My dog just got his first on sun night. he was on his own, but is nearly 2 so i thought he could handle it and he did. I don't think a dog that couldn't do it on his own would be any good to me as we hunt covers and sometimes it wouldn't be possible for another dog to help as they maybe a field or so away. I'll see over the next few weeks how mines turns out after a few more under his belt but hes had a good start so fingers crossed.