Here at Acer we are all incredibly excited that we will soon be welcoming you and your dogs back to training classes.

 

The current plans for restarting are as follows:

This means that your first class back will  either be in the week before Easter, or over the Bank Holiday weekend.

 

In previous years we have always opened over Easter weekend and never had an issue with attendance. Plus, there will also be restrictions still in place on going away anywhere this year until at least mid-April.

 

Weighing that all up, we have taken the decision that, rather than wait any longer, we’re going to open the doors and get training back up and running that week.

 

Lots has been going on behind the scenes during the various lockdowns and so I wanted to bring you up to date on all that’s been happening at Acer.

 

New Structured Training Courses

We now have a complete series of 6-Week Structured Training Courses, all backed by online training material.

 

Each level culminates in a fully scored Field Test, which we will now run internally, rather than wait for external assessment which has proven to be very difficult to facilitate for the large number of clients who we now work with.

 

Successful completion of each Field Test will result in a Pass, Merit or Distinction based on the overall score. It’s not a competition with other dogs, just you and your dog versus the Course criteria (as outlined on the pages relating to each Course, links below).

 

For the time being, these 6-Week Courses will run alongside our regular Rolling Classes whilst we continue to receive your feedback and develop our training proposition accordingly.

 

Beginner Foundation Course (6-Weeks)

 

Beginner Level

-Working Towards Beginner Gundog Field Test

Upon successful completion of the entry-level training, you can progress to our new 6-Week Beginner Improver Course which includes a fully assessed Beginner Gundog Field Test.

Junior Level

-Working Towards Junior Gundog Field Test

With a pass or above in a Beginner Gundog Field Test, you can progress to our new 6-Week Junior Gundog Course and, if needed, a Junior Improver Course, which will both include a fully assessed Junior Gundog Field Test.

Intermediate Level

-Working Towards Intermediate Gundog Field Test

With a pass or above in a Junior Gundog Field Test, you can progress to Intermediate Gundog Classes.

 

For the time being, Intermediate Gundog Training will remain as a Rolling Class arrangement.

 

Rolling Classes may well be replaced in future with ad-hoc, specialist workshops to cover the more complex skills required at this level of training. For example; the use of water, different ground cover, cold game etc.

 

• Breaking the training down into layers makes it easier to teach (us to clients, then clients to dogs)
• What we cover in classes is far more targeted than previously
• Historically we have relied mainly on spoken information delivered whilst standing in the field, then a bit of practical learning. This teaching style makes it difficult to remember everything covered in class and mainly appeals to auditory and kinaesthetic learners 
• Those with a preference for visual learning (the most common style – circa 65% of the population) now find it easier to learn how to train their dogs using the online videos to support the classes
• Clients learn all the ingredients that go into teaching the finished behaviour and how they combine together, a bit like baking a cake
• By understanding the structure, clients can appreciate how long it actually takes to train a dog to perform even quite basic behaviours and so have more realistic expectations/less frustration
• If something isn’t working, clients know why and have something they can do about it to 
• The peer pressure within the group is great for motivating people to practice at home (including pressure on us trainers to achieve successful outcomes in the final week)
• Attendance rates are significantly higher than with our regular rolling classes
• Having a small target to reach each week focusses efforts and produces great results for clients who put the effort in
• Clients are really motivated when they see how much progress can be made in a short amount of time
• Dogs don’t get stuck at the same level for long periods, everyone has progressed within the 6 weeks and output closely reflects level of input from owners

 

What Have Other Clients Said?

“The videos are clear and concise so you can’t go wrong”

“The course has been brilliantly constructed, and is so easy to follow”

“The course is a combination of weekly classes which are excellent but the real added value is the video course which helps to remember the tricks you may have forgotten, and also means if you miss a week its easy to catch up”

“We are in the Beginner Foundation Course, which is also supported by a really helpful online training course. This has enabled my whole family to get onboard with the training”

“Having access to online course with the video as backup has been worth its weight in gold, it means both my husband and I can watch and make sure we are both doing the same things in the same way”

For those of you that haven’t seen them, the online courses are split into 6 modules, each of which provides enough training material for one week (nothing too onerous, roughly 20 minutes a day).

 

Each course features over 30 videos which demonstrate the training with my own dogs. The training method for each behaviour is broken-down into bite-sized steps and there are detailed written instructions to follow accompanying the videos.

 

During the 6-week course, we coach you on your training technique whilst we are together in class. We have just enough time in the hour to touch on all of the training topics briefly and get each of the exercises started, making sure you are using the right handler technique.

 

By practicing at home in the week before the next class, your job is to reach the next mini-milestone with each behaviour.

 

This is where the big difference occurs in the development of the training, compared with the current regular Rolling Classes. The following week in class, everyone is then ready to progress from the start point of that milestone being reached and we end-up with dogs trained at a much faster pace.

 

Everything is very structured and built up in layers of difficulty throughout the course.

 

Little and often is definitely the best way to train dogs. A bit like learning to play a musical instrument, or training for a marathon, we find that dog training once a week in class just isn’t enough. A little bit of practice each day is where the real gains are made.

 

When we restart our training classes after the lockdown we will be keen to talk to hear what you want to do.

 

Do you want to switch to one of the new structured 6-Week Courses, or would you rather stay in the rolling class you currently attend?

 

Based on demand, we will then timetable new 6-week Courses at each of our training venues on different days of the week.

 

Having not seen anyone for several months, we need to establish where you all are with your training. This will then allow us to determine the best Course level for you to begin at.

 

To give you an example; those that have successfully completed our entry-level courses would have dogs that can demonstrate the following: