Behind The Scenes: Preparing A Picking-Up Team For The Glorious Twelfth

Tomorrow, the moors will come alive again for one of the most prestigious traditions in game shooting, the Glorious Twelfth.

For us, the weeks leading up to the start of the grouse season aren’t just about brushing up on a few commands. We’ve been working hard to make sure the dogs are physically fit, trained not only individually but as a team, and that we have everything stocked and ready to keep both dogs and handlers safe over the busy weeks ahead.

Preparation is everything! Once you’re out on the moor and miles from the truck and with a full day ahead of you, it’s a little late to realise you’ve forgotten something!

Fitness has been a huge focus throughout the summer. Contrary to what some may expect, our dogs haven’t completely avoided working during the warmer parts of the day. Instead, we’ve gradually and carefully acclimatised them to working in warmer conditions, starting with short sessions and increasing the duration and intensity as their fitness has developed.

That doesn’t mean simply taking an unfit dog out and working it hard in the heat. Every session is judged according to the individual dog, the conditions and the work being asked of them.

A grouse moor can be physically demanding, and a dog needs to arrive at the start of the season prepared for it.

Nutrition and hydration play a massive part in this. Our dogs have the correct fuel behind them to provide the energy and dietary fats they need for sustained work. Cairngryffe dog food has kept the dogs in remarkable condition ready for this season and gives them everything they need. We also use canine Recharge electrolytes when required to help replace electrolytes lost during hard work.

The aim isn’t just to have dogs that look fit. We want dogs capable of working efficiently, recovering well and doing their job safely throughout the day.

Over the course of the summer, each dog has been individually trained to the standard we expect of them. But there is a big difference between having ten individually well trained dogs and having ten dogs that can work together.

You can’t simply put ten individually trained dogs onto a moor and expect impeccable behaviour.

Sometimes adding just one other dog alongside an otherwise steady dog can expose problems you didn’t even know were there…whining/noise, running in, snatching game, hard mouth, an inability to settle or becoming more interested in what another dog is doing than listening to your handling.

That’s why our group training sessions have been in full swing.

We’ve spent plenty of time working on:

• Steadiness around other dogs working

• Sending dogs individually by name for retrieves

• Heelwork within the group

• Individual hunting while the remaining dogs walk quietly at heel

• Pack hunting

• Remaining settled while another dog is sent

• Maintaining control despite the excitement and competition created by having multiple dogs working together

For us, this part of preparation is every bit as important as individual training. A picking up team needs to function as exactly that — a team.

Good preparation doesn’t stop with the dogs themselves. Once we’re out on the moor, we want to be as self-sufficient as possible and prepared for the situations we’re realistically likely to encounter.

All of the dogs have been treated with Stronghold for parasite protection ahead of the season.

In the truck we’ll also be carrying two 25 litre drums of fresh water, ensuring we have a good supply of clean drinking water throughout the day, alongside canine Recharge electrolytes when needed.

Our large canine first-aid kit is fully stocked with supplies for dealing with the sort of problems working dogs can encounter in the field - cuts and wounds, bites and stings, allergic reactions and other minor injuries or emergencies. Also painkillers & antibiotics for anything major.

We also have cooling coats available should any of the dogs need additional help cooling down and recovering between periods of work.

And of course, preparation isn’t only for the dogs!

There’ll be a cool box full of food, drinks and snacks for the humans too. There’s no point keeping the dogs fuelled and hydrated if us handlers are running on empty halfway through the day.

Months of fitness work, training and preparation all lead up to this point.

There will always be something unexpected when working dogs in the field…that’s part of the nature of the job, but hopefully we’ve covered as many bases as possible to give both dogs and handlers a happy, successful and, most importantly, safe start to the season. Now it’s time to put all that preparation into practice.

Wishing everyone heading to the moors for the Glorious Twelfth the very best of luck for the season ahead.

Aim safe, shoot straight, and enjoy every minute of it!