How to get your gundog to hunt with you

You might have heard the phrase: “handlers and dogs who hunt together, stay together”. 

Students often come to us with similar stories… once their gundog’s nose is engaged, their ears turn off and they become “deaf”, too busy following scent.

You’ve worked on recall, you’ve practised focus, and yet their natural hunting drive seems to take over. Especially at this time of year, with the shoot season just on the horizon, when there is an increasing amount of game scent around.

It can feel frustrating, leaving you wondering if your gundog will ever truly listen or learn to work with you when it matters most.

But hunting isn’t just a behaviour for gundogs. It’s part of who they are. It’s what they were bred to do, and rather than trying to fight it, the key is learning to understand and harness it.

By teaching your gundog to hunt with you, not for themselves, we can tap into their instincts in a way that builds trust and teamwork. Which will leave you with a more focused, responsive, and happier dog who’s both mentally and physically fulfilled.

In this blog, we’ll dive into the essential role hunting plays in your gundog’s life and how you can work together to channel their instincts in a positive way. From breaking down the hunting chain to understanding how your dog uses scent and exploring breed-specific exercises, you’ll learn practical steps to help your dog become a confident and skilled hunting partner, whether they’re a pet or working gundog.

What exactly is hunting?

Hunting is at the very core of what makes a gundog. It’s not simply a skill they learn, but an instinct that’s been bred into their DNA for generations. Every gundog is born with a natural hunting drive, and understanding this is key to working effectively with your dog.

At the heart of hunting lies your dog’s remarkable sense of smell. Gundogs are equipped to detect both ground and air scents, making them highly effective hunters. Ground scent gives clues about where the game has been (e.g. tracks, feeding spots, or resting areas), while air scent tells your dog where the quarry is right now, carried on the wind.

The act of hunting is made up of a sequence of instinctive behaviours, including hunting, searching, locating, stalking, pausing, pouncing, chasing, capturing, carrying, and consuming.

This natural “hunting chain” flows effortlessly for gundogs, guided entirely by instinct. Recognising how this chain works allows you to understand and shape your dog’s natural drives.

For working gundogs, the hunting chain has been refined over generations of training and selective breeding to align with specific tasks in the field. This refined “working hunting chain” channels instinctive behaviours into purposeful, structured skills. For example, pointers and setters have transformed the “pause” into a steady point, while retrievers have perfected the “carry” stage, mastering the art of retrieving.

The working hunting chain typically looks like this:

• Hunt
• Search
• Locate
• Stalk
• Point (for pointing breeds)
• Flush (followed by a gunshot)
• Retrieve

How HPRs Hunt

Hunt Point Retrievers (HPRs) excel at using both air and ground scenting to locate quarry, making them highly valued for their ability to hunt, point, and retrieve.

One of their most impressive traits is their steady point when they’ve located their target, giving you the chance to control and cue the flush. 

HPRs primarily use air scenting to find quarry, raising their heads to “taste” the wind. Once they’ve locked onto a scent, they’ll dip down to use ground scent for confirmation. Their hunting chain typically follows this sequence:

• Setting off with purpose.
• Quartering across the wind to locate scent.
• Pointing and holding steady on the target.
• Flushing on cue.
• Sitting or standing after the flush to await your instructions.
• Retrieving and delivering the quarry.

How Hunting Retrievers (Spaniels) Hunt

Hunting Retrievers, often called spaniels, are masters of ground scenting. These energetic and focused gundogs excel at working close to their handler, quartering systematically to locate and flush game. Their natural drive and remarkable noses make them exceptional flushing dogs. 

While spaniels rely heavily on ground scent to pinpoint game, they do also air scent like HPRs. Their role in the hunting chain is straightforward but essential:

• Set off alongside their handler.
• Quarter across the wind, staying within a close range of 3 to 5 metres.
• Locate game using ground scent.
• Flush game and then sit or wait after the flush.
• Re-hunt or retrieve as needed.

This close-range working style is what makes spaniels such effective team players. They stay engaged with their handler, making it easier to maintain control and ensure that every hunt is a partnership. 

How Retrievers Hunt

Retrievers are specialists in locating and delivering, making them an indispensable partner in the field as the ultimate goal is to get game safely in the bag and then on the table as a part of a healthy, nutritious meal. 

You might think that retrievers don’t hunt because it’s not in their name, but in reality, all gundog breeds hunt. 

Retrievers excel at using air scent to pinpoint targets, then transitioning to ground scent to track injured or hidden quarry when needed. Their primary role in the hunting chain is straightforward yet essential: to locate, retrieve, and deliver efficiently. 

They also often work at greater distances from their handler than flushing breeds, making communication and trust between dog and handler all the more important.

Retrievers focus on accuracy and delivery rather than flushing game. Their hunting chain typically involves:

• Setting off in the designated direction.
• Using sight, scent, and wind to locate the quarry.
• Returning and delivering the retrieve.

Why You Can’t Stop Your Pet Gundog From Hunting

If you have a gundog breed as a pet, you’ve likely experienced their hyperfocus when they suddenly catch a scent and become determined to locate the source.

These behaviours, while impressive, can be challenging to manage for pet gundog owners who do not want their dogs to be efficient hunting machines.

While they can be refined through training, these instincts aren’t learned - they’re instinctive, passed down through centuries of breeding for fieldwork.

Even if you tried to train these behaviours out, as a gundog owner, you need to understand too that for all our gundogs (regardless of whether you want to work them in the field or have them as a family pet) hunting is also a source of mental stimulation and emotional enrichment.

The act of scenting releases feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin, making the process inherently rewarding for them.

Hunting is, therefore, essential to your dog’s mental and physical well-being. In fact, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 highlights that dogs need the opportunity to engage in their natural behaviours, like hunting. 

And suppressing these instincts can lead to frustration, boredom, and even unwanted behaviours like destructive chewing or excessive barking.

The good news for pet gundog owners who don’t want to work their dogs, is that hunting doesn’t have to involve live game or animals.

You can channel your gundog’s natural drive into fun, structured games that mimic the hunting process in a way that is safe, rewarding, and deeply satisfying for your dog.

Instead of viewing your gundog’s hunting instincts as a challenge and something you need to battle against every time you leave the house, see them as an opportunity.

By playing hunting games and working together as a team, you’ll help your gundog see you as a partner in the hunt, creating trust and cooperation that carries over into every aspect of their life and leads to a better relationship between you and your gundog.

If you’ve ever wondered if you should continue your gundog training to a more advanced level, even if you don’t want to work your dog, hopefully you can now see why ongoing training can keep your pet gundog feeling fulfilled and happy. 

How to Figure Out Which Part of Hunting Your Dog Finds Rewarding

Every gundog is unique. While they all share an instinctive drive to hunt, the specific part of the hunting process that excites them most can vary widely.

Some dogs are captivated by the search. Others are energised by the chase. For some, the act of retrieving is where they find the greatest reward.

Identifying which part of the hunting chain your dog finds most motivating is essential to harnessing the power of this intrinsically rewarding behaviour for training.

The first step is observation. Watch your dog closely during training and play to see what grabs their attention and drives their energy. Do they seem most focused when sniffing out hidden treats or toys? Are they thrilled by movement but less interested in the retrieval? These observations will give you invaluable insight into your dog’s natural preferences and what excites them most.

The Search Enthusiast

Dogs that love the search are often happiest when sniffing out hidden objects or following detailed scent trails. For these dogs, games like hide-and-seek with dummies or food rewards are highly engaging. The search itself becomes their reward, reinforcing their behaviour and keeping them motivated.

The Chase Lover

For some dogs, nothing beats the thrill of movement. These dogs might enjoy games that simulate chasing prey, such as Whip It. The excitement of the chase is what drives them, and dynamic, fast-paced activities will hold their attention best.

It’s important to remember that even within a breed, motivation can vary. For example, some retrievers may find the act of running more rewarding than the retrieve itself, happily darting across fields even after locating their target.

Dogs motivated by scent will work with greater purpose when searching, while those who love movement will respond best to dynamic, action-oriented games.

Every dog’s preferences may evolve over time, too, so staying attentive to their responses is key. By adapting your approach to match their needs, you’ll keep them motivated, and once you’ve identified what excites your dog most, you can start to use scent as an intrinsically rewarding behaviour. 

Ready to work on your gundog’s hunting skills on real game scent? 

The best way to put your dog’s hunting skills to the test is to practice everything you’ve learned on live and freshly shot game.

Kemble’s Field offers live game experience days throughout the British shooting season (October to February) for gundogs and their owners seeking real-life shooting experience. 

These live game experience days are run exactly like any other shoot day, but the Guns are there solely for the dogs’ benefit, allowing you to test your dog’s hunting ability and control in a more relaxed environment than on a formal shoot. The day will challenge your dog and will also get you up to speed on how a driven shoot is run in the UK.

You will need to choose a beating or picking up role when booking. Places are limited to 6 beating dogs and handlers and 6 picking up dogs and handlers, with at least three Guns.

For beating dogs and their handlers, this is a valuable opportunity to:

• Learn how to find and follow game scent in different types of cover
• Work as part of a group in a beating line
• Get used to multiple handlers, environmental distractions, and varying terrain
• Distinguish between whistles in a noisy environment
• Cope with tapping, and other unfamiliar noises such as walkie-talkies
• Get used to hearing multiple shots, without seeing anything fall
• Take instructions from the gamekeeper and adapt to changes
• Develop an understanding of the beating line’s role in driving birds over the Guns

For picking-up dogs and their handlers, it’s a chance to:

• Practice standing calmly behind the Gun line
• Develop steadiness to shot and patience over long periods
• Work without a guaranteed retrieve on every drive
• Watch other dogs retrieve game
• Retrieve warm and freshly shot game
• Watch, locate and collect runners
• Navigate water retrieves
• Sweep an area carefully for injured or fallen game
• Learn how to humanely dispatch injured game
• Develop an understanding of how birds fall and improve marking skills

You will need to be confident in handling your dog independently throughout the day, and your dog should already have the basic cues in place (such as recall, heelwork, stop, hunting and retrieving) even if they are not yet "perfect" or proofed around game or highly distracting environments. 

To book a beating or picking up role, or for more information, please head to: https://kemblesfield.co.uk/products/group-shoot-experience-for-gundogs