My recent article, ‘Putting on a good show’ (Gundogs, 14 April), discussed the fact that show-bred dogs can make satisfactory workers. This prompted a reader, Sarah, to email with her experiences of both show and working strains of clumber spaniels.
Five years ago, she acquired a clumber puppy from working stock and from a knowledgeable and experienced breeder. Sarah was really looking forward to training him but, frustratingly, he proved hopeless. He was taken to gundog classes and also back to his breeder for lessons. Nothing worked. Only now does he show any interest in retrieving, but Sarah says there’s no guarantee he will come back.
This led to Sarah questioning her ability as a handler. However, she decided to buy another clumber, though this time the dog, Morris, was…