Most readers will be aware that I almost always have a dog with me when I am stalking, and have operated like this for many years. I am working Zosia, a German shorthaired pointer, and she will be a fixture at my side when I am out. The only occasion she won’t be with me is more to do with the logistics of travelling or the accommodation situation and nothing to do with her ability to do the job.
I don’t follow the normal convention you might expect with a stalking hound by having her at heel. I like her to operate out in front where she gets a wider scent picture and I can see her reaction the moment she smells deer. In effect, she is a mobile early-warning radar.
Her second function is to locate a lost deer. A
