SS Snipe Dummy | 120g | Nose-Led Training

We carry these in every pocket.

That's not a selling line. Every trainer at Kirkbourne has at least one on them at any session - tucked into a jacket, a vest, a game bag. At 120g and 5.5 inches long, you don't notice it's there. Until you need it.

The Snipe Hunt Dummy is not a standard retrieve dummy. It doesn't replace the ½lb or the 1lb. It does something different - something neither of those can do as well.

It's small. Deliberately. Low-profile in the grass, hidden in light cover, invisible to a dog that's looking with its eyes rather than working with its nose. Throw a standard dummy and the dog marks it, locks on, drives straight to it. That's marking. Useful, necessary, worth training. But it's not hunting.

This dummy makes the dog hunt. It can't mark something it can't clearly see. It has to get its head down, commit to the scent cone, and work the ground until it finds it. That's the skill a spaniel needs in cover. That's what separates a dog that can retrieve from a dog that can actually find shot game.

The colour is the training decision

Two colours. Different jobs.

Green gives the dog a slight visual advantage. At short range in short grass it's findable by eye - but only just. It encourages the nose without removing the mark entirely. Good for introducing this style of hunting work, for younger dogs building confidence, or for sessions where you want the dog working hard without complete frustration.

Pheasant pattern removes the visual assist almost entirely. The mottled brown and copper pattern disappears into grass, leaf litter and light cover in a way the green doesn't. This one is 100% nose. The dog cannot cheat. It has to hunt, and hunt properly, or it doesn't find the dummy. That's the advanced tool - once the dog knows what it's doing, the pheasant colour is where you take the training.

You can progress within a single session. Green first, let the dog find it twice cleanly. Pheasant next. Same field. Different problem.

Sealed, floating, pocketable

The sealed interior means it floats - so water retrieves are on the table alongside land work. At 120g and 5.5 inches it goes in any pocket without bulk. There's no reason not to have one on you at every session, which is exactly why every trainer here does.

Where it sits in the range

The snipe dummy sits alongside the standard canvas range - not above or below it, alongside. A dog still needs the ½lb for foundation retrieve work and the 1lb for competition-weight training. The snipe dummy is what you pick up when you want the nose working rather than the mark. Alternate between sessions, or use both in the same session for different purposes.

For puppies, it's a patient introduction to scent-led hunting without the overwhelming weight of a full-size dummy. For experienced dogs, it's the tool that keeps the nose honest when marking has become too easy.

The details:

• Weight: 120g
• Dimensions: 5.5" length × 2" width (14cm × 5cm)
• Colours: Green (slight visual assist) | Pheasant (100% nose)
• Buoyancy: Sealed interior - floats
• Toggle: Throwing toggle fitted
• Use: Scent-led hunting, nose work, cover hunting, hunting pattern training, puppy scent introduction, advanced blind hunt work
• Suitable for: All breeds - essential for spaniels and HPR breeds; excellent for any dog whose marking is strong but whose hunting pattern needs development
• Important: Not a chew toy. Do not leave unattended with your dog.
• Price: £7.50

Stocked at Kirkbourne and in every trainer's pocket - because a dog that can mark is useful. A dog that can hunt is the one you actually want in cover.