Gundog Puppy Course

Our 6-week Gundog Puppy Courses are held in small groups.

We welcome puppies from both family pet backgrounds as well as those destined to be working gundogs.

Alongside teaching the early stages of gundog training, this course will also teach your puppy lots of important life skills. This stage of their training is vitally important in preventing all sorts of problems from occurring later down the line.

When Should I Start Training?

The short answer is – as soon as possible!

It’s far easier to teach your puppy the right behaviours from the start than to try and change bad habits that will quickly form otherwise.

This course is for all gundog breed puppies who have had their vaccinations and are under 6 months of age on the date of the first class. If you’ve already attended a puppy class elsewhere, our Beginner Gundog Course is also suitable for all puppies over the age of 4 months.

Training Developed for All Gundog Puppy Breeds

Our Gundog Puppy Course differs from general puppy classes with other trainers, which are for all breeds of dog.

We don’t believe in training dogs in village halls. All our classes are held in outdoor settings so that these life skills are learned in the same environment where your dog will ultimately need to use them.

A lot of general pet dog trainers, especially newly qualified ones, are not experienced in meeting the needs of gundogs, particularly those from working lines. If you are an owner of a retriever, spaniel, or pointer breed, you will know that these dogs need a little bit more. We often have these dogs referred to us by other trainers when they have run out of ideas and don’t know how to harness their boundless energy.

We provide puppy training specifically designed for gundog breeds. This very much includes family pet gundogs who are not being trained for the shooting field.

We only use modern, science-backed, ethical training methods based on rewards to motivate your dog. These are nothing like the traditional style of gundog training, which involves fear and punishment and promotes the use of force to make dogs comply.

The Importance of Appropriate Socialisation

Through carefully controlled socialisation, timid puppies don’t become scared of other dogs, nor do more confident puppies learn to become bullies. Introducing puppies to each other under supervision and controlling what happens teaches them to interact calmly.

Just as humans would not charge around a room, hugging, kissing, and jumping on everyone they come across, nor should dogs do so with other dogs.

Learning to meet and greet politely comes from appropriate socialisation. This is very different from the free-for-all puppy parties you may find elsewhere.

We can show you how to train your dog to be relaxed around other dogs, to meet and greet politely, and to come back to you because they find you to be the most interesting thing in their life.

Videos Demonstrating Every Exercise + 7-Day-a-Week Support

During your course you will receive membership to our online Gundog Training Academy.

Every exercise we cover in class comes with an easy-to-follow video demonstration, so you always know exactly what to work on at home.

You’ll also have individual support from an accredited Gundog Club Instructor & Assessor.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE ACER GUNDOG TRAINING

ONLINE ACADEMY

VIDEOS FEATURING EVERY EXERCISE

With trainer support if you get stuck

MEMBERSHIP OF THE ACER GUNDOG TRAINING

ONLINE ACADEMY

VIDEOS FEATURING EVERY EXERCISE

7-day-a-week trainer support

What Our Clients Are Saying

What Do We Cover On The Course?

Puppy training is really good fun and covers all the important life skills that will help your puppy make the best startin life:

Focus on You
Impulse Control
The ‘Off Switch’ – how to settle down and relax
Polite Greetings
How to Play Nicely with Other Dogs
Recall from Distractions (such as other dogs)
Walking Nicely on a Lead
Being Handled by Strangers
Sit & Stay
Avoiding Resource Guarding & Separation Anxiety
Introduction to Retrieving (building drive and desire to return)
Introduction to Hunting

Locations

What's Included In The Course

Plus:

Videos covering every aspect of the course, plus comprehensive written notes explaining all the exercises.
Between classes, you’ll have 7-day-a-week access to individual coaching and guidance from Mark Taylor, Gundog Club Instructor.
Private Client Community for support with the training, plus general chat with other gundog owners who are also training their dog with us around the world.