New to Gun Dog Training

Plum's mum

Plum's mum

Location
East Sussex
I did a one day workshop with Collete May when Plum was 6 months. (It was just outside Worthing in Sussex).
I didn’t realise she was ‘someone’ !
She was very good, Plum and I had a wonderful day, and Collette has a soft spot for labs.
 
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HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
snowbunny said:
She's not really, just one of the few R+ gundog trainers :)
It wouldn't surprise me if Lauren at Devon Dogs was probably learning what to do herself, so she can start offering gundog classes as part of their product.
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Definitely get that impression from our trainer- they’re expanding their repertoire, and gundog-focused seems to be popular
 
Heidrun

Heidrun

snowbunny said:
She's not really, just one of the few R+ gundog trainers :)
It wouldn't surprise me if Lauren at Devon Dogs was probably learning what to do herself, so she can start offering gundog classes as part of their product.
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It is not that simple though. A gundog trainer should have a very good understanding of actually working a dog. How a shoot works, how different breeds work, etc. Devon Dogs is not that far from me. I might check out one of their gundog days.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Heidrun said:
It is not that simple though. A gundog trainer should have a very good understanding of actually working a dog. How a shoot works, how different breeds work, etc.
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Totally agree. So I'd be interested to see what they end up doing. Maybe just an intro to some of the skills? I can't see them being to offer "proper" gundog classes without guest instructors for a good while.

Heidrun said:
Devon Dogs is not that far from me. I might check out one of their gundog days.
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Cool! I'd be interested to hear what they're doing :)
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
snowbunny said:
just an intro to some of the skills
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I think this is exactly it, and I think they're targeting people with little experience rather than those who have worked their dogs a lot. Our instructor for the day course I did doesn't shoot and had never been on a shoot. Actually (and I'm a novice at all of this so take my view with a pinch of salt) whilst this initially made me skeptical, by the end the day I could see the value in a lot of the training which was fairly generalised. So steadiness was about impulse control, managing arousal levels, listening with distractions and solid boundaries etc.

Heidrun said:
I just had a look at their prices. £100 for a day!! I might set up classes myself!
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You should! I'd be interested ;) They seem to be meeting a demand, as attendee numbers look healthy.
 
Plum's mum

Plum's mum

Location
East Sussex
The workshop I attended was much like you describe @HAH.
Along with Collette May, there were two other trainers, one of whom I’m pretty sure had been on a shoot, no idea if Collette or the other trainer had been.

I have no desire to go on a shoot, I just like learning some of the skills so it suited me fine.

Then I followed up with an 8 week course with another of the trainers. Again, it wasn’t about the shoot. Can’t remember how much either the workshop or the 8 week course cost.
 
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