The common perception of a lady picker-up is one of a tweed skirt, neat hair, clean boots and one pretty dog. This is not the reality. Like many, I go on various shoots and each one is quite different. Today I am picking up for my brother, the keeper, on a 100-bird day. If I am beating, I take my border collie, but he has no desire to pick birds so for this one the labradors are stepping up.
I always take a team of dogs because I believe a team is better than working only one. Picking up usually involves a lot of sweeping. This is done when the handler is not sure where the birds are and so, rather than give instruction, the dog needs to use its own skills to find lost game. The areas of ground being swept can be massive; more dogs mean more ground can be covered.
