Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself and your dogs?
Hey! I’m Alannah and I live in South Somerset with my daughter and gang of gundogs (with a soon to be working sheepdog addition!) - I work on a game farm and mixed bird shoot as well as rearing calves and doing some shepherding work. I have a soon to be 4 year old who is almost as animal obsessed as me and loves to be out with her dogs.
How long have you been involved with working the dogs, etc., and do you remember what first sparked your interest?
My initial love for spaniels starting in veterinary practice, I am a Registered Veterinary Nurse but left practice around 2 years ago. The best patients in my eyes were always the spaniels, so kind and loving. Barnaby, my second ever spaniel was where my love for competition started. I remember thinking, this dog needs something else to do and we fell in to the world of working tests and have had a blast! Hopefully some of the other dogs will have just as much fun in the future.
Who are the members of your team and what are their roles?
I have Barnaby, my 5 year old ESS who is just the OG! Duster, 8 year old WCS who everybody falls in love with as soon as they meet! Widgeon, Barnaby's son a 3 year old ESS. Drake, 18 month old ESS and recent addition Goose another ESS who is 11 weeks. Not forgetting Harris the 2 year old Labrador, he isn’t a spaniel but he hunts like one so is a machine in the field. All of my dogs have a busy time with helping run in poults, moving hens on the laying field and then during the shooting season mostly picking up but also doing a bit of beating and some walked up/rough shooting. They truly are jacks of all trades! You’ll quite often see me moving sheep and using them to block gateways!
We noticed you have multiple breeds on your team, which would you say is your "stand out" and why?
Springers do have my heart and always will. When you get a good cocker, they are fantastic but I truly believe that springers want to do it for you, not just for themselves. I don’t have much experience with Labradors, Harris is the first I’ve owned and he is a bit of an exception, he hunts just as hard as the spaniels!
What are your plans for competing/working the dogs this year?
I would love to do some more working tests with Drake, Barnaby and Harris this year. Let’s hope we can fit some training in!
Do you have a favourite Paws@Brooklyn product that you can't live without?
I absolutely LOVE the new Paws@Brooklyn Valley Training Jacket. It was an absolute god send picking up in cold and wet January and is just so convenient for colder mornings/evenings!
What piece of advice would you give someone wanting to get into the type of work you do in general and with the dogs?
My advice would be to talk to people, we’re all dog mad and love seeing new people in the sport. If you want to compete, contact your local clubs and offer to help at tests and trials to get up front and see what happens and see some good dogs. If you want to get in to shooting/beating/picking up the same advice really, if you don’t know of any local shoots in your area I’m sure someone will, just go along, be open minded and have fun!
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