What does your gundog do on a walk? Do they stay relatively close while having a relaxing sniff? Or do they make a beeline to the horizon as soon as they are off lead, enjoy chasing wildlife and become too engrossed in hunting to hear you?
There is a great deal of debate, conflict and confusion in the gundog world, especially in relation to spaniels, whether you should let your dog “free run”, off lead in the countryside.
While I believe that all gundogs deserve leisure time and should not be under strict working orders 24/7, free running should never mean out of control.
Irrespective of whether they are a family pet or a working gundog, all dog owners should adhere to the Countryside Code and keep their dogs either on lead, or within sight and under effective control at all times.
From a legal perspective, on Open Access land you must put your dog on a lead between 1 March and 31 July, and if there is livestock present outside of these dates.
It is also always good practice wherever you are to keep your dog on a lead around livestock, particularly as farmers can shoot any dog that is attacking or chasing livestock.
As of 18 March 2026, changes to livestock worrying laws in England and Wales (the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953) also mean dog owners now face much stricter consequences if their dog disturbs, chases, worries or attacks livestock. It doesn’t take physical contact for an offence to occur - anything that causes stress is enough and fines can be unlimited.
For our gundog breeds, however, it is never just ‘a walk’. And while you might not be actively encouraging your gundog to use their instincts on the daily dog walk, any dog bred for hunting will always be wired to pursue quarry and follow scent with unwavering determination.
Sometimes considered a problem only faced by pet gundog owners (who might not have fully realised what they were letting themselves in for when they chose their puppy) working gundogs owners can too get caught out when trying to ‘walk’ their dog.
If you have spent October to February actively encouraging your gundog to hunt in the open countryside for game (not just in the training field, and not just for dummies or balls), when they come across scent on your daily spring or summer dog walk, not only will their natural instincts kick in, but there will be a new assumption that this is what you want and expect from them all the time.
Instead of a relaxed stroll, you might be feeling like your outings are more of a battle to keep them close and under control, spending all your time stopping them from disappearing into the hedgerows or darting off to follow scent trails.
If this is you, then in this blog, we’ll unpack the role of your gundog’s natural instincts and the concept of “self-employment”. I’ll also show you how to shift their approach from “on the job” to enjoying a more relaxed “bumble” through the countryside while keeping them close and under control.
Why gundog owners find off-lead walks in the countryside a challenge
The countryside, with its wide-open spaces and abundance of wildlife and scent, is a natural trigger for all of our gundog’s hunting instincts, regardless of whether they are pets or workers.
Often, owners who selected their puppy with the aim of taking them beating, picking up or rough shooting are aware that the characteristics that prove helpful on a shoot day can also pose problems on the daily dog walk if not carefully managed.
A lot of gundog owners, however, will have chosen their puppies because, on the whole, gundog breeds are known for being good family pets. And just because you have selected a puppy from non-working or show-bred parents does not mean your pet gundog will not want to sniff and chase when confronted with scents and running wildlife.
And while you might have carefully managed these instincts successfully by working them or doing breed-specific training, it can be difficult to get your gundog to understand the difference between working or training and having a leisurely stroll in the countryside after they have made the powerful connection between scent and thrill of flushing or retrieving.
A closer look at why gundog breeds are difficult to take on a normal walk
If this is your first dog or first gundog breed, you might be unfamiliar with what exactly people mean when they refer to a gundog’s instinct and how this impacts you as an owner.
High prey drive
Gundogs are hardwired to chase and capture prey. This instinct can make countryside walks particularly challenging, as they might bolt after birds, rabbits, or other wildlife.
If you have not had a gundog before, you might also miss the early warning signs of them switching from walking mode into hunting mode. It might appear as if they are unpredictable. The sight or scent of a small animal can quickly trigger an intense chase response, and this can be challenging for new owners, especially if the dog is off-lead and not fully trained to respond to recall cues in distracting environments.
Strong scenting abilities
Gundogs have an acute sense of smell, enabling them to detect and differentiate a vast array of scents far beyond human capabilities. They can pick up scents from great distances and are equally capable of finding the faintest whiff that could be right under our feet that we have no idea about.
While we can often see physical distractions, e.g. deer in the distance, we simply cannot match our dog’s sense of smell. This means it is easy for gundogs to catch their owners off guard when they pick up a scent trail and suddenly start galloping into the distance.
This heightened sensory ability is a severe distraction. If you have not adequately proofed your behaviours, it can make it seem like your dog has suddenly gone deaf and is being deliberately disobedient or defiant.
Endless energy and stamina
Gundogs are known for their high energy levels and stamina, which can turn a leisurely walk into an exhaustive pursuit if they catch a scent or spot potential prey.
It is also important not to overwalk your gundog. You might think you are tiring them out, but in reality, you are just improving their fitness. The best way to wear out a gundog that won’t settle at home is with mental stimulation like training games and exercises.
What is controlled hunting?
As inconvenient as it might be if you’re just trying to go for a peaceful dog walk, hunting cannot be extinguished from your gundog and reignited for training classes or the shooting season (if you choose to work them).
It is part of their DNA and although you may be tempted to try and suppress it when it becomes inconvenient, you’ll likely find that it sneaks up on you when you least expect it.
In an ideal world, your gundog should see the hunt as purposeful. It should create excitement and have a specific outcome. While it is instinctive, it can be trained using cues and should be controlled and directed by the handler.
If you’ve been involved in gundog training with your pet or working dog, it’s likely that you’ve already introduced the concept of “controlled hunting” to your dog and will have probably taught a turn whistle, a hunt-there cue, and, depending on breed, a basic quartering pattern.
However, environmental cues also play a big role. And while your hunting environment might previously have been your garden or training field, after their first shooting season, or if you have started training in larger, more open spaces, our gundogs can quickly switch on to cues in the countryside that lead them to start going off “self-employed”.
What is a self-hunting or self-employed gundog?
A "self-hunting" or "self-employed" gundog refers to a dog that wants to work independently of its handler. You might be headed out the door on a relaxing country walk, but they’re getting ready to hunt and flush game without taking any instructions from you.
You might previously have worked hard to help your gundog understand that it is more valuable to ‘hunt’ with you than by themselves. Searching games are a great way to allow your gundog to use its natural abilities in a constructive and controlled way and will, over time, reduce their desire to ‘self-hunt’.
When taught correctly, these games will also help your dog manage their own excitement (arousal) within the environment, and this can help them better respond to basic cues like recall.
However, if you have been working with your dog especially during the shooting season, months of encouraging them to think independently and do whatever it takes to find game can backfire.
The result might be a relapse in their understanding of what cues hunting and the creation of a dog that wants to ‘self-hunt’ every time you venture out into the real world.
What is going for a bumble?
The best ‘walk’ you will ever have with your gundog is where you set off together and never have to recall, stop, or attach the lead.
You are entirely in sync with each other, your dog is not off hunting, nor are you having to do controlled hunting exercises with them all the time, and you end the walk together.
The key to creating this successful ‘walk’ with your gundog is what we call bumbling.
The definition of bumble is: “to act or move in a way that is not smooth or steady or showing clear thought”.
Unlike going out on a walk, which can unintentionally come across to our dogs as purposeful (like hunting), the art of bumbling is all about zig-zags and circles and taking breaks along the way.
You decide which way to go, and your dog learns to look to you for direction. It should feel very different from training or work, and the only thing your dog needs to understand is that you are in control of the route and the pace.
Instead of nagging your dog to be glued to your leg, or continuously recalling them because they’ve suddenly gone off hunting by themselves, you need to learn to recognise the changes in your dog that indicate when they are going to get overstimulated or cued to hunt by the environment.
By practice and observation, you can begin to identify the environmental triggers in your dog and gauge at what point to interrupt them and at what point it's safe to continue on your bumble.
If you are suddenly struggling with a dog that just wants to hunt, you need to be on the lookout for what is triggering this. Keep an eye on their body language and start to predict when they are about to “go self-employed” and instead of continuing on your walk, dedicate time to doing nothing.
The art of taking a break is especially important, as hanging around is something that clearly distinguishes your walk or bumble from an intense working shoot day or hunt.
Even if your dog is not about to go off hunting, you should take regular pauses on the walk. Stop to enjoy the view, rest on a gate, sit on a stile, catch up with messages on your phone, or even just sit in the middle of the field.
Remember that going for a bumble or ‘walk’ is for the dog as much as it is for us. It’s not just about exercise so you could spend half an hour in the same area taking in information and be quite happy.
If you want to learn more, bumbling is now part of our foundation gundog class curriculum with the basic concepts also covered in our puppy / beginner classes.
If you have not trained with us before and are just starting your gundog training, please click here for more information about our puppy / beginner classes.
If you have not trained with us before and think you would be ready to head straight into our Foundation GAP 1 level classes, please book a 121. As well as receiving a full training session, I will be able to advise on the most suitable group class for you to join. To view the online diary and book a session please click here.