A gundog scurry is a fast, enjoyable way to test a dog’s retrieving ability, handling and confidence. The retrieves are timed, but success requires much more than speed. A dog must mark accurately, listen to its handler and avoid becoming distracted by everything happening around it.
I recently attended the North Leverton Windmill scurry day, which was run by a fellow gundog handler. The weather was almost perfect: sunny and bright, but without becoming too hot for the dogs.
I took three of our English Springer Spaniels with me: Coco, Kola and Goober. They have very different levels of experience, so the day provided a useful opportunity to see how each dog approached the tests.
Three different scurry challenges
There were three scurries, with each presenting the dogs with a different challenge.
The Up ‘n’ Over
The first was a relatively straightforward two-dummy retrieve over straw bales, often known as an Up ‘n’ Over.
The dog must clear the bales, collect the first dummy and return it before being sent for the second. Although it looks simple, the clock is running and every hesitation, wide turn or untidy return costs time.
Jumping the bales also adds a physical element. The dog must accelerate, clear the obstacle safely, find the dummy and then repeat the process.
Dummies among the decoys
The second scurry involved two seen dummies being thrown into an area containing crow and pigeon decoys.
This added a very different test, particularly for inexperienced dogs. They had watched the correct dummies fall, but would they remember the fall and retrieve them – or become distracted and attempt to collect one of the decoys instead?
It tested marking, concentration and the dog’s understanding of the task. Speed was valuable, but only if the dog remained focused on the correct retrieve.
Two seen and two blind retrieves
The final scurry was the most demanding, especially for the younger dogs.
It consisted of two seen retrieves and two blind retrieves, with the dummies placed in awkward positions around the field boundary. The dogs had to remember the seen falls before trusting their handler to direct them towards dummies they had not watched being placed.
This brought together several important gundog skills: marking, memory, confidence, directional handling and the willingness to keep hunting when the answer was not immediately obvious.
Goober rises to the occasion
Goober was the real novice of the three, so I entered her without placing too much expectation on the result.
She clearly had other ideas.
Goober excelled on the Up ‘n’ Over, tackling the bales confidently and returning quickly enough to earn third place. For a young and inexperienced dog, it was a particularly pleasing performance.
A scurry environment can be distracting. There are unfamiliar dogs, people, noise, dummies being thrown and plenty of excitement. Goober coped with it well and demonstrated that she is beginning to understand how to concentrate on her own job.
Two second places for Kola
Kola also performed extremely well.
She secured second place on the Up ‘n’ Over and another second place on the two-dummy retrieve among the crow and pigeon decoys.
Her result in the decoy test was especially encouraging. The exercise asked the dogs to ignore several tempting alternatives and remain committed to the dummies they had seen fall. Kola maintained her focus and completed the retrieves cleanly.
Two second places represented an excellent and consistent day for her.
Coco takes three first places
Coco was undoubtedly the star of the FieldStrength team.
She won all three scurries, finishing the day with three first-place rosettes. Her experience showed across the different tests: she was fast over the bales, focused around the decoys and responsive when the final scurry required more handling.
There was still time for a late challenge.
Jayne Clark entered Krackers, her German Wirehaired Pointer, in an attempt to dislodge Coco from the leading time. Krackers produced an excellent run, but Coco’s time held – the final margin was three seconds.
It was a close and enjoyable contest, but Coco had done enough to remain at the top.
Six rosettes and three very different performances
The final FieldStrength tally was:
- Coco: three first places
- Kola: two second places
- Goober: one third place
The rosettes were wonderful, but the most useful part of the day was seeing how the three dogs responded to different challenges.
Goober gained confidence and showed that she could cope with an exciting event environment. Kola demonstrated consistency and concentration. Coco combined experience, speed and handling to complete a clean sweep of the three tests.
Scurries are great fun, but they also highlight the range of demands placed on a working dog. Short bursts of acceleration, jumping, turning, stopping, searching and repeated retrieves all require both physical effort and mental concentration.
Most importantly, the dogs thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We returned home from North Leverton Windmill with six rosettes, three happy Springers and another memorable day for the FieldStrength team.
Supporting the athlete in the working field – and occasionally over a few straw bales too.