10/7/2017 0 Comments The Many Lives Of Pippa LeeHow to prevent your dog chasing things[wp_ad_camp_2]Is your dog obedient until a rabbit runs past? Does he ‘bolt off’ after birds or even butterflies? Chasing behviours are often a problem in young gundogs, particularly in spaniel breeds, and most especially in springers. Despite a promising initial start, many gundog owners have all but lost control of their dogs by nine months or so. They are unable to prevent their lovely young dog chasing rabbits, butterflies, birds, leaves, even sheep. All their efforts to get the dog to obey the recall commands they thought he understood, fly out of the window. The owner is often quite desperate and wants to know how to stop this behaviour and to get the dog to come when he is called. Powerful hunting urges. Why do many spaniels and quite a few retrievers cause their owners such problems and what is the answer? Well, part of the solution is understanding what is causing the problem. Working bred Springer spaniels (and cockers too) are ‘hard- wired’ to hunt. That is to say they are born with a powerful instinct to search for, flush and chase anything that moves. To the competent gundog trainer this is not a problem; in fact it is just what he is looking for. However, he approaches training his dog from a very different perspective that that of the average pet dog owner. A different perspective. Effective gundog training is a process of teaching the dog ’what to do’ in any given situation, rather than teaching him ’what not to do’. Strictly speaking, we don’t teach a dog ‘not to chase game’. Rather we teach him what he should do in the presence of game. This might be to complete his retrieve, or to walk to heel if he is a retriever, or to sit to flushing game if he is a spaniel. A working gundog is always on a ‘mission’ whether that mission is a retrieve or to hunt. The dog knows what his mission is, and understands that he must stick to the job in hand and not change the rules in any way. The Self- Employed dog. The pet gundog is often exposed to a situation in which he has no absolutely no idea what he is supposed to be doing. Commonly this is referred to as a ‘walk’. Once the puppyish phase of a strong dependency on the owner is past, typically at 6- 9 months of age, the young gundog with his inbuilt hunting instinct, when taken for a walk, will hunt. After all, the owner hasn’t asked him to do anything else, so hunting seems like the best plan. Sooner or later something will move – a leaf, a bird, a rabbit and the dog, already in ‘prey drive’ and ‘high’ on adrenaline will give chase. Your whistle or desperate pleas for the dog to return have absolutely no chance whatsoever of being obeyed. Teach your dog to follow you, not the other way around. People experience endless problems with pet gundogs chasing things, simply because they haven’t taught them what else to do, or because they allow them to be exposed to powerful temptations before they have trained the dog how to cope. Like so many problems, prevention is simpler than cure. When you take a young dog out for exercise, try to resist the temptation to walk in a straight line. It makes you very predictable, and the dog may begin to feel confident in venturing further and further afield in the knowledge that you will be plodding along in the same direction when he returns. The more independent the dog, the more you will need to keep changing direction. This forces the dog to keep an eye on you. Your objective should be for the dog to be following you, and not the other way around. Keep away from high risk areas where there are lots of other dogs around or rabbits to chase. You cannot train a dog under these conditions. In areas where you cannot be certain there are no distractions of this nature, have your young dog wear a training lead so that you can prevent him amusing himself without you if the unexpected occurs. Teach your dog a solid recall command. People sometime say ‘my dog’s recall is great until another dog comes by’ or ‘another person, or a ‘rabbit…’ The fact is, teaching a dog to recall where there are no distractions is only the very first rung on the recall ladder. Proofing the recall is by far the biggest part of recall training. Many times what is seen as a ‘behavioural’ problem, is simply a recall problem. Proper recall training is more than just getting a recall established where there is nothing to distract your dog’s attention. You need to begin at close quarters and only add distractions such as other dogs, people, and game, in gradual stages. If you are not sure how to do this, there are precise instructions in The Gundog Club’s training guides. Build up distances gradually over many weeks and put a strict limit on how far the dog is allowed to go from you. Always recall the dog before he reaches the limits within which he will obey – distance erodes control and is a strong ‘distraction’ or factor of difficulty to a young dog. Give your dog a job to do. Make sure your dog knows what he is supposed to be doing, whether that is following you, or fetching dummies, find things to occupy him. If you don’t he will surely find amusement for himself. The VERY strange life of reclusive superstar Daniel Day-Lewis. By PAUL SCOTT. Last updated at 16:58 19 January 2008. There is little in life more uplifting to the heart than the sight of Love’s Young Dream. So it is with the wedding on Saturday between Pippa Middleton, younger. Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Attend Pippa Middleton’s Wedding Reception Together. ![]() One of the simplest ways to occupy and amuse a dog during exercise is with retrieving. Make a point of nurturing your dog’s retrieving instincts so that you can give him longer and longer retrieves to keep him fit. If your dog is a spaniel, teach him to quarter from side to side in front of you and never allow him to run around hunting for himself Do train your dog as a gundog. Even if you never intend to go anywhere near a gun, gundog style training is designed to harness the natural instincts and desires of the gundog and will give him and you great pleasure. Training a dog takes time – most people introduce far too many distractions to a pup at far too young an age. Follow a well- structured training programme such as the one in The Gundog Club training guides. Get the basics well established before you add complications. Keep your puppy close and out of mischief. If you are careful he need never learn to have fun without you. More help and information. If you enjoy my articles, you might like my new book: The Happy Puppy Handbook – a definitive guide to early puppy care and training. The Mail's STEPHEN GLOVER on Pippa Middleton's wedding. There is little in life more uplifting to the heart than the sight of Love’s Young Dream. ![]() So it is with the wedding on Saturday between Pippa Middleton, younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, and James Matthews. Pippa may now be 3. Both may have been around the block a bit. But doesn’t that make it all the more joyous that they should be settling down at last and, one hopes, starting a family? And yet, reading the newspapers over the past few days, it has been impossible not to register some qualms about the extreme lavishness of the nuptials. Whether they like it or not — and there is strong evidence that they do — Pippa Middleton and James Matthews are closely associated with the Royal Family. Pippa may now be 3. Both may have been around the block a bit. But doesn’t that make it all the more joyous that they should be settling down at last and, one hopes, starting a family? There is a risk that this could be seen like an extravaganza more befitting a Russian oligarch Even though it is a private ceremony, provision has been made for media photographers. So there is a risk that an extravaganza that might seem more in keeping with a Russian oligarch who has more money than taste will end up damaging the royal brand. Without a doubt it be all over the airwaves and newspapers. The Mail, among others, has already covered the bizarre build- up. Although the couple have made clear it is a strictly private event — even instructing their lawyers to reiterate the point — they have made provision for the media to take photographs outside the church. Pippa, it must be said, has never been shy of publicity. More from Stephen Glover for the Daily Mail.. This has become a public wedding. All the more regrettable, then, that many people will see the well- publicised antics of the Matthews and Middleton clans and their guests as proof of Jeremy Corbyn’s contention that the rich occupy a different planet, and should be brought back to earth with a bump. Do I exaggerate? Consider first the enormous glass pavilion which has been put up in the Berkshire garden of Pippa’s proud parents, Michael and Carole. People who know about such things suggest that the cost of this temporary construction may be as much as £1. Then there are the ‘throne rooms’ being provided for guests, which are designed to resemble a permanent luxury bathroom. They boast oak fittings, porcelain basins, spot lighting and full- length mirrors. Most people do not enjoy such luxuries in a lifetime. Even as I write, I can sense Jeremy Corbyn and his Marxist sidekick John Mc. Donnell licking their lips at this unexpected boon to their mantra that this country is run for the benefit of the fortunate few. It is true, of course, that the Middletons have made their fortune out of planning parties, and they must have brought many of their skills to this wedding. No doubt they want to impress their guests, as parents are apt to do on these occasions. But is this flaunting of wealth wise or necessary? Wouldn’t it have been more seemly to have an old- fashioned English country wedding with a straightforward marquee and perfectly adequate portable toilets? The Middletons have made money, and good for them. Few would complain if they displayed a proper degree of modesty. They are not, in fact, members of the super- rich, though James and his parents (who may well be sharing the stonking bill) probably are. Yet this would seem to be a grotesquely opulent and rather un. English affair. There has been suggestion that some of the temporary constructions could cost £1. The Middletons have made their fortunes out of planning parties, although it may have been more seemly to have an old- fashioned English country wedding with marquee and portable toilets. One might add the word ‘pretentious’. That certainly seems the mot juste to describe an aeronautical display planned for the edification of guests. Vintage aircraft will perform manoeuvres. Spitfires are expected to fly past. It sounds the sort of show that might be put on for the Queen at public expense on an official occasion. But this isn’t such an affair. It’s the wedding of two individuals who would be almost unknown to us were it not for Pippa’s connection to the Royal Family. And that is surely the point. With so much media interest (which has hardly been discouraged), the Middletons and the Matthewses should be doing their utmost not to taint the reputation for reticence that our naturally self- denying Queen has nurtured. After all, Prince William will be there along with Kate. So will Prince Harry, whose American girlfriend, Meghan Markle, will probably not attend the church service (for fear her presence might set tongues wagging about an engagement), though she is expected to be at the sumptuous reception in the pavilion. The world will inevitably regard this as a sort of royal wedding notwithstanding the presence of James Matthews’s brother, Spencer, a louche reality television star who has publicly boasted of his innumerable sexual conquests. This character may well be James’s best man. The world may regard this as some sort of royal wedding given the presence of Prince William and Kate as well as Prince Harry and possibly his American girlfriend Meghan Markle Also expected to be present is Pippa’s uncle Gary (her mother’s brother), who once lived in Ibiza in a mansion called La Maison de Bang Bang. He has been caught boasting about drugs and his royal connections. A photograph of him trying on a smart new three- piece suit (said to cost at least £1,7. Instagram. Well, many families have embarrassing members, and Pippa and James can hardly be blamed for theirs. But all the more reason to do everything they can to ensure that the occasion is marked by dignity and restraint. The odd thing is that there is so much to admire about the Middleton and Matthews families. Both have worked hard and are self- made. Both are said to be close and tightly knit. Why must they risk the charge of behaving like vulgar Russian oligarchs? On the assumption that they have all paid their taxes and that everything has been above board, I don’t see why any of us should begrudge them a single penny of their fortunes. They have, it seems to me, epitomised the best of middle- class values, which many people less fortunate than them would naturally admire. Why, then, must they risk the charge of behaving like vulgar Russian oligarchs — or at any rate give rise to the belief that they should be viewed in that light? Why the need to make a mark with such tacky displays of wealth? I’m afraid it was this appetite for naff self- aggrandisement that led to Pippa and Kate once being cruelly nicknamed ‘the Wisteria sisters’ in society circles because they were ‘highly decorative, terribly fragrant and with a ferocious ability to climb’. It is, as I say, all grist to Corbyn’s mill. Of course, he preposterously (and conveniently) lumps together the person with a salary of £8. The excesses of Saturday’s ceremony may be twisted by his envy- driven camp to condemn a whole swathe of people, some who are not really rich at all. Let's hope Saturday is a wonderful day for Pippa and James. In other words, the over- the- top nature of this very public (and much publicised) wedding will serve as a focus of the class hatred which the Corbynistas are aiming to fan. Even more to the point, if the young Royals — William, Harry and Kate — think that such a shameless exhibition of conspicuous wealth is going to commend the younger members of the Royal Family to the wider nation, they are sadly deluded. This is not how rich people should behave, especially if they are connected to the monarchy. Let’s hope Saturday is a wonderful day for Pippa and James. The terrifying truth remains, though, that the reputation of the Royal Family partly rests in the unreliable, and possibly somewhat self- interested, hands of the Matthewses and Middletons.
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