Having spent my entire life with working (and very spoiled!) labradors, both yellow as well as black, my quest for the perfect fox red derivative began about 15 years ago.  Not because I harboured any kind of prejudice against the blacks or the whites, but rather because appearances really do matter in certain workplaces.

I am involved in extensive deer management work; often dealing with large gangs of Fallow on wide open undulating downland. Some fields are a staggering 300 acres, larger than the average sized UK farm, and can measure over a mile from one side to the other.  Here, gangs of a hundred plus Fallow can enjoy relative safety in the hidden folds and creases.  While some graze and others ruminate or rest, there will always be dedicated and attentive sentries posted around the flanks.  The pack leader, always an alpha female and typically positioned at the highest point, will shuffle her gaze between her duty officers, alert to the slightest hint of their heightened awareness and the presence of potential danger.

Imagine attempting to belly crawl into range with a solid block coloured labrador.  There is good reason why bucks and stags wallow in mud during the rut.  They want to be noticed, and a solid dark makeover not only renders them abundantly obvious, they also appear larger.  Have you ever wondered why there are so few white deer in the wild?  They are about as obvious as a Belisha beacon – not great for the rest of the gang! The same applies to even the most steady and stealthy labrador.

What I needed was a trusty dawg with natural camouflage.  To this end, I researched and pondered various established deer hound breeds, but none come close to sharing the broad range of skills so natural to a Labrador – and certainly not as easy to fettle!  And so, the quest for a suitable fox red commenced…

Over the course of the next two years, I made numerous enquiries, undertook in depth research and visited numerous litters of fox-red puppies – I rejected them all for this reason or that.  And then, on the strong recommendation of a trusted shooting buddy, I acquired Sibyl completely blind off a Highland grouse moor.  In August 2014, I made the 1,000 plus mile round trip to the Gannochy Estate on the North Esk (catching a fine silver salmon in the process) to collect her.  She was just seven weeks old.  She has since seamlessly integrated with my family, our other dogs, my work and pretty much everyone else she has encountered (man and beast) in every public house she has insisted we visit.

For her first two years, she was a dedicated deer dog and has been an indispensable member of my deer management team.  Yes, in the early days there was the very occasional blond moment (always involving hares!), but without any formal instruction she just does what I do.  Stealth and silence are paramount; stop and she stops, spy and she spies, crawl and she crawls – you get the picture, and her camouflage is second to none in any environment and at any time of day or night.  Her sense of smell, whether in alerting me to hidden deer, or recovering culled animals from thick cover is nothing but exceptional.  Her prize is a slice or two of fresh deer heart – always a very exciting moment.

Swap the rifle for a shot gun and she instinctively knows the focus is on airborne feathers.  From Grouse to Snipe, Woodcock to Wildfowl she is a natural at marking and retrieving to hand.  Oh, and Pheasants and Partridges are just a walk in the park!  To be honest, I take absolutely no credit for widespread praise she attracts – she really is a natural.

In March 2017, Sibyl (with the help of the very talented Ralphie – see the Rufriver Gundogs website) had nine beautiful wee pups – Agnes amongst them.  Sibyl was, and continues to be, a fantastic mum (as well as granny and now GREAT granny!). Tragically, at just nine months old, one of Agnes’s sisters (who I had re-homed with a dear old school buddy) contracted and died from Alabama rot.  Somehow, I managed to convince Sibyl to go again, and in April 2019 she produced another ten wee ones – including Birdie, tasked with filling the place left by her lost sister Putter.

Under the firm tutelage of her mother, Agnes was a child prodigy.  Sadly, she developed a beastly pyometra infection of the uterus and was subsequently unable to breed.  You could say she dodged the bullet.  She really did – we so very nearly lost her!  Thankfully, litter sister Juno came to her rescue with preferred partner Saxon, and third generation Phyllis arrived on 25 December 2021 – quite a Christmas present.

Through no fault of her own, the young Phyllis had a slow start in the field.  Following a freak accident, it was me that was grounded this time!  Off my feet for over nine months, puppy training was intermittent and slow, but with patience (on her part as well as mine!) she has since earnt her spurs and is now an integral part of the team – on both fur and feather manoeuvres.

Over the course of the last ten years, the fox red labrador has become almost ubiquitous.  Dare I say it, but some do not deserve too close a scrutiny.  Determined to maintain only the best working credentials (and good looks!), it was back to a Highland grouse moor to secure only the best genetics for the next generation – this time to the Clune Estate on the banks of the river Findhorn.  Boss was the lucky boy (see the Foxhope Gundogs website), and a true gentleman too. On 22 April 2025, their union yielding nine healthy little pups – four bitches and five dogs.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Phyllis’s offspring will have the same innate skills as her forebears, but I can vouch for mum, granny and great granny, as well as the boys without whom none of this would be possible.  Their pedigree, health screening results, and working lineage is top notch and I would dearly love them to go to working homes.  They are made for work and thrive in the warmth and comfort of a loving family, particularly when curled up with the rest of the pack on the hearth with a full belly after a long day in the field!

Personally, I would like to keep another bitch myself (assuming I can persuade the home team?), and I have a number of stalking/shooting comrades with long outstanding expressions of interests.  So, there may not be many (if any) still available for re-homing (in mid-June).

Sincerely yours,

Alastair