Teach Your Gundog

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Teach Your Gundog

Jules Morgan APDT 973, GTA co-founder
Gundog training for all breeds and levels
Covering Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex

Teach Your Gundog using kind, fair and effective methods of training. Member of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Accredited Training Instructor Animal Behaviour Training Council. Co-founder of the Gundog Trainers Academy.

15/01/2025

Your gundog’s love of scent isn’t just a quirk - it’s a window into their world. For gundogs, sniffing isn’t just fun, it’s a natural behaviour that provides both mental stimulation and emotional fulfilment.

By using scent as a self-rewarding activity, you can turn something they already love into a powerful training tool. With a little patience and practice, you’ll not only enrich your dog’s life but also build a stronger bond between you.

Step One: Find an Engaging Scent Spot
Choose a scent-rich area like a woodland path, your garden, or a spot where wildlife passes. Let your dog explore at their own pace, sniffing and investigating. Be patient and supportive, showing them it’s okay to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Step Two: Observe and Share
Watch your dog’s body language as they absorb the scents – they might pause, tilt their head, or root their nose to the ground. These signs show they’re deeply engaged. Stay close to offer calm support and build trust while sharing this moment together.

Step Three: Introduce a Cue
When your dog is fully focused, gently say “sniff” in a calm, encouraging tone. Repeat the word as they engage with the scent. Practise this in different places with varied scents to help them generalise the cue.

Step Four: Combine with Other Behaviours
Once “sniff” is reliable, pair it with cues like “wait.” For example, ask your dog to “wait” and release them with “sniff” as a reward. This builds the value of “wait” by linking it to an enjoyable, natural behaviour.

Remember to start small. Teach “wait” in a controlled environment first, then gradually add the challenge of combining it with scent work. This way, your dog can succeed at each step without feeling overwhelmed.

With practice, the “sniff” cue will become a wonderful tool in your training toolkit. In Part Two of this blog which will be published next month, we’ll dive deeper into breed-specific hunting techniques, covering Hunt Point Retrievers (HPRs), Spaniels, and Retrievers.

Want to learn more about the essential role hunting plays in your gundog's life and how you can work together to channel their instincts in a positive way? Head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-get-your-gundog-to-hunt-with-you-part-one

12/01/2025

Whether your dog is shy and cautious or bursting with energy, training isn’t one-size-fits-all. Each gundog has their own personality, strengths, and challenges – and recognising that is the key to success.

At Teach Your Gundog, we don’t just train dogs, we celebrate who they are and help you build their confidence and skills in a way that suits them.

Does your gundog have a unique personality that keeps you on your toes? Share a little about them in the comments – we’d love to hear about your training journey!

09/01/2025

Every gundog is unique. While they all share an instinctive drive to hunt, the part of the process that excites them most varies.

Some dogs thrive on the search, following a trail with focus. Others are energised by the chase, bursting into action, while some find the greatest reward in retrieving. Identifying what motivates your dog is key to using their instincts in training.

Start by observing them. Do they light up when sniffing out treats or focus on chasing movement? These insights will reveal what drives their energy and attention.

🐾 Search Enthusiasts: Dogs who love searching thrive on games like hide-and-seek with dummies or food. For them, the act of sniffing out a trail is its own reward.
🐾 Chase Lovers: Dogs motivated by movement enjoy dynamic activities like chasing a dragged dummy or following scent trails. The thrill of the chase is what keeps them engaged.

Motivation varies even within breeds – some retrievers love the run more than the retrieve! And preferences can change over time, so stay flexible. By adapting your training to what excites your dog most, you’ll keep them motivated and you can start to use scent as a self-rewarding behaviour.

Want to learn more about the essential role hunting plays in your gundog's life and how you can work together to channel their instincts in a positive way? Head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-get-your-gundog-to-hunt-with-you-part-one

06/01/2025

Here's what's coming up at Teach Your Gundog in January and February...

PUPPY GUNDOG
All breeds under 8 months. No experience required. Saturdays, 09:30-10:30, Haslemere
• 18 January
• 1 February
• 15 February

FOUNDATION GUNDOG
All breeds over 8 months. No experience required. Saturdays, 10:30-11:30, Haslemere
• 18 January
• 1 February
• 15 February

PROGRESSIVE BEGINNER FRIDAYS
For all breeds that have graduated the puppy/foundation/beginner classes and are working at a Grade 2 and 3 level.
Fridays, 11:00-12:00, Loxwood
• 17 January
• 31 January
• 14 February
• 28 February

PROGRESSIVE BEGINNER SATURDAYS
All breeds working at Grade 2/3 level. Must have attended our puppy/foundation sessions or had a 121 session before starting.
Saturdays, 11:30-13:00, Haslemere
• 18 January
• 1 February
• 15 February

PROGRESSIVE GUNDOG
For all breeds that are working at Grade 3 and 4 level.
Wednesdays, 10:00-11:30, Haslemere
• 8 January
• 22 January
• 5 February
• 19 February

ADVANCED SPANIEL
Open to spaniels working at Grade 4 and 5 level.
Fridays, 09:30-11:00, Loxwood
• 17 January
• 31 January
• 14 February
• 28 February

ADVANCED RETRIEVER
Open to retriever breeds working at Grade 4 and 5 level.
Fridays, 12:00-13:30, Loxwood
• 17 January
• 31 January
• 14 February
• 28 February

Can't make any of the dates? Or want to focus on something specific? You can also book one to one sessions with Jules.

For booking and more information head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/collections/all

03/01/2025

If you have a gundog breed, you’ve probably noticed their unshakable focus on a scent, their determination to explore trails, or that sudden burst of energy when chasing movement.

These instincts are impressive but can be challenging for pet gundog owners who don’t want hunting machines. No matter how much training you do, your gundog’s hunting drive is part of who they are – deeply ingrained through centuries of breeding.

Hunting isn’t just a skill; it’s mentally stimulating and emotionally enriching. Activities like scenting release feel-good hormones, making it inherently rewarding for them.

Suppressing these instincts can lead to frustration and unwanted behaviours, but the good news is hunting doesn’t have to involve live game.

You can channel their drive into structured games that mimic hunting, offering safe and rewarding enrichment. By working as a team, your gundog will see you as their hunting partner, building trust, cooperation, and a stronger relationship.

Want to learn more about the essential role hunting plays in your gundog's life and how you can work together to channel their instincts in a positive way? Head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-get-your-gundog-to-hunt-with-you-part-one

📸 Alice Loder Photography

31/12/2024

As we say goodbye to 2024 and welcome the New Year, I wanted to take a moment to wish you all the very best for 2025.

Whether this past year has been full of big achievements or quiet moments of progress, every step you’ve taken with your gundog matters and I’m so proud of what all my clients have accomplished.

The New Year is a fresh start, and it’s the perfect time to set exciting new training goals or even pick up your love for gundog training if it’s been on the back burner.

Remember, it’s never too late to rekindle a passion or to work towards that sharper steadiness, reliable recall, or tidy delivery to hand. With consistency and patience, anything is possible!

I’m so excited for what’s to come in 2025. With more classes, new workshops, and plenty of opportunities to help you and your gundog thrive, I can’t wait to continue being part of your training journey.

Here’s to a New Year filled with happy dogs, rewarding training sessions, and plenty of time outdoors together.

Warm wishes for a bright and brilliant 2025,
Jules

📸 Alice Loder Photography

28/12/2024

Hunting is at the very core of what makes a gundog, well, a gundog. It’s not simply a skill they learn - it’s an instinct woven into their DNA. Every gundog is born with a natural hunting drive, and understanding this is key to working effectively with your dog.

At the heart of hunting lies your dog’s remarkable sense of smell. Gundogs are equipped to detect both ground and air scents, making them highly effective hunters. Ground scent gives clues about where the game has been (e.g. tracks, feeding spots, or resting areas), while air scent tells your dog where the quarry is right now, carried on the wind.

The act of hunting is made up of a sequence of instinctive behaviours, including hunting, searching, locating, stalking, pausing, pouncing, chasing, capturing, carrying, and consuming.

This natural “hunting chain” flows effortlessly for gundogs, guided entirely by instinct. Recognising how this chain works allows you to understand and shape your dog’s natural drives.

For working gundogs, the hunting chain has been refined over generations of training and selective breeding to align with specific tasks in the field. This refined “working hunting chain” channels instinctive behaviours into purposeful, structured skills.

For example, pointers and setters have transformed the “pause” into a steady point, while retrievers have perfected the “carry” stage, mastering the art of retrieving.

The working hunting chain typically looks like this:
Hunt
Search
Locate
Stalk
Point (for pointing breeds)
Flush (followed by a gunshot)
Retrieve

Want to learn more about the essential role hunting plays in your gundog's life and how you can work together to channel their instincts in a positive way? Head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-get-your-gundog-to-hunt-with-you-part-one

25/12/2024

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you for being part of the Teach Your Gundog family this year.

Whether you and your pup joined us for your very first class or you continued to build on your skills in our advanced training group sessions, it’s been an absolute pleasure to guide you all on your gundog training journeys.

I’m delighted to share that our 2025 class dates are now live. I’ve also got some exciting bespoke workshops in the works to help you and your gundogs thrive in the year ahead.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Christmas full of joy and wagging tails. Thank you for supporting my business and choosing force-free training. Looking forward to seeing you in 2025.

Warmest wishes,
Jules

22/12/2024

It’s a story so many gundog owners know all too well. One moment your dog is happily trotting alongside you, and the next, their nose is glued to the ground, laser-focused as they follow a scent or dart off after wildlife.

You’ve worked on recall, you’ve practised focus, and yet their natural hunting drive seems to take over. Especially at this time of year when there is a lot of game scent around.

It can feel frustrating, leaving you wondering if your gundog will ever truly listen or learn to work with you when it matters most.

The truth is, hunting isn’t just a behaviour for gundogs. It’s part of who they are. It’s what they were bred to do, and rather than trying to fight it, the key is learning to understand and harness it.

By teaching your gundog to hunt with you, not for themselves, you’ll tap into their instincts in a way that builds trust and teamwork.

The result? A more focused, responsive, and happier dog who’s both mentally and physically fulfilled.

We've put together a two-part blog, to dive into the essential role hunting plays in your gundog’s life and how you can work together to channel their instincts in a positive way.

From breaking down the hunting chain to understanding how your dog uses scent and exploring breed-specific exercises, you’ll learn practical steps to help your dog become a confident and skilled hunting partner, whether they’re a pet or working gundog.

To read part one in full click here: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-get-your-gundog-to-hunt-with-you-part-one

19/12/2024

The recall will be a lifelong project. The minute you become complacent about the behaviour and its solidity is the time your dog will be three fields over with you running behind like Fenton’s owner in Richmond Park.

The real skill of your recall is not actually establishing the required behaviour but keeping and maintaining its quality and association with the whistle cue.

Your dogs hunt because they love it. It is not instinctive to break off hunting and return to you and so the value of reinforcement must be redressed and the conditioned response to the cue maintained.

The higher the value the greater the strength in the behaviour is the motto that should be adopted with this.

I always carry food with me in my pocket and yes, my dogs are rewarded for prompt response in as many situations as possible, no matter how old they are. The reward used can and will vary depending on the situation, the dog and the environment. This keeps the recall strong.

Sometimes my dogs are rewarded with an environmental reward e.g. immediate return to hunting, or retrieving, other times food reward would be sufficient, although I don’t believe that just one piece of kibble is ever enough for your recall training.

Need help getting your dog to come back to you in the countryside? Read our recall blog at: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/the-reliable-recall-why-doesn-t-my-gundog-listen-to-me-when-we-re-in-the-countryside

16/12/2024

Every gundog has their quirks - what makes your dog unique?

Gundogs come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities, and those quirks are what make them special! Maybe your labrador can’t resist a puddle, or your spaniel has the world’s wiggliest bum.

Force-free training celebrates your dog’s unique traits, no matter what they are, and shows you ways to teach your gundog without crushing their personality or turning them into a robot dog.

Whether it’s mastering recall with your pet gundog in a heavily scented and distracting environment or teaching your beating dog to automatically stop to flush, it’s all about training with the individual dog you have in front of you and building a happy, confident gundog who loves working with you.

13/12/2024

The step-by-step recipe below will help you to condition your recall whistle cue to food but in time the whistle cue can be conditioned to anything your dog regards as valuable.

Step one: Throw several pieces of food to the floor around your feet, and in front of your dog. As your dog is eating blow your whistle cue.

Step two: You can also do this while your dog is eating their dinner or use their dinner scattered on the floor for the exercise.

Step three: Repeat this as many times a day as you can and consistently at least once a day for several weeks.

Step four: Include some social interaction such as physical contact, scratching ears, allowing rubbing against you, stroking and talking to them as you do this. Create the idea that being close to you and having contact with you is a great place to be. Blow your recall whistle during this interaction. The combination of food and interaction with you will increase the value.

You may find that when very focussed on their work, some dogs will not enjoy physical contact. The older they get, the more evident this becomes. It is no longer reinforcing but actually irritating to them. If you see this in your dog, leave it out and just talk to them as you deliver the food.

Step five: Change the sequence around. While your dog is away from you, at some distance or in another room, whistle your recall cue and as your dog arrives, scatter food at your feet. Make sure it is a good scatter - one piece of chicken won’t cut it.

Step six: Gradually increase the criteria, whistling your dog from one place to another. Always reinforcing prompt arrival with a combination of food and interaction with you.
At this point you can add in your click, the click should be for speed and purpose, not for location.

Step seven: Change from scattering the food on the floor to delivering a number of pieces of food (6 minimum) from your hand. Do this slowly increasing the length of time that your dog is with you.

Step eight: Do not focus on a specific behaviour at the end of this recall. You do not need a sit in front at this stage and adding this in too soon will slow down your dog’s response. Imagine it’s like running into a brick wall. Allow them to come into your space at speed, it’s the speed that you want associated with this cue.

Need help getting your dog to come back to you in the countryside? Read our recall blog at: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/the-reliable-recall-why-doesn-t-my-gundog-listen-to-me-when-we-re-in-the-countryside

10/12/2024

Sometimes people think force-free training means no rules or boundaries, but that’s not the case.

It’s about teaching your gundog in a way they understand, without fear or punishment.

Instead of punishing our dogs when they make a mistake, we:
✅ Accept that they're learning and aren't born knowing what we want and expect from them.
✅ Remember that some behaviour that's "unwanted" to us, is just a natural instinct to them.
✅ Redirect the unwanted behaviour to prevent them from repeating mistakes and letting bad habits form.
✅ Reset training exercises and assess why they didn't do what we asked or expected of them.

When it comes to training, we:
✅ Always reward the right choices they make to show them what we do want.
✅ Set them up for success by breaking training down into small manageable steps in environments we know they can cope with.

This approach builds trust and confidence while still teaching your gundog to be well-behaved at home or in the field.

07/12/2024

If your gundog ignores your recall in the heat of the chase or exploration, it’s crucial to remain composed and strategic.

Always avoid showing frustration or anger. Dogs can pick up on your emotional state, and negative reactions can make them less likely to respond in the future.

When your dog returns after ignoring the recall, do not scold them, as this can create a negative association with returning to you. Always reward your dog for returning, even if it takes longer than expected. This reinforcement makes them more likely to come back in the future.

If your dog runs away from you, do not chase or run towards them. Chasing can trigger their prey drive or make them think it’s a game, encouraging them to run further away.

If your dog looks at you but doesn’t come, try showing them a high-value treat or their favourite toy to entice them into you. As mentioned before, we need to make coming back to you more appealing than whatever distracts them.

Avoid repeatedly calling, as when they don’t respond, it will weaken the effectiveness of your recall cue and will become white noise. Instead, wait for a moment when your dog is less distracted and try again.

If ignoring recall becomes a habit, it’s a sign that you need to go back to basics and reinforce the training in less distracting environments before gradually reintroducing more distractions as your dog’s recall improves.

Recall is a skill that must be nurtured and reinforced regularly, especially for gundogs often exposed to highly stimulating environments. You might need to take a step back and consider if the training process might be lacking in some aspects – perhaps the rewards are not motivating enough, or the distractions are too challenging at the current level of training.

If you are struggling with your recall, it is advisable to use a long line for safety reasons to ensure you can retain control over your dog.

Need help getting your dog to come back to you in the countryside? Read our recall blog at: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/the-reliable-recall-why-doesn-t-my-gundog-listen-to-me-when-we-re-in-the-countryside

📸 Alice Loder Photography

04/12/2024

Training doesn’t have to mean boring drills and repetition of the same old obedience stuff.

Tools like grids and circuits can be very handy for training, but if you're reluctant to get out with your dog because it's become a bit of a mundane chore then it's time to shake things up with some fun gundog games.

Here are some favourites:
🎾 Two-toy game. Perfect for practising recall and helping dogs who have a tendency to resource guard or play keep-away when retrieving.

🎯 Target Touch. Teach your dog to touch a target with their nose. It’s simple, rewarding, and great for focus. Later you can also use it to help teach the straight lines that your dog will need for retrieving and confidence on blinds.

🕵️‍♂️ Find It. Hide a ball in some long grass and let your gundog’s nose do the work! This taps into their natural instincts while keeping them close and strengthening your connection - especially if you pretend to search with them. If you're dog is a confident hunter already, add in some occasional stop whistles for progression.

Training through play isn’t just more fun - it helps your dog learn faster and makes behaviours stick.

01/12/2024

Transitioning your gundog’s recall from a quiet garden to a distraction-rich countryside involves a combination of patience, technique, and understanding of your dog’s instincts.

Start in a baseline environment. Begin training in a less distracting environment, like your garden or a familiar, quiet place. This helps establish a strong foundation for the recall behaviour without overwhelming distractions.

Use a consistent recall cue (like a whistle) and associate it with positive experiences. For example, we like to use a range of games and rewards to build a positive association with the recall cue.

Gradually expose your gundog to more and more distractions and challenging environments by playing these games in different places.

Repeat recall games frequently and use high-value rewards to reinforce the recall behaviour, such as their favourite treats, toys, or activities like letting them hunt a bit of cover. The key is to make returning to you more rewarding than the distractions they encounter.

When training a recall, particularly in a highly distracting place, try to avoid calling your dog away from something they want or enjoy doing. This is because the recall cue can very quickly become a punisher.

You must avoid doing this in the early stages, so in these instances, if you need to recall your dog away from something good, use a temporary verbal cue.

If you do have to use your whistle recall, you must go straight back into the conditioning process and play hundreds of repetitions of the recall games to balance this out.

Training in distracting environments takes time and persistence, so you will need to be patient and consistent in your approach.

Remember, the key is to make responding to the recall cue more rewarding and exciting than the distraction itself. As your dog's training progresses, they should learn to prioritise your cues over environmental distractions.

Need help getting your dog to come back to you in the countryside? Read our recall blog at: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/the-reliable-recall-why-doesn-t-my-gundog-listen-to-me-when-we-re-in-the-countryside

📸 Alice Loder Photography

28/11/2024

"My two spaniels and I absolutely love training with Jules. Her depth of knowledge of gundog training is a testament to her many years both as a trainer and also working her own dogs in the field. She is able to assess your dog as the individual they are, and help you work through problems and devise solutions. Would highly recommend to anyone looking to train with their dog in a positive, cooperative relationship." ~ Philippa Vallely

Thank you, Philippa! We’re so proud to support you and your spaniels on your training journey. Watching partnerships like yours flourish is what it’s all about!

Ready to train in a positive and supportive environment? Drop us a message or visit www.teachyourgundog.co.uk to learn more.

25/11/2024

Before we dive into looking at how to teach your gundog a reliable recall, we need to understand why your gundog finds it difficult and sometimes impossible to respond to cues during your walks in the countryside.

The countryside is rich with stimuli that can easily overwhelm your dog's senses. Scents, sights, and sounds, such as those from wildlife or other dogs, are highly stimulating. This environment creates a high level of external distractions, which can exceed the level of control you have over your dog.

Initially, the field stimuli in such environments are significantly more potent compared to the control you have through your cues. In these situations, they might revert to what behaviour has been most rewarding to them in the past, or they might rely on their natural abilities and instincts to decide what actions to take at the moment.

As the dog's experiences with you grow and you engage in more structured training exercises, this can gradually shift, with the influence of these stimuli decreasing and your influence and control increasing.

Above all, we must also remember that our gundogs are bred and trained to respond to certain environmental cues instinctively.

For instance, the scent of game triggers a hunting sequence in them. In the countryside, these natural instincts are often more pronounced and can overpower learned behaviours like recall.

Need help getting your dog to come back to you in the countryside? Read our recall blog at: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/the-reliable-recall-why-doesn-t-my-gundog-listen-to-me-when-we-re-in-the-countryside

📸Alice Loder Photography

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Videos

Get It, Don’t Get It

The “” game is the foundation exercise we use in our classes to teach your gundog about self-control. It will become the backbone of all your steadiness training. There are a lot of layers to this process and many more steps to go through, but you need to teach this first. The main rules of this game are, no more than 10 repetitions in one session before having a break, and no more than two or three sessions in a day day. Also keep it random as it is important that your dog does not try to predict what is going to be cued. To read the step by step instructions head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-teach-your-gundog-steadiness

When teaching the stop whistle the first thing you will need to do is capture the stillness behaviour. In this video, you will see me practising with Otter - extending distance and making sure we don't introduce a creep forward. In this month's blog I've put together a step by step recipe on how you can do this. To read it in full head to: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-do-you-teach-your-gundog-the-stop-whistle

This is one of Otter’s favourite games, although I did play it recently with Raffle at a presentation I gave to the Dogs Trust. The stalking game is a beautiful game of self-control and partnership. There can be an air of competition between you and your gundog together with the anticipation of which article will be retrieved. Excellent self-control is also needed to turn away from the other anticipated item. It's a hugely fun game for both dog and handler. You may need to start this game on a lead or a handle fob until your dog understands the game. Step one Throw one article about 20 yards away. Then, begin walking with your dog as if you are stalking. The key here is to act as if you are really stalking towards the article, so think slowly and steadily. You can even lower yourself to their level and move your shoulders like they will be moving their front legs. Let your dog focus on the article ahead. When their eyes lock onto the object, you can release them with a “get it cue”. Step two Progress to two articles in opposite directions, 180 degrees apart. Start stalking towards one, then randomly turn and begin creeping towards the other. Do not rush your dog. They might find it difficult to turn away from the original target at this stage. A steady fob will help with this. Once they do and they commit their focus to the second target, you can release them to retrieve it. Step three Once you have built some fluency in step two, you can add more articles to this game and have some real fun stalking towards articles before turning to stalk another, and maybe another, before releasing your dog. To read more about playing with your gundog, head to: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/can-you-play-with-your-gundog