ARLIER this winter, I was walking my spaniel along a footpath when she stopped as suddenly as if she had run into a brick wall. There was no visual barrier – she had clearly run into strong scent. Sure enough, an impressive covey of 15 grey partridges lifted from the cover crop in the adjoining field. They were at least 150 yards away. Perhaps they had recently crossed the path but, even if they had, it was a reminder of the extraordinary scenting abilities of a working-bred gundog.
