Gundog Expert Articles

When not to Punish by Keith Erlandson

Two or three years ago, I read in a fieldsports magazine, an account of a gundog whose owner believed it had misbehaved and was prepared to give the dog a thrashing with a stick when the animal returned.  In fact it transpired the dog had done right, not wrong, so was spared a beating.

Bearing in mind that many newcomers and inexperienced persons read magazines, I considered this piece potentially dangerous, besides giving ammunition to our opponents.  A dog never must be punished when it returns to base and you must get out there where it is misbehaving, to let it see that you are mobile and on the ball.  In his classic GUNDOG TRAINING AND FIELD TRIALS  (1952), Peter Moxon, who was Kennel Editor of  SHOOTING TIMES  for 46 years, stresses this point at least 10 times but seemingly the author of the article in question had not read Moxon.

I sent a letter to the magazine this appeared in as the point regarding punishment was dangerously misleading but my letter was not published.  I re-submitted it with photocopies from Moxon's book and my letter duly appeared, plus rather lame excuses from the article's writer.  Later it was made clear to me that it is not the done thing to challenge key writers but I refuse to 'bend with the wind'.

(posted 28/07/2003)