The pick of the litter

While choosing the perfect gundog puppy often comes down to luck, David Tomlinson is a strong believer in trusting your gut

- David Tomlinson

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 difficult. Most gundog books will advise on choosing the best puppy, but the advice is often contradictory. In Gundogs: Training and Field Trials, Peter Moxon admits that even for someone experienced in gundogs, it is extremely difficult to pick the best puppy from a litter. He adds that, “Such important things as nose, pace and love of cover and water will be impossible to discover in all but exceptional circumstances.”

Moxon goes on to say that he has usually been very lucky in his choice by nearly always picking the smallest puppy, but then states that, “Generally speaking, the best bet is the bold puppy that comes up to you fearlessly, does not back away when you extend your hands to him, or rolls on his back.” That, in my experience, is rarely the smallest puppy, so this seems to be a case of ‘do what I say, not what I do.’