Fallowfen Gundogs has residential training for new dogs but also provide refresher training for those dogs that have already been fully trained but have picked up a few bad habits or are starting to ignore the commands. These faults are best dealt with before the next shooting season starts.
Gundog training can seem an overwhelming task, but the secret is to break it down into small lessons, and only train when you are relaxed. We hope to encourage people to spend a little time concentrating on thinking about what they are trying to achieve, and help them find the resources to achieve their ambitions.
Gundog Training – where do you start?
If you are training a gundog with the intention of working it in the field or to keep it happy (and gundogs do need some kind of work to stay happy) there are a number of things you can do to make your experience easier and more enjoyable.
The first of these is to attend group or one to one lessons alongside a professional gundog trainer this has the advantage that you meet experienced people who have experienced the same sort of problems you may encounter. It is also a great opportunity to see how others cope with their sometimes wayward animals and it is good fun to mix with like-minded people.
My second is to watch some video footage of professional training.
Now To Training
Decide which sort of training you need, you can give us at Fallowfen a call and discuss your requirements and which direction would be best for you go in, I.e you may already have something in mind like going rough shooting, picking up, walked up shooting or beating, this can also depend on what breed of dog you have!
Dogs do vary quite considerably in the rate at which they learn so the age guide may have to be altered to suit an individual pupil. Throughout the lessons there are three very important principles which must be kept in mind at all times. An amateur trainer can easily slip up as a result of over-enthusiasm, tiredness, frustration, excitement or any number of other reasons but any deviation from these basic principles is a sure step towards failure, so professional lessons are essential .
Consistency - It is vital always to be consistent in the way a dog is treated. The same commands should always be used and the dog should never be asked to do something, which would normally be forbidden. It is only too easy to fall into the trap of having one set of rules for some occasions and another set for different circumstances. Be particularly careful if you keep your dog in the house - it is very easy to have one set of rules for the house and another set for outside. Unfortunately your dog/puppy cannot appreciate which set of rules apply where?
Non-Predictability - Consistency should not be confused with predictability. A dog should never be able to predict its handler's commands so identical routines should not be followed every day. Different routes should be taken for exercise and training should be performed in varying sequences so that the dog has to await its owner's command rather than being able to predict the next move.
Insistence - Once the dog has been trained to give a certain response, correct performance must be insisted upon whenever the appropriate command is given. For example, if the dog has been commanded to "stay" and, after a few minutes, it wanders for a couple of steps, then it must be taken back to the stay position and again commanded to stay. Even minor lapses of discipline will lead to an unreliable gundog if allowed to remain uncorrected.
Look for ways in which you can use everyday occurrences to re-inforce the more formal training. As an example, once you have taught the dog/puppy to sit and stay, make him sit while you open a door/gate then wait varying lengths of time before calling him forward. Similarly, it might be possible for you to make him sit at the open kennel gate before taking him his evening walk. Wait until you have reached the garden gate before calling him up.