FOR HUMANS, SIGHT is our dominant sense, not smell. For dogs, it’s the other way round and it is generally reckoned that a dog’s sense of smell is between 10,000 and 100,000 times better than ours.
It’s all down to the number of olfactory receptors in the nose. Apparently, we have a mere six million, whereas a dog has around 300 million. In addition, the part of the dog’s brain that sorts out and processes scents is, in proportion, some 40 times larger than ours. We see the world though our eyes, but a dog ‘sees’ it through its nose.
Loss of sight for us is a disaster as it stops us doing so much. It’s not nearly such a problem for a dog, thanks to that wonderful nose, as the story of Trigger the blind springer spaniel proves so conclusively. Trigger was bought as an eight-week-old puppy in 2007 to be a beater’s dog for Marion Corden’s partner, Butch. Marion and Butch had only had him for a month when he was diagnosed with detached retinas, a condition that was inoperable. Their vet warned them that he would eventually go blind and would have to have his eyes removed.
Marion and Butch faced a difficult decision: should they keep him, despite his problem, or would it be kinder to have him put down? Many of the people they spoke to reckoned that the latter was the best thing to do, arguing that a blind dog wasn’t much use for anything, let alone beating. However, Trigger had already endeared himself to them and they thought that he deserved a life, though appreciating it would be a restricted one, and that the chances of him going for normal walks, let alone shooting, weren’t good.
この記事は Shooting Times & Country の January 27, 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Shooting Times & Country の January 27, 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside