Dris retrieving a Pheasant!!!!

So proud of Dris today who for the first time found and retrieved a pheasant to me. He has never been much of a retriever and I spent a lot of time clicker training a retrieve with dummys. I have always worried that because he is the first gundog I have ever trained that I have let him down with this. However more recently I took the pressure off and have been playing with cold game with him with no pressure on him to do anything other than pick up the bird. I have seen him become more keen and confident of late with this even to the point of on the last pheasant shoot he saw a bird come down and was keen to go after it. However the gun had a dog and had sent it so he was called back. Well today husband was a gun on the shoot and I was beating. Husband had shot a pheasant and when I was close enough he called us over. Husband was over a stream and up a steep bank so I sent Dris to him. Husband worked Dris onto the pheasant which was in another burn. Dris picked it up out of the water and came up to husband but looked at me so I whistled him to me and he came all the way and put it in my hand like we have trained him to do. What a good boy! And a super way to finish the year!!

7c overcast with rain 3pm