Frequently Asked Questions

When untrained dogs are put into a group setting they generally become either over-excited, aggressive or nervous and stressed – none of which create a suitable state of mind for a dog to concentrate on learning. These are all the natural responses of a dog which is put into a group setting and does not understand what is expected of it, and so they fall back on their natural instincts.

First get the obedience basics under your belt, then introduce the group setting. Doing it the other way round is like taking a 6-year-old to a soft play centre with 8 of his friends and then expecting him to sit quietly and do his homework.

We are dead serious about gundog training – it’s our passion, and we live and breathe our dogs. We don’t expect the same level of obsession from you, but we do need you to understand that if you would like to train with us, you will need to do your homework, and practice between lessons.

We don’t expect you to commit to attending every single week, but consistency is essential. If you don’t come regularly and also practice at home, you will waste a large part of each lesson repeating what you did last time, and that’s not how we train.

Private lessons are offered on a weekly and fortnightly basis, group lessons happen each week, so that you have plenty of time to practice in between lessons.

With group lessons, if you don’t attend regularly, you won’t progress at the same pace as other group members, which isn’t fair on either you or them, and it may be necessary to revert back to private lessons in order to catch up.

The short answer is ‘no’. Different dog trainers use different methods, but gundog training is a very particular discipline, and attending a general puppy class may lead to you and your puppy getting into bad habits which will need to be undone before we can start training.

If you are keen to start working on the basics at home before formal training begins, book a New Puppy Session with us which will give you all the information you need to begin training your puppy right away.

How and when you socialise your dog is entirely up to you. However, in order to avoid getting into bad habits which will make gundog training more difficult, there are some dos and don’ts you can follow:

DO ensure your puppy is under your control at all times - a gundog puppy in training does not run wildly along the beach with other dogs chasing seagulls, completely deaf to your yells. With a little time and effort you can look forward to being the smug dog owner on the beach who’s dog is under control at all times even off the lead, and always comes back the second you whistle.

DON’T let your puppy off the lead until you are POSITIVE he will come back to you, regardless of what other terribly interesting thing is vying for his attention. Don’t enter into a situation unless you know that the outcome will be positive - unsure he will come back? Then don’t let him off!

DO choose companions for your puppy wisely. An over-friendly, over-excited untrained dog may well bounce all over your puppy, leaving your pup afraid and over-whelmed, which could lead to anti-social behaviour from your pup in future. Alternatively, allowing your dog to mix with dogs like this could also encourage your dog to behave in this manner - also a no-no!

DON’T assume other dogs are friendly - they may not be. If in doubt, keep your dog on a lead. Remember the world is full of untrained dogs owned by people who adore their pets and think it’s completely acceptable for their dog to rush over to you and leap all over you and your puppy - after all, how could you FAIL to love THEIR dog? It’s ADORABLE!. This is neither desireable nor acceptable behaviour. You have to accept that taking your dog out in public will inevitably lead to sometimes meeting untrained, out of control dogs, and whilst you can’t control what other people do (or don’t do) with their dogs (like train them), you can control how YOU and YOUR dog responds

To start training your gundog, you need a slip lead (6mm thick for puppies works well, you can use 8mm for older or larger dogs if you like - 6mm is fine for any size dog that doesn’t pull you - which your dog WONT when you’ve trained him!), a whistle (Acme 210.5 for spaniels, Acme 211.5 or Acme 212 for retrievers) and a lanyard (for the whistle). One or two canvas training dummies will be needed when you start retrieving, but we can advise exactly what size and type depending upon the age and breed of your dog).

DON’T use an extendable lead! The thinking behind using an extendable lead is generally something like this: you haven’t trained your dog to come when you recall him, so youre afraid that if you let him off, he won’t come back. So, you use an extendable lead, thinking that this will allow him to get plenty of exercise whilst ensuring he remains under your control. The thing is, he is NOT under your control - he’s rushing about madly up to 10 metres away from you, doing exactly what he likes, whilst completely ignoring you. This is NOT a dog under control! The solution? Get your walking paws on! Walk your puppy on the lead whilst practising your basic obedience drills, learned at your New Puppy Session - sit, stay, heel and recall. Your puppy needs to learn that when on a lead the ONLY place he should be is right where YOU tell him to be - either right beside you or sitting a lead length away practising his ‘stay’ drill. Not several metres away pleasing himself! Do a little each day and before you know it you will be able to safely let your dog off lead, knowing he will come back.

DON’T use a dog harness. Gundogs do NOT wear harnesses! People seem to use harnesses for two reasons. The first is that they put their puppy on a lead for the first time and the puppy pulls away. They decide their pup hates the lead, or that the lead hurts their puppy, and turn to a harness instead. We will explain in your New Puppy Session that a lead is neither painful nor scary when introduced correctly. The second reason people turn to a harness is because the dog pulls and they’re either afraid that the dog will injure itself on a lead, or they decide that a harness will make the dog easier to handle. Both of these assumptions are wrong. When used correctly, the checking action of a slip lead teaches the dog very quickly that if it pulls, the lead tightens and is uncomfortable, but if it doesn’t pull and walks to heel, the lead stays loose and is comfortable. And far from making a dog easier to handle, a harness does exactly what the word suggests - it ‘harnesses’ the animal’s power and makes it EASIER for him to pull. That’s why horses wear harnesses to pull a cart. Furthermore when using a harness you have no control over the dog’s head, and therefore you have only minimal control over the dog at all.