Essential Kit

The equipment in this section (before ‘Additional Kit‘) will help you get the most from your course. Importantly, it’ll help you keep the training going between classes. What you buy is up to you but anything listed under ‘Essential Kit‘ will be needed to take part in the exercises we cover on the course.

Settle Mat (Puppy Course Only)

In the middle section of each class, we will be working on training the puppies to settle. In a nutshell, this means to switch-off and go to sleep. It is much easier to do this if you use a contextual cue such as a mat being rolled out on the ground. During the winter months, it also makes it more comfortable for your puppy to lie on cold & wet ground. You don’t need anything expensive, but ideally it should be a mat that you can roll up and carry under your arm whenever you take your puppy out to the pub or to a friend’s house. It isn’t just for use in class. A rectangle of Vetbed ideal. Alternatively,  shower mat, or an off-cut of carpet are just as good. A towel will just get wet on soggy ground so isn’t suitable.

Leads, Collars & Harnesses

Dogs should have a regular length lead with a buckle. This should be attached to a fixed length collar, or a harness. Collar ID tags are legally required to be worn by all dogs, training classes do not provide any exemption. You will need a body harness of some type when attaching a Long Line for distance work (see below). The best harnesses we have found are those manufactured by PerfectFit. If you currently have a tiny puppy, you may wish to delay buying an expensive harness such as the one above until they are closer to fully grown. We do not use equipment that is aversive in nature to cause dogs pain or discomfort. As such, we do not allow the use of e-Collars, Choke Chains (full or semi), ‘Gencon‘, ‘Halti’-type head harnesses, or Figure of Eight slip leads.

No Slip Leads For Puppies & Beginners

When working in the field, it is dangerous for dogs to be wearing anything like collar as this can snag, causing injury or drowning. The use of a Slip Lead in these situations allows dogs to be released quickly and easily, but this is the only purpose they should be used for. A Slip Lead should not be used as a device to strangle a dog with, causing pain and potential injury.

Please do not bring your dog to Gundog Puppy or Beginner Gundog Classes wearing one as they will not have reached the required level of heelwork training. They will spend each session sounding as though they are choking. Only those dogs who attain Junior and Advanced Gundog Classes will be capable of walking to heel without pulling. For dogs who have been trained to this level,

We recommend the use of a Limited Slip Leadwhich has an adjustable stopper attached which will restrict the amount of tightening on the lead to the size of the dog’s neck.

This type of lead provides the best of both worlds; a lead which can easily be removed, but will not harm the dog’s neck if they do pull (no more than pulling whilst wearing a standard collar anyway).

Food Treats & Pouch

Using your pocket to hold food treats makes them too difficult to access quickly at the time they are required. We therefore recommend you purchase a decent sized treat pouch like this one that can be clipped to your belt for easy access and will hold plenty of high-value food treats.  To reward your dog and reinforce good behaviour in a way that makes them eager to repeat it, high-value treats are needed. Tip: bring treats which are ‘soft, smelly and squidgy’ chopped in pea-sized cubes – bring plenty as you’ll get through more than you think. If you’re worried about over-feeding your dog, ration their regular meals according to the amount of food used in training.

Clicker

All of our gundog training is based on positively reinforcing the right behaviours in order to encourage dogs to repeat them. The best way to communicate with your dog when training is give feedback using the unique sound made by a clicker.

Acme Working Dog Whistles

We encourage the use of the whistle as early as possible in your dog’s training regime.

When working dogs at distance or into cover, especially when it’s windy, the 211.5 pitch provides a higher volume. To be sure of being heard, this whistle pitch is our recommendation for all breeds. The best dog whistles are manufactured by Acme and whistles from their Alpha range are excellent. You can order them from Amazon here – or various other suppliers.

Long-Line

In the early stages of training, we find it best to use a long line whilst working with your dog at distance and close to other dogs. This is basically a very long lead, ideally 10 metres long (no more), made of canvas webbing or biothane and without a handle which can get snagged and cause injury. For safety reasons, long-lines should only ever be attached to your dog via a body harness.

Retrieving Toys

In order to teach the retrieve, we use play as the best method. If you can engage your dog in a game with a toy, then throw it, there’s an excellent chance he’ll chase after the toy and bring it back because he wants the game to continue. The exact item you use is largely down to your dog (one they’ll play with). Bring a ball or a dummy if you’re confident your dog will bring them back to you (although commonly they won’t). The exercises in the course will show you how to build the drive to retrieve the item using a bungee tug toy with a sheepskin or rabbit fur head and an elasticated handle. You can them purchase direct from our main supplier, Tug-e-Nuff, right here and you’ll receive a 10% off your order. You won’t need a retrieving toy or a flirt pole for the first two classes but we recommend obtaining them before week 3 so you can take part in all the activities in that class.

Flirt Pole

Optional for the purpose of the course, but normally a game changer when used in training. They can be used to build drive to chase the item attached to the end and bring it back for another game once detached and used as a retrieving item. As demonstrated in one of the training modules on the online course, a Flirt Pole is a great bit of kit to have in your bag to generate additional movement and therefore interest from dogs who don’t appear overly keen to retrieve. You can purchase these online from retailers such as Tug-e-Nuff with a 10% discount, here. Alternatively, an equestrian Lunge Whip makes the toy move even faster as it has a flexible tip. As they are typically 7ft in length, they are just not very practical to carry around.

Training Dummies

Once your dog is reliably retrieving a toy, we will progress to canvas retrieving dummies. These come in various shapes, sizes and materials available online from stockists such as Sporting Saint. The best size to buy for puppies and beginners is a 1/2lb one like these, then 1lb dummies for adult dogs once they get a bit of experience. What’s most important though, is finding something your dog likes retrieving.

Poo Bags

Please ensure you have a supply of poo-bags to clean up after your dog. These bags should only be disposed of in the red dog-waste bins that are situated around the site. Alternatively, please take the bag home with you.

Water

For hygiene reasons, you should bring a water bowl and water for your dog to drink. Bring extra water if it’s hot, or a towel if it’s wet.

Clothing & Footwear

Our training classes are held outdoors and in all weather so please dress accordingly. Remember; there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing!

Additional Kit

You may wish to acquire the following equipment as your gundog training progresses to Junior Gundog level:

Placeboards

For the Beginner Gundog Improver & Junior Gundog Courses, you will find it helpful to own at least one Placeboard. Boards can be supplied for use in class and all the training can be undertaken at home without them, but they are an excellent training tool in developing steadiness skills.

You can purchase ready-made placeboards from various suppliers on the internet. The two suppliers we recommend are:

• Wooden Placeboards (5kg each): here
• Lightweight Composite (3kg each): here

Alternatively, you can make your own with a few offcuts and some Astroturf purchased from a local garden centre.

The standarddimensions to use are 24″ x 15″ x 3″. Smaller is fine if you have a spaniel sized dog.

Training Tab

At the point where we start working dogs off-lead in a class, a useful hybrid between a long-line and having them completely free is a shorter lead, known as a Training Tab. This will help you maintain some control over your dog, but also to drop the tab without it distracting the dog or getting caught around their legs.

Game Bag

A Game Bag can be used to store your long line, dummies, etc and is handy as you will never have enough pockets. As you progress on your gundog training journey, you will undoubtably purchase a lots of additional items. Carrying equipment in a supermarket carrier bag, or a backpack, is really impractical. When these are left on the ground in the are

Handler Vest

A Game Bag can quickly get full with all the paraphernalia that is gradually acquired with gundog training. A better option for carrying items whilst training your dog is a Handler Vest.