Welcome to Field Notes & Follies

A warm and hearty hello to you!

First off, I want to make this abundantly clear. I’m not an expert. I won’t pretend to have all the answers, but if you’re after an honest take on what it’s like to start gundog training from scratch—mistakes and all—you’re in the right place!

I’m not new to dogs, but I am new to gundogging… God, I hope that’s not a weird niche in the other type of dogging community, because you won’t find any of that here either! 

But, if you’re looking for an honest account of what it’s like to start out as a novice gundog handler, training a fringe breed, in a tiny country at the arse-end of the world, then by crikey, is this the blog for you?!

Through this blog, I will share my experiences (even if they are somewhat limited) of what it’s like training my Long Haired Weimaraner, Hail, to compete in gundog field trials. I’ll also share other information related to gundog ownership too, to help create a candid picture of what life with gundogs can be like. 

The hope is that, armed with a little information, I can encourage other beginners to take the first steps towards starting their own trialling journey. What’s more likely, is that I will create an archive of “here’s how not to do xyz” lessons, but even that will be educational in its own right.   

So, if you’re up for an honest, slightly chaotic, but always entertaining look into gundog training—welcome aboard!

You’ve been plenty forewarned!