SuyianofAlba Gundogs

27/08/2024

Sorry I don’t post enough on this page, was hoping to use it as away to keep people updated on our classes with Pet Gundog Training Stirling, and to show off my personal team doing what they love… however there’s been nothing to update for a while, as we have been awaiting for the car park in the field to be completed so that we could start the classes properly, instead of just doing 121s.

Sadly yesterday we lost everything, as Pet Gundog Training Stirling has decided to take on a new trainer without even giving us a heads up. I had to find out after receiving text messages from people interested in training classes, on investing I discovered someone else has been posting on the page as a trainer. I discussed it with Stirling Dog Behaviour Centre and got the excuse “Sorry I needed someone closer”.

Distance as many of you know was never the issue, first it was sheep in the fields around Stirling Dog Behaviour Center, and then it was the field and car park not being ready, this went on for 3 years. Eventually I got annoyed at the waiting, and asked to be informed when the field was ready for the use of both group sessions and 121s, only to discover I was unreasonably dismissed instead, with absolutely no warning or understandable reason.

I had high hopes and plans for these classes as many of you who started with me have extremely brilliant dogs, I even managed to receive a transplant a month ago, which I’m recovering from and was hoping it would have made me more available to you all, though I wouldn’t be able to start classes until October. However due to now having nowhere to train, and despite citizens advice informing me I have a strong case, after much deliberation I have decided I will not be returning to Pet Gundog Training Stirling for 2 reasons.

1) I would like to remain on the moral high ground, I did nothing to deserve the dismissal and was not given a valid reason.

2) despite Citizens Advice claiming I have a strong case, I have realised I do not want to work alongside people like Stirling Dog Behaviour Centre.

Maybe one day I’ll find some grounds for training classes, and restart the work we started. But for now I’m going to focus on my recovery and doing what I love with the team I have, so will try get a little better at posting on this page so you can all remain updated, and still hopefully follow my training advice. While I’m recovering I’ll also be available to offer any online training advice to the best of my ability, for those of you who have questions or are struggling, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Kind regards

Malcolm Barrah SuyianofAlba Gundogs

23/04/2023

If this isn’t proof that fox red is the same colour as yellow then I don’t know what is. All 3 have come from the same litter of 8 most yellows from black parents, the two boys will be leaving on Thursday, the girl (the one with her head on the black bed) SuyianofAlba’s Skades Hunt will be staying with me.

I think it’s high time we stopped charging extra for the colour of one’s coat, sure call it fox red if you want but at least acknowledge that it’s just a darker tone of yellow and not worth an extra couple of pounds.

A dog is only going to be as good as it’s handler/trainer, whether it’s Black, Silver (Lab X Weimaraner), Chocolate, Charcoal (poor mutation of chocolate and shouldn’t exist), Yellow, White, Fox Red or any other made up colour you get with labs now days.

08/04/2023

Oh so close…
Now that spring is in swing and the weather is starting to warm up, it’s the perfect time to be out introducing your dog to water 🐶💦
However there’s still a few things to keep in mind.
1) the terrain, now I know I’m on a shingle beach however the river bed itself is a mix of gravel and sand which is ideal because it allows for firm support on the river bed with little to no risk of slipping. Try avoid riverbeds that are mostly rocky or loose sand/shingle since they will be very slippery and you could damage the very delicate joints and ligaments in your puppy.🐶
2) if you can go to ponds/damns and avoid places that may have a strong current, if you must use a river then find a gentle pool or use an area with a large shallow space like in the video, if the area is like the one in the video try avoid letting pup play with other dogs, especially confident swimmers as the current can still be rather strong this time of year, instead opt to play with the puppy yourself (splash about, small retrieves that sort of thing). 🦮
3) avoid places with steep river banks and sudden drops into deep water, you want the puppy to be able to get in and out with ease. 🐾
4) let the puppy pick the pace if it doesn’t want to swim don’t force it, your puppy has its whole life ahead of him to swim. Like wise if it fails to get a retrieve or just ignores it entirely. A toy or piece of training equipment isn’t worth the loss of your puppy or damaging its confidence, however this is why I’ll always have one of my older dogs on stand by especially the strong swimmers. Remember some puppies progress faster then others, in case of the mother of the pup in the video she was already swimming at the puppies age, the pups father however didn’t start till nearly 2yo.🐶
Finally 5) keep it fun and exciting leave all the of training pressure at home, this is not training it is an introduction, so watch and read your puppies behaviour and adapt accordingly.🦮

0 Likes, 0 Comments - Malcolm Barrah () on Instagram: "Oh so close… Now that spring is in swing and the weather is starting to warm up, it’s the pe..."

25/03/2023

Mum on the right, Dad on the left, Daughter in the front and crazy Unrelated auntie who hasn’t had kids of her own, so is a bad influence on her friends kids instead, at the back.

The yellow pup is coming on slowly but steadily, she’ll pick 250g dummies and delivers to hand during playful retrieves (I forgot my 85g dummies that I normally use for play retrieving with pups). Nothing serious going on just a bit of fun while doing serious water retrieves with the older dogs.

Side note: before anyone starts she has been delivering to hand since she could carry items, I have done nothing other then encourage the behaviour.

16/03/2023

Another question I see a lot of people asking is “what age can I let my puppy off it’s leash?” The answer to me is simple! You can let him off lead when safe to do so on his very first walk, if you have bonded correctly then your puppy won’t stray far. You can also use these walks as an opportunity to practice recall, and teach the puppy to keep nice and close to you.

06/03/2023

Many first time dog owners when they get their first puppy can not wait to take it out on its first walk, after all it all part of the fun of owning a dog right? And what could be better than socialising a puppy as early as possible? I like to think when taking a puppy out to socialise there’s two important rules to follow.

The first being that while socialisation is very important in the development of your puppy it is also important to remember that there are certain viruses out there that could be very deadly to your puppy, these are things like Parvovirus or Leptospirosis and so it is important to make sure your vaccinations are up to date. It is for this reason I don’t recommend taking a pup out of the house until the first course of vaccinations have been done, and even then remember to carry the puppy, don’t place them on the ground outside of your home before their puppy jabs are completed and have been informed it’s safe to do so by your vet (all practices are different some may use different vaccines to others, meaning that you may re-start your course of vaccinations if your vet doesn’t use the same vaccines as the breeders vet. However most vets will take a request to use the same vaccine to the ones the puppy has already had should you provide them with the information). Socialisation of a puppy isn’t just about going out and meeting different people and dogs, but also about experiencing different areas, smells, sights, wildlife and plant life so carrying your puppy around with you until given the “all clear” by your vet is just as effective as having the puppy following you around.

This brings me to my next rule, your puppy is still developing his/her joints and muscles so it is important to remember when exercising your puppy to stick to the 5min of exercise for every month of age, in other words 15min of exercise for a 3month old puppy.

With all this in mind it is always a good idea to have something to carry your puppy in, for example a training vest or a game bag making it easier to carry puppies for long periods of time, making the walk more pleasant for both you and the puppy.

05/03/2023

Not bad for nearly 9 weeks old, took her out for a toilet break which changed into a little introduction opportunity.

While steadiness is really important for a Gundog, this was only her first time seeing the chickens, so I wasn’t aiming for a steady sit and watch but I encouraged it, because or though her main job will be to pick dead or wounded game I don’t want her running after the first animal she sees, and one of the best ways to do that is by introducing her to new and exciting things at an early age.

Once she has had her last round of puppy jabs, I’ll also use this technique of sitting and waiting when socialising with other dogs, because I think it’s important to teach puppies while they are young that they can’t just run off and greet any dog or human they meet out and about. All other dogs and people should be treated with extreme caution, because you can never be 100% certain how they will react to your puppy.

21/02/2023

For those saying my pup will be seriously suppressed. This is what we do most her waking moments, lots of little puzzles like this one that are fun, and can encourage behaviours I want her to have later on in life.

This particular puzzle is just a piece of cardboard folded a couple of times over a treat, while it may not particularly use any skill except for demolition of the cardboard, it can help encourage the pup to use her nose to find the treat once it has fallen out. This will be a very important skill for a gundog later on, since much of their work whether it’s finding dummies in a working test and during training, or finding game during field trials and shoot days, it requires them to use their nose and hunt for scent (even a faint scent like that of an old dummy or small game like woodcock and snipe).

Her actual training at the moment is limited to sit and recall whistle during meals, which probably takes up 10seconds of her time each meal, hardly more then a minute of her time each day, so for her is hardly anything.

19/02/2023

And we have a mountaineer

19/02/2023

“We are hungry! Stop taking photos and feed us”

15/02/2023

Nugu the Mother of my pups doing a cracking retrieve a couple years ago.

Now I know what some of you are thinking “boy that river is fast”, but the truth is I would never have put her in if I didn’t think she could do it, you see she has been swimming this river almost daily since she was a 4mo pup, starting with splashing around in the shallows, and slowly going further and further out as she got bolder and stronger at swimming.

She has learnt how to use the current to her advantage, allowing her to save her strength and energy for when she needs it on the return back.

Notice how she runs up the bank then enters the water and swims up stream a few yards, before turning dead ahead slowly paddling and letting the current push her towards the opposite bank so she meets the dummy just bellow it allowing the current to bring it to her, then turns and paddles upstream again so she comes out more or less opposite me.

14/02/2023

The recall whistle is one of if not the first command I teach pups, why?

Because it’s so easy to do and comes in handy especially if you’re having trouble choosing a name for your pup or if they are simply in the process of getting to know their name. This is because it’s giving you a way to call the pup outside for the toilet, or to meals, even just calling it over for a little bit of play time. I also find the earlier you introduce it then the easier it is to reinforce, and later on you end up with a more solid and reliable recall.

So how do I do it? Well there’s two ways and it all depends on how the puppy comes into my life, for example if it’s from a home bred litter like this one, then when pups are weaned at 4 weeks I start using to call the litter to food, and as you can see in the video by 6 weeks they can have a fairly reliable recall.

However if the pup is brought from a different breeder I use the whistle to get the pups attention whenever I want to draw it’s attention away from what it’s doing, however I’m not looking to try get the pup coming to me all I’m looking for is a reaction from the pup as you can see at the end of the video the pup looks up and alert which is perfect.

All I want to know is if the pup heard the whistle, after a few days when pup has settled I’ll try encourage pup to me, but again if they don’t come right away that’s fine, there’s loads of time to perfect it later on and as the bond grows the pup will recall less reluctantly and more often.

13/02/2023

Now I’m a firm believer in let the pup be a pup, I also believe that starting training as early as possible is always the best thing.

However this does not mean trying to send the pup for a retrieve and insisting on it bring it back to you, or taking your pup to a river and insisting it swim to the opposite bank and back with a retrieve, there will be plenty of time for that in the month to come.

So for now we start simple, with obedience training. So to get me started, I will always start with the same two commands, “Sit” and recall whistle, why? Because I can teach both more or less at the same time, and without the pup realising she is getting fed. Here I am demonstrating “Sit” with one of the pups from my current litter, and most likely the one staying on as part of my team.

You probably notice I’m doing this during one of her meals, this is for two main reasons, 1st) reason is because she is so focused on her meal that she doesn’t realise I’m teaching her what to do in order to get the meal, meaning later on the action will be so second nature, to her it’ll be the equivalent of putting her front poor forward to walk, and so she’ll start to sit naturally for every meal. The 2nd) is a far more simple reason, I do it because I’m using her food as her reward.

Some may notice I don’t raise my hand up in the universal sit position 🙋‍♂️, this is simply because at the moment she is only 6weeks old and so I’m teaching her how to sit, once she sits on her own I’ll start raising my hand up to teach her the hand signal.

Join me tomorrow to see how I start introducing the recall whistle both during a meal and when in play🐶🐾🦮.

11/02/2023

What bad influence could a spanner possibly have on a 5 week old pup? 😜

02/02/2023

Some people have asked me how early do you start your dogs on the whistle? My answer is always the same, as soon as possible.

This wee lass is 4 weeks old and 1 of 3 possibilities from the litter who might be staying. I have been using the whistle this week to call the pups to food, however as a pack you get a chain like reaction to the whistle one will respond and the others will follow.

However individually there may only be mere acknowledgment that they have heard the whistle as you can see in this video, the pup lifting her head and looking sharp when she hears the “pip pip pip”, and for now that is all I’m looking for, if she does stay with us then there will be plenty of time to encourage a recall. But the earlier you start, the easier it is to teach, and the more solid the recall you’ll have.

01/02/2023

Sorry I forgot to upload the video yesterday but here’s a video of pups being called to food using a whistle

31/01/2023

4 weeks old today and these little monsters are growing fast, becoming more bolder by the day and are already responding to the whistle (video to be seen later today), telling me that these are going to be very easy puppies to train, and will make ideal first dogs for someone.

28/01/2023

Absolutely love this little lady, she has worked so hard every shoot day this season. Yes! ok at the start of the season we had a couple of hiccups, where she got over excited and ran in but she is young and went straight back on the lead.

Today we focused on only hunting her where needed and then keeping her at heel where the ground didn’t need a dog to cover it, by the last three drives the lead never came out of my pocket as she worked closely and with me as a team, I couldn’t be more pleased with my little pocket rocket she still has much to learn at only 2.5years old and having worked her first full season, but she is coming along at a steady pace. She is also only a week out of season and I have been too busy with puppies to do any training and prepare her for today but as I said she did me proud.