The Woof Works

26/05/2024

A couple of spaces left on our Novice level training day…

13/05/2024

Led by Sarah Meakes, founder of The Woof Works, in conjunction with Colin Pelham of Norland’s Gundogs, the workshop is aimed at those just starting out in the world of working tests and will be friendly, welcoming and supportive.

The morning session covers exactly what a working test is, how to enter, what to wear, etiquette, terminology, rules and regulations. We also cover what kind of tests you will encounter depending on your breed of dog and the level at which you are entering.

The longer afternoon session will be a series of mini mock tests on some amazing ground, to simulate performing under test conditions along with explanations of your score, tips to improve it, and plenty of general help and guidance.

Sarah has been competing in, helping at, and organising Working Tests for over 10 years and is the Working Test Secretary of the United Retriever Club Bucks Area. Sarah is passionate about helping people with gundog breeds access kind, friendly and supportive gundog training and prepare them for the sometimes slightly scary and intimidating world of of competing!

Colin is a hugely experienced gundog trainer and handler, having won a number of Novice and Open test and trials over the years. He has made up a field trial champion and competed in the IGL Retriever Championships. Colin is an A-Panel Kennel Club Retriever judge and has judged tests and trials across Europe. He is also a very nice person and not scary or intimidating at all!

The workshop is open to owners of retrievers, spaniels and HPR breeds but the test scenarios will predominantly be retriever based.

For all information and booking
https://www.thewoofworks.uk/workshop-introduction-to-working-tests

😊

07/03/2024

Fig is 1 today!!

23/12/2023

A very merry Christmas and a big thank you to all our lovely clients and their dogs! The Woof Works is now closed for the holiday period! We will reopen on Tuesday 9th Jan. Have a good one! 🎄

25/10/2023

Figs first holiday ❤️

19/06/2023

COM in the URC Bucks Novice competition for Comet and I yesterday in a field of about 40 running 🎉 Very pleased with our scores 20, 19, 19 and a 15 (silly mistake by me!🙄). He is such a good boy 🤩. Well done to fellow Woof Worker Laura, running Georgie boy in his first test. They did great completing every test with good scores! A lovely day out with some of my favourite people .chandler.3152 and Figgy came too!

05/06/2023

Meet Fig. The newest member of The Woof Works team ❤️

22/05/2023

Comet and I ran in the URC Bucks Open yesterday. 3 challenging tests each with 3 retrieves. We managed 2 and failed 1 after my efforts with the stop whistle were not having any effect whatsoever! But overall thrilled to be out competing at this level given the very little training we have managed this last year 😊

16/05/2023

LUTHER. Happy 13th Birthday my beautiful precious boy ❤️ Time flies 🥹

03/04/2023

This workshop delivers everything you need to know about participating in your first gundog working test. The morning session will cover exactly what a working test is, how to enter, what to wear, etiquette, terminology, rules and regulations. We also cover what kind of tests you will encounter depending on your breed of dog and the level at which you are entering. After lunch there will be a series of mini mock tests to simulate performing under test conditions. Morning information and booking can be found on the website: https://www.thewoofworks.uk/workshop-introduction-to-working-tests

01/04/2023

We are excited to announce that booking is now open for our spring workshops!
For more information on each of the courses head over to the website. If you have any questions or you are not sure which level to book please read the entry requirements. Still not sure? Email [email protected] or call 01628 947909. https://www.thewoofworks.uk/workshop

08/02/2023

OBEDIENCE FOR GUNDOGS!

Further to success of our recent collaboration with Lou Holmes on the Obedience For Gundogs course, we are offering a further 6 week course starting on Wednesday 22nd February.

Other dog sports and their training methods have lots to offer us as gundog trainers and Lou is an incredibly experienced, reward based dog trainer of over 25 years. She competes in Obedience with her three Border Collies, including at Championship level and has qualified five Search and Rescue dogs with two more in training. She is a National Assessor of Search Dogs for Lowland Rescue and also previously worked training assistance dogs.

The course will develop focus and engagement and will break down the following behaviours, training them without the distraction of the retrieve or hunt, using obedience methods tailored to gundogs :-

🐾Heelwork

🐾Steadiness

🐾Recall

The course is suitable for any of the following:-

🐾Those who have completed the Gundog Foundation or Puppy course, or those to whom the course has been suggested as an option for them by The Woof Works

🐾Those with an interest in progressing their foundation behaviours to a higher level

🐾Those able to commit to the whole course and train consistently in between classes

🐾Those considering competition

Consisting of 6 weekly sessions starting Wednesday 22nd February at 1pm. Details as follows:

🐾75 mins each week for 6 weeks

🐾6 people max

🐾£245.00

🐾Practical & demonstration with an assessment on week 6

🐾Cookham

BOOK NOW HERE: https://thewoofworks.as.me/ObedienceForGundogsFebMar23WedPM

OR CALL 01628 947909 if you have any questions.

08/02/2023

We have had lots of interest in our puppy courses which are all full, so we have scheduled an additional course!

Starting on Saturday 18th Feb at 9.30am for 12 weeks. Dates would be as follows:-

18th February
25th February
4th March
11th March
18th March
25th March
10th June
17th June
24th June
1st July
8th July
15th July

There is a gap in the course over April and May which allows for the Easter holidays and also provides valuable time for you and your puppy to embed the skills you have learned in the first half of the course, before progressing further.
For more information or to book please visit the website to request a call back.
https://www.thewoofworks.uk/gundog-puppy-course-detail

14/09/2022

We have just two spaces left on our Fun Water Workshop running this Sunday!

Ideal for dogs who have some experience with swimming or paddling, but it is not essential. Reluctant/reticent swimmers/paddlers are fine but this is not a workshop for dogs that are scared of water. Dogs may be young and at the start of their gundog training, or older with some gundog training but have limited experience with water.

Want more information? Head over to our website or give us a call on 01628 947909.

https://www.thewoofworks.uk/workshop-water

31/08/2022

Following the sell out, hugely successful summer workshops we are excited to announce new dates for our water workshops! Sunday September 18th - keep any eye on the website and socials for more information.

29/08/2022

1 SPACE LEFT!

Calling all gundog puppy owners (with puppies 6 months old or less), we have 1 last space left on our entry level course. For more information visit our website or call us on 01628 947909.
https://www.thewoofworks.uk/gundog-puppy-course-detail

25/08/2022

*FINAL CALL - GUNDOG IMPROVERS*

Calling all Woof Works clients who have completed Foundation Plus who have yet to book on to Improver, or Improver clients who wish to repeat cycle 1.

This is your final call to book on. We only have a couple of places left and training starts in two weeks. Choose from Friday at 11:00am or Saturday at 1:00pm.

https://www.thewoofworks.uk/gundog-improver-course-detail

19/08/2022

With only a couple of weeks left until our next set of courses start we have just 2 spaces left on our Gundog Puppy course. If you have recently welcomed a puppy into your home then this course will be great for you. We cover basic general life skills such as engagement, recall, heel work etc. combined with the beginnings of gundog work, including delivery to hand, steadiness, emergency stop whistle and controlled hunting whistle - all skills that will improve your dog's general obedience in everyday life scenarios. In the second half of the course we build on the foundation skills. For more information visit the website for give us a call on 01628 947909.

04/08/2022

GOOD MORNING! Our Gundog Summer Workshops kick off this morning and due to a cancellation we now have just 1 space available for our Gundog Fun Retriever Foundation Improver Workshop tomorrow at 09:30 in Cookham. For more information and to book check our website: https://www.thewoofworks.uk/workshop-fun-retrieve-improver

29/07/2022

The woof works team downed tools until they had a swim break!

21/07/2022

Following yesterday's post announcing our Gundog Puppy course we thought we would provide you with some more information.
Gundog Puppy consists of an induction theory session of 60 minutes followed by 11 sessions of 1 hour focusing on basic general life skills such as engagement, recall, heel work etc. combined with the beginnings of gundog work, including delivery to hand, steadiness, emergency stop whistle and controlled hunting whistle - all skills that will improve your dog's general obedience in everyday life scenarios.

20/07/2022

We have reformatted our ever popular Gundog Puppy course to provide maximum impact and to give you and your dog the best start to pet gundog training. Next course starting in September. For more information visit the website for give us a call on 01628 947909.

06/07/2022

We are excited to host our next Gundog Puppy workshop in Cookham this August. We have a couple of spaces left but they are going very quickly. If you have not yet booked on and are interested then don't delay!

This workshop provides key information you need to raise & train your working lines gundog puppy ESPECIALLY if you only intend it as a family pet dog.

BOOK NOW
https://thewoofworks.as.me/GundogPuppyWorkshopAug22Thu

Schedule your appointment online The Woof Works