MeareCastle Gundogs

22/07/2025

Sugar Beet training..
“Great day, just what my little one needed! Thank you 🙏”

21/07/2025

Great team for sugar beet training near Parham today.

Open and young dogs - all catered for with thoughtful set ups. Lots of discussion between retrieves is a big part of what we do. Thanks for coming along and to my trusted helper and generous landowner. Very grateful.

16/07/2025

5 Top Tips for the coming season…

GunsOnPegs - The countdown to the season is on - but is your gundog ready? From obedience refreshers to clever conditioning, these smart prep tips will ensure your canine...

15/07/2025

🙏🙏🤦🤦🏆🏆

Sounds like he did great!

(Please feel free to just look at the fab picture of my handsome dog taken by earthdog_photography & ignore my ramblings, I’m hoping to look back on this in future and see that I’ve learnt from my mistakes!)

⭐️Erik is taking applications for a new handler⭐️

We braved our 2nd ever working test at the weekend, the GLPC Novice at Ducklington. Fab grounds and a really well organised test, the judges were so helpful and encouraging with their feedback and I’ve come away with plenty to work on.

I totally set my dog up to fail the first test, a mark round a slight bend over a river into cover then a blind a bit further back than the original mark.

1st error- I didn’t sit him up quite in the right place and so he couldn’t see to mark it properly.

What I should have done at this point is send him back on a line, but nerves/inexperience kicked in and (2nd error!) I sent him on his name as I would a mark. (MeareCastle Gundogs can slap me for this- we spoke about this in my last lesson!)

Poor lad had not a clue what I wanted- he tried his best and handled as I asked him to, but with it being around a bend, up a bank etc my brain was fried so I called him back.

I got a well deserved zero for doing that but felt I owed it to him to set him up properly. Once I did this, he took the line I gave him, over the river, winded, picked and delivered nicely. Sent back for the blind and again, no dramas at all- Clearly nothing wrong with the dog!

He took the water test with his usual enthusiasm, we just dropped a mark as I blew an (unnecessary 😂) recall.

He was the last to hunt in the Novice and went like a steam train despite the heat 😊 he stopped to shot (no whistle or voice allowed), stayed steady to fall and delivered nicely. He got the equal highest hunting score, which I was over the moon with! Feedback was that I could have used my turn whistle less as he really didn’t need it.

So, sack the handler as we would likely have been in the awards if I’d set him up properly for the first test. It was lovely to see his litter sister Ella take the win though!! Massive congratulations to Kathy and Sean 😊

Luckily, Erik doesn’t care about scores. As far as he’s concerned he had the best day ever, as every day seems to be when you’re Erik 😂

I’m very lucky to have him ❤️

09/07/2025

Clocked up some miles last weekend to be the reserve on the team at Scone. Worth every minute to back up my teammates and watch some of the best dogs and handlers in competition.

Made the most of some quality mates on the way up and back to train on some spectacular ground and learn from being around more top handlers.

Very grateful.

07/07/2025

The England Gundog Team 2025
Scone Game Fair

06/07/2025

A great Scottish Gamefair 2025

02/07/2025

It’s not only fishermen who exaggerate.

2025 Skinner’s World Cup - Water Test

29/06/2025

The Home International for Retrievers and Spaniels returns once again to The Game Fair – a tradition dating back to 1977. Over two thrilling days, top teams from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales go head-to-head in this fiercely contested and highly prestigious event.

With 5 Retrievers and 5 Spaniels on each team, it's not just about individual excellence – it's about teamwork, national pride, and the honour of representing your country in the ultimate test of skill, control, and partnership.

Whether you're ringside cheering on or dreaming of one day competing, the Home International remains a true highlight of the working dog calendar.

28/06/2025

Young Cub