Making It Look Easy

Nothing beats the real thing and, with Keepa and Sika ready for the next level, it’s time to test them alongside the Guns, says Ellena Swift

- Ellena Swift

I have spent the past year training Keepa to be a capable all-round working dog and hopefully successful competition dog. He has proved himself on the test circuit over the summer but now the trialing season is underway I would like to see what he can do.

He is ready to be entered. He has no eliminating faults — such as whining, running-in and so on — and has been consistently working well and picking up various types of games. Though I’ve recently had a baby, so have not done a great deal of training, I entered and got a run in a novice driven trial.

The day began with a drive spread over two stubble fields with lots of water and cover in the middle. The Guns shot plenty of games for the dogs to demonstrate their abilities. The judges asked each dog to pick two retrieves each.

Keepa picked two birds cleanly, running on good lines with confidence and accuracy. I was very pleased with this, as my last article covered an exercise to help him hold a straight and accurate line (First days in the field, 6 November).

We were taken to another drive where, again, there was water, a fence and various paddocks and bits of cover. Keepa was required to pick one bird for the second round. He ran over the fence and across the field with such accuracy that I didn’t require my whistle at all. He made it look easy.

Unusual ask

The final drive took place on the other side of the estate where carrots are grown and the fields are covered in straw. This is an unusual ask of the dogs, as it is rare that they have ever trained or even run on such ground. The birds have a tendency to disappear when they land in deep straw, making it difficult for the dogs. However, Keepa made short work of running across the field and, despite hunting an old fall briefly, then pulled on further across the field to make a clean and nice retrieve.