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Gundog Club
training courses are
designed for complete beginners to
gundog work
and we welcome pet dogs. Whether or not their
owners have any intention of working them in the
future.
We never turn
away a dog because the owner does not want to take
it shooting. This is because we believe that
gundog training
is the best way to train any gundog. No matter what
his future purpose. About half of the people who
bring their dogs on our courses do not actually
intend to work them in the future. However, many of
these have such fun, and become so ‘bitten by the
bug’ that they go on to become keen gundog handlers
and to participate in shooting sports
We are
delighted to be responsible for increasing the
numbers of people participating in
gundog
fieldwork and we hate to refuse anyone a place
on our courses. However, it is sometimes
unavoidable where courses are full or where dogs
have problems which are best approached in a
one-to-one situation, rather than in a group.
The most
common reasons for
refusing a
student a place
on one of our courses are:
-
Serious
recall problems
-
Aggression
-
Full courses
Serious
recall problems.
Lots of dogs
are a little reluctant to recall when they join in a
group for the first time. All the new people and
other dogs are very distracting. And it may take a
bit of patience and encouragement to get all the
dogs used to paying attention to their own owners,
and ignoring the bustle around them. This is one
of the reasons that we keep our beginner classes
very small.
However,
this is not what we mean by a serious recall
problem.
If you cannot get your dog back
on the lead once he has been released. You
have a serious problem. Dogs that cannot be
caught, or that ‘run away’ when let off the lead,
are not appropriate members of a training group.
This is a problem that needs addressing one-to-one,
with other dogs being introduced in a controlled
manner by an experienced trainer.
Please do not be offended if you
are refused a place in one of our groups for this
reason. This is a common problem and one that can
usually be solved by some
training
lessons with one of our instructors. We can
arrange these for you over the telephone or you can
book online. It will take time and patience to get
results, but some
individual tuition can be very effective and
enable you to get into group training as your dog
improves.
Aggression
Unfortunately
people occasionally try to join our classes in order
to try and improve their dog’s ability to get along
with other dogs. We do not permit aggressive dogs
in our classes, both because it disrupts training,
and because it poses an unacceptable risk to other
dogs and students. Any student attending a class
with an aggressive dog will be excluded by the
trainer as soon as he or she becomes aware of the
problem, and this is obviously embarrassing and
upsetting for the owner of the aggressive dog. In
addition, the owner will lose their course fee as
it will be far too late for us to sell the place to
another student.
If you know or
suspect that your dog has problems interacting with
other dogs or people, it is very important that you
do not book a place on one of our courses. Your
first port of call should be your veterinary surgeon
who will be able to examine your dog and after
excluding physical causes of aggression will be able
to recommend a local behaviourist to treat the
problem. In addition, it is possible that we can
find you a trainer to give you
one-to-one lessons so that you can continue to
progress your dog’s training without putting other
dogs at risk.
The course is full
The most
common reason for students to be unable to obtain a
place on a course is because the course is full. We
appreciate how disappointing it is to be told that
there are no places left, especially if this is a
higher grade course that you were hoping to move
straight on to from the last grade.
For more
information on full ‘follow on’ courses read
Why Is My
Course Full?
In some parts
of the country, especially in the
South East
courses tend to fill months ahead, which can be
very disappointing for those that fail to get a
place. We are committed to providing gundog
courses for all that want them and are developing
our own teacher training scheme to increase the
supply of future instructors in areas where there is
much demand for our services.
This is of
course a long term project. Meanwhile, if we know
that there are students waiting, we will always work
with our existing trainers to try and accommodate
them, so do let us know if you are waiting for a
course in a particular area. We may be able to
persuade our trainers to offer extra dates if
sufficient students in an area want them.
Booking
Early
The best way
to secure a place on the course of your choice is to
book early. This is especially important in
the South East.
If you book early, you can pay in two
instalments, with the second larger instalment not
payable until three weeks before the course begins.
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