, particularly in her ever improving ability to concentrate, follow a scent and see a task  through. I’ve been throwing the dummy for her just a couple Continue reading

Just thought it was worth documenting a great walk up the hill this afternoon, under a mild sun with views down to the Lake District and the Isle of Man. My snare midden has been working for the past two weeks and although it hasn’t produced the goods yet, it’s come tantalisingly close. Yesterday, I Continue reading