He’s not a proper gundog

May 23, 2024

A phrase I have heard numerous times from various dissenting voices directed at our dog, Waffle. Waffle isn’t KC registered, he isn’t purebred, he isn’t a FTCH, he isn’t a dog with a 14-syllable name. He is simply Waffle, our pet dog.

Affectionately known as Waff. If you haven’t met him before, you could be forgiven for thinking Waffle is a Cockapoo (forgiven but not orgotten!) Waffle is a Clumberdoodle – his dam is a working Clumber Spaniel and his sire is an apricot Miniature Poodle. He is 16kg of muscle and energy, he possesses an independent streak a mile long and an affectionate streak even longer. He is my pride and joy, my heart and soul dog. Waffle is also a gundog. Well…gundog in training.


When we first brought Waffle home, I was overwhelmed very quickly by the demands of dog guardianship. I searched high and low for trainers to help us direct his energy and ability into something beneficial for both us and him, finally settling on a local positive reinforcement gundog trainer – Lindsay, from Paws and Play Gundogs. I messaged her and asked if Waffle would be allowed to train as a gundog, as he was a mixed breed – I knew enough already to know that mixes were not often welcomed in the gundog world. 


I was pleasantly surprised when the answer came back as “of course, I’d love to have him!” We set off on this training journey having less than no idea what I was doing.

Amazingly, we have been surrounded by likeminded owners, who were hoping to train their pooches to be pets first and foremost but to harness their natural abilities and breed specific traits. I love it. I love being part of a group, of being with people who wanted to achieve with their dog, who wanted to provide them with the most enriched life they could. Who weren’t necessarily from the ‘gundog world’ either. 


Most weeks it’s more like therapy than training. I’m hooked. Saying that, I quickly noticed that the other dogs around us were pedigrees, often bred from bloodlines going back to the time of King Arthur (I jest but not far off), with at least one FTCH in their lineage. They were Cocker, Spaniels, Springers, Labradors, GSPs, Vizslas – although to be fair there were a couple of Sprockers too! These dogs had been bred to be gundogs, whether their owners were intending to work them or not. They seemed to pick things up so much faster than us, things came naturally to them whereas for Waff and I, it felt uphill all the time. 


Obviously, everyone has different battles and different flaws, but I often glanced around at the others doing their exercises and felt deflated. Waff is a smart boy, too smart sometimes, who is high energy and has drive – most of the time. With a full Spaniel their nose may go down and their ears switch off, but you can target their natural willingness to work and use that to develop your bond. As Waff is only half Spaniel, and an independent Clumber spaniel at that, we often miss that natural willingness to work with you. It is tangled with his Poodle side; the Poodle in him makes him incredibly intelligent, super affectionate and also guess what? Poodles have an independent streak too. So, two breeds who have intelligence and independence: great combo for self-employment, not great for working as a team. I found when I was trying to teach him things, he would do a couple of reps and then wander off, lose interest and reward himself with the environment. He didn’t need me to work, he could do it on his own, if he wanted to do it at all. I found the training hard work and sometimes at sessions I would wonder if it was worth it; we didn’t have to do this, we had chosen to.


Why were we punishing ourselves? I would look down at my little fluffball. Could we do this? Was this the right place for us? Would we fit in in the gundog world? Was this the right thing for Waffle? Were we having fun?

I’ve never been one to shirk a challenge, and a doodle in the gundog world? That is one heck of a challenge. Commence Operation Waffle infiltrates the Gundog World. We got stuck in and worked our backsides off – Waff, my husband and me. We put the time and effort in; did the homework, did the swearing, did the buying of all the gear whilst having no idea. I am the owner of not one, but two training vests now, instead of just a Tesco’s carrier bag I used to use. I filmed our training sessions at home, out in the field, on walks. I assessed, I tweaked, I tried again. Waff grew up, matured. And do you know what? We are smashing it. 


We have so far completed puppy gundog, foundation gundog, have achieved a Merit in both the Grade 1 Gundog Club Assessment and Grade 2 Gundog Club Assessment! We plan to do out Grade 3 this year as well. I have joined a number of gundog groups and found likeminded female guardians to meet up and train with. It’s been so wholesome. It’s been eye opening. It’s been brilliant. I have found lifelong friends in this world, ones who understand the obsession and all-consuming nature of gundog training. 


Waff and I have even found a couple of shoots that have welcomed us with open arms; although we’re still working on actual game, it's a step that 2 years ago when we started, I never even dreamed that we would take. 

On the flip side though, we have had people look down on us. We have had people be horrible and belittling. The gundog world can still be very traditional and patriarchal; I would argue it sometimes struggles to innovate and adapt, to move with the times. For as welcoming and warm as the vast majority of people have been to us, shout out to Girls With Gundogs and Gundog Creators here, there have been a few who have

sneered at our doodle. “He isn’t a proper gundog”, “You’re diluting the breed”, “He won’t be able to go on a shoot”, “He’ll never have the drive or stamina for a worker”; I’ve heard all these. I’ve rolled my eyes at many more. We have even been turned away from competing in tests because he “isn’t a gundog or gundog cross” – let’s not get in to here how both Poodles and Clumber Spaniels are gundogs (despite what the KC may

categorise them as, Poodles were originally bred as hunting dogs) – that is a rant for another day! I think we have been proving these people wrong, day in and day out, with our level of training and dedication and the way Waff has taken to this as he’s grown and matured. My dream is to attend a full shoot season alongside these sleek KC beauties and work my floofy doodle alongside them, which is looking increasingly like we can do achieve that this year!


And shout out to our INCREDIBLE trainer Lindsay. We would be nowhere without her patience, guidance and endless answers to the stupidest of questions. She is a fantastic person and a genuine pleasure to know, it is our privilege to be able to work with her and we are forever indebted to her for taking on a doodle when many other trainers would have laughed at us. She is a true gem.


So there we are, at the end but really just the beginning of our story. I will finish it with this – we are proof that a doodle, a mutt, a mongrel can be a “proper gundog”. Whatever “proper gundog” means.

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