What should you be doing with that Veteran Gundog?

Getting the most out of your gray-muzzled veteran, means recognising his limitations and managing him intelligently. You should avoid extremes of any kind: unusually hot or cold temperatures, steep and/or broken terrain, dense cover, and prolonged time out on the shoot.

It’s important to remember that what doesn’t decline with age is your dog’s desire to hunt; if you let him, he’ll push himself until he literally drops. It’s just the way good hunting gundogs are made. So you have to be the brains of the partnership and stay vigilant for any signs that your companion is starting to labour. If you’re going to err, err on the side of caution. Slip a lead on, head for the vehicle, and live to retrieve/hunt another day.

When your gundog attains senior status—around eight or nine for most sporting breeds—you need to pay increased attention to diet, exercise, and veterinary care.

It’s very important to give your senior gun dog an annual exam before the shooting season. This enables your vet to note any health changes as they occur and take the appropriate steps in response.

Probably most common age-related issues are weight gain and loss of mobility.

Owners should keep their senior gun dogs lean and exercise them on a regular basis out of season. High-quality nutrition is very important for senior dogs; if you spend a little more on food, you’ll spend less at the vet practice

Diets rich in Omega-3 fatty acids can help alleviate osteoarthritis symptoms as can feeding supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate.  Treating gundogs whose symptoms are more acute, glucosamine-based injection may be recommended. Another osteoarthritis medication with a proven track record is Rimadyl, which has the advantage of being available as a tablet.

Make sure your experienced warrior has a warm, dry, draft-free place to lay his weary bones at the end of the day. He’ll benefit from a good night’s sleep.

Recognising Hip Dysplasia in Gundogs

HIP Dysplasia is the most common cause of rear leg lameness in dogs. The highest incidence occurs in large-breed dogs, including St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, Rottweilers, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers, and many others. Smaller breeds are also affected, but are less likely to show symptoms.

Hip dysplasia is a polygenic trait. That is, more than one gene controls the inheritance. Environmental factors such as diet are also involved. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint; the ball is the head of the femur and the socket is the acetabulum of the pelvis. In a dysplastic hip, the head of the femur fits loosely into a poorly developed, shallow acetabulum. Joint instability occurs as muscle development lags behind the rate of skeletal growth. As the stress of weight-bearing exceeds the strength limits of the supporting connective tissue and muscle, the joint becomes loose and unstable. This allows for free play of the femoral head in the acetabulum, which promotes abnormal wear and tear.

Feeding a very high-calorie diet to growing dogs can exacerbate a predisposition to hip dysplasia, because the rapid weight gain places increased stress on the hips. Being overweight supports the genetic potential for hip dysplasia, as well as other skeletal diseases. A diet with an imbalance of calcium and phosphorous is bad for bone development.

Another factor that can bring on the symptoms of hip dysplasia is inappropriate exercise during the period of rapid bone growth. Young dogs should be discouraged from jumping up and down from heights in situations where they land on their back legs (such as jumping up to catch a ball), and from standing up on their back legs (which dogs do when they stand up against a fence or window to get a better view). They should also avoid running on pavement.

Dogs with hip dysplasia are born with hips that appear normal but progressively undergo structural changes. The age of onset is 4 to 12 months. Affected puppies may show pain in the hip, walk with a limp or a swaying gait, bunny hop when running, and experience difficulty in the hindquarters when getting up. Pressing on the rump can cause the pelvis to drop. With the puppy on his back, the rear legs may not extend into the frog-leg position without causing pain.

An X-ray of the hips and pelvis is the only reliable way of determining whether a dog has hip dysplasia. Good X-rays require heavy sedation or anaesthesia. The standard view is taken with the dog lying on his back with his rear legs parallel and extended. The knees (stifles) are rotated internally. Care is taken to be sure the pelvis is not tilted.

Here at Working Gundogs we have all our Labrador Retriever breeding stock tested for Hip Dysplasia, the results can be found on the Kennel Club website under Health Checker.

Scottish Field Trial Powers Revoked by Kennel Club

United Kingdom Kennel Club on the 11th June 2014, notified all Secretaries of Scottish Gundog Clubs and Field Trial Societies, that all future field trial draws will be conducted by the Kennel Club.

It has long been a discussion item north and south of the border, that Scottish field trial draws have been conducted under a different rules (or hidden rules), some may have been interfered with and some clubs make it public that if you Judge for a Scottish Club you will be guaranteed a run in the next season or a novice field trial.

Some Scottish Gundog Clubs and Societies/Associations will argue it is difficult to get Judges, if they do not guarantee a future run in a future field trial.

It's interesting this decision comes at a time when Scottish Independence will be decide upon later this year, and is bound to create a fury over social network sites as to why the Scottish have been single out for such treatment.

Officials presiding over such matters, have a difficult job during the shooting season, which is carried out on the minimal of expenses by volunteers, unfortunately their are a minority both north and south of the border who occupy these positions for their own personal benefit.

It is the writers view these issues will continue, until a better system of transparency is available for public examination.

The Kennel Club have invested heavily on reporting health information into the public domain, which has only come about because of a loss in integrity by those who are supposed to be acting in the best interest of the breed, lets hope its not too long before we all have access to all Judging Appointments and Awards granted throughout the field trial system.

More recently the Kennel Club announced its intention to create its own online Field Trial Management System, again this decision has only come about because private individuals are creating management and information systems, which were previously not available.

Northglen Gundogs Labrador Retriever Pups May 2014 ~ Retrieving

Very pleased with this new litter of Labrador Retriever Pups all 6 showing signs of confidence being bold and strong, looking forward to seeing them develop into proper gundogs

Graded Group Gun Dog Training near Peterborough May 2014

We are pleased to announce our Grade 1 and Grade 2 Group Training programs will be starting on the Friday 16th May 2014 near Peterbrough, Cambs.

Grade 1 Booking Form

Grade 2 Booking Form

Working Cocker Pip ~ The story so far & a training tip for picking large game

Hope you enjoy this short video of my Working Cocker Pip, who has made excellent progress in 18 months, she is now a field trial award winner and fully health tested to the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme. Still work in progress and concentrating on those weaknesses, in particular retrieving large game.

If you wish to keep up with Pip's progress you can find us on Twitter, Facebook and Blogger, just type in Stewart North or Working Gundogs or Training Gundogs on Google Search. See credits for contact information at the end of the video clip. If you would like a Pre Training Course Assessment please book online