Teach Your Gundog

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United Kingdom
Haslemere
Teach Your Gundog

Jules Morgan APDT 973, GTA co-founder
Gundog training for all breeds and levels
Covering Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex
(5)

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.

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

22/11/2024

Gundogs are clever, motivated, and driven by instinct - so how do you channel all that energy into good behaviour? Positive reinforcement is the key.

Here’s why:

1️⃣ Dogs learn by association. When your gundog sits or recalls successfully, pairing that behaviour with a something your dog finds rewarding creates a positive connection in their brain. This makes them more likely to repeat the behaviour.

2️⃣ Motivation beats fear. Gundogs naturally want to please their handlers, and using rewards keeps their focus and enthusiasm high. Unlike aversive methods, positive reinforcement doesn’t cause stress, which can damage their trust and confidence in you.

3️⃣ Instincts meet structure. Gundogs are bred to retrieve, flush, and work independently. Positive reinforcement training lets you guide these instincts without suppressing them, helping them excel both as pets and in the field.

4️⃣ Lasting results. Behaviour taught with rewards tends to stick because the dog enjoys the learning process and doesn’t associate training with discomfort.

Positive reinforcement isn’t just about treats - it’s about building a partnership based on trust, fun, and mutual understanding.

19/11/2024

Let me ask you this… do you have a gundog that’s suddenly stopped paying any attention to you when you’re out in the countryside now that it’s autumn? Well, you’re not alone.

Autumn brings colourful countryside walks, but it also brings unique challenges which might come as a surprise for new gundog owners.

At this time of year, during the British shooting season, there is an abundance of strong game scents like pheasant, deer, and rabbit around.

These scents are irresistibly alluring to our gundogs, but exposure can cause their instincts to kick in, and it becomes almost impossible for them to respond to trained cues, like recall.

You see, whether you got your dog as a family pet or working companion, all of our labradors, spaniels, vizslas and pointers have been bred over generations to hunt, flush, and retrieve game.

Without understanding the natural drives in these dogs, it’s easy to misinterpret their behaviour as stubbornness or disobedience.

While recall might be impeccable in your garden, if you’re finding that you are getting zero response when you’re out surrounded by the intoxicating scents of nature, there’s no need to panic.

Yes, it’s a frustrating, sometimes alarming experience when your dog appears to be deaf to your calls because they’re off hunting - nose on, ears off. And so in this month's blog, we’re going to explore why your gundog won’t listen to you, what to do if they ignore your recall and how to teach your gundog to come back when called, even in challenging environments.

To read in full head to 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

16/11/2024

Here's what's coming up at Teach Your Gundog for the rest of November and December...

PUPPY GUNDOG
All breeds under 8 months. No experience required.
Saturdays, 9:30-10:30, Haslemere
• 23 November
• 7 December

FOUNDATION GUNDOG
All breeds over 8 months. No experience required.
Saturdays, 10:30-11:30, Haslemere
• 23 November
• 7 December

BEGINNER GUNDOG
All breeds over 8 months working at Grade 1 level. Must have attended our puppy/foundation sessions or had a 121 session before starting.
Saturdays, 11:45-13:00, Haslemere
• 23 November
• 7 December

PROGRESSIVE BEGINNER
For all breeds that have graduated the puppy/foundation/beginner classes and are working at a Grade 1 and 2 level.
Fridays, 12:00-13:30, Loxwood
• 22 November
• 6 December

PROGRESSIVE GUNDOG
For all breeds that are working at Grade 2 and 3 level.
Wednesdays, 10:00-11:30, Haslemere
• 27 November
• 11 December

ADVANCED GUNDOG
Open to all breeds working at Grade 4 and 5 level.
Fridays, 9:30-11:30, Loxwood
• 22 November
• 6 December

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

03/11/2024

Capturing professional-looking photographs of your gundog requires a blend of technical skills and an understanding of your gundog's behaviour.

Like dog training, photography can be a fun and rewarding experience. With the right tips, plenty of practice, and patience, you can learn to take better pictures that showcase the beauty and working spirit of your gundog.

However, like dog training, dog photography is not without its challenges. Trying to achieve stunning, professional-quality images can be a steep learning curve and is not for everyone.

Consider leaving your gundog portrait and action photography to a professional for guaranteed, exceptional results.

If you'd like to create a visual legacy of your gundog that you can treasure for years, Alice Loder, who we use for photography, offers bespoke photography sessions.
Alice is a true artist who draws on a wealth of experience and deep understanding of gundogs to capture beautiful fine-art pictures of gundogs that anyone would be proud to hang in their home.

To find out more about booking a bespoke photography shoot with your gundog, head to www.aliceloderphotography.co.uk

📸 Alice Loder Photography

30/10/2024

If you are planning to take portrait photographs of your dog without an assistant, training your gundog to stay in one place will make it easier to capture those perfect shots.

If you’re out working on a shoot then your gundog should already have a pretty solid sit stay but you might also need to proof this to you doing odd things like laying on the floor, and making noises to attract your dog’s attention.

If you have been struggling to add some distance to your sit stay, here is a quick recipe for you to work on to help your photography.

Sit your dog on their place board in the heel position and cue your ‘stay’.

Step forward away from them using the leg furthest away. Take one step, breathe, and then step back, click, and pay.

Repeat stage 2, but take two steps away from your dog.

Repeat stage 3 but take an extra step, turn and face them, pause, and then return to the heel position, clicking and paying.

Build up gradually up the distance. Always return to your dog, click when you are at their side, and pay.

While you are building your distance, always remember that time in the stay position is also building, as they have to wait for you to walk away and return. So keep sessions short and end each one with a release and a break.

At measurable stages in the process, e.g. ten steps, begin to build up the duration, so that when you reach your final step, your dog will be confident and happy with you staying away for a longer duration.

Practise leaving your dog by stepping backwards away from them and returning to the heel position. Click and pay.

Build up to being able to walk all the way around your dog without them turning to follow you.

Always return to your dog to deliver your reinforcer for this behaviour. Dogs can find posing for portraits very dull, and some might not like the pressure, especially if you are trying to get a specific shot. Keep sessions short, always reward your dog and make the experience as enjoyable as possible.

If your dog starts to get stressed and you see signals like showing the whites of its eyes, ears back, or panting (when it’s not hot or it hasn’t been running around), then stop the session. Treat it like a training session - you always want to keep it fun and can always return to it after a break.

Want more photography tips? We have teamed up with Surrey-based photographer Alice Loder to provide you with some simple suggestions to help you capture professional-looking photographs of your gundog this shoot season.

To read the blog in full head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/surrey-dog-photographer-tells-us-how-we-can-get-better-pictures-of-our-gundogs-this-shoot-season

📸 Alice Loder Photography

27/10/2024

You don’t have to work your gundog for them to be a fulfilled and happy pet, but breed-specific training will guarantee they'll have an outlet for their natural instincts, helping you to control their focus and energy.

If you want a reliable recall, a dog that walks nicely on the lead and doesn't drag you to every scent, and a dog that can settle at home - you need to provide an outlet for their dog's need to hunt and chase and retrieve.

If want to bring out the best in your pet gundog, our foundation classes are designed for gundogs over the age of 8 months.

Ideal for dogs who are new to training, the classes cover the core behaviours including heel location, games to develop a rocket recall, a reliable retrieve chain, hunting patterns, self management and much more.

You will also learn about your dog's personality, how to use a clicker and deliver reinforcement effectively, and how to engage with your dog to get them to focus on you.

Our foundation gundog training classes take place in Haslemere on the Surrey, West Sussex, Hampshire border.

No previous experience is required to join these classes to book today please head to: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/products/foundation-gundog-classes-saturdays

24/10/2024

If you're photographing your gundog and you see a big old road sign, bin, or something else distracting in the background, try changing your position or angle.

If this isn’t possible, you can try to “hide” the distraction by shooting through something or holding an item in front of the camera - ferns or other leaves can be fantastic. This will give the effect of being slightly removed from the subject and, therefore, add a playful narrative to the end result.

Sometimes, the best image can be let down by a minor distraction you didn’t notice at the time. With photography, less is more when creating the most polished and clearly communicated feelings.

Want more photography tips? We have teamed up with Surrey-based photographer Alice Loder to provide you with some simple suggestions to help you capture professional-looking photographs of your gundog this shoot season.

To read the blog in full head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/surrey-dog-photographer-tells-us-how-we-can-get-better-pictures-of-our-gundogs-this-shoot-season

📸 Alice Loder Photography

21/10/2024

The eyes are the window to the soul, which also holds true in dog photography. Ensuring the eyes of your gundog are in sharp focus can make your photos more compelling and emotive.

After all, the eyes are often the most expressive part of a dog’s face, and focusing on them can bring your images to life.

If you are using your smartphone camera, simply tap on the screen where the dog’s eyes are located. This action tells the camera to set the focus on that specific area, and you’ll see a yellow square indicating the focus point.

After tapping to focus, you can lock the exposure and focus by holding down on the screen until "AE/AF Lock" appears. This feature ensures that the focus and exposure settings don’t change if your dog moves slightly.

If your phone has a portrait mode, you might also want to explore its capabilities. This mode automatically focuses on the subject's face and adjusts the aperture setting to create a pleasing background blur, making your gundog’s eyes stand out more.

If you have a mirrorless or DSLR, you will need to read the manual to learn about its individual focus system. You should choose the single-point autofocus option, which will give precise control over a small point where you want the camera to focus. You can move this point directly over the dog’s eyes.

You can change the settings to assign focus control away from the shutter button to a button on the back of your camera (called back-button focusing) to give you more control and reduce the chance of the focus area changing when you take the photo.

Want more photography tips? We have teamed up with Surrey-based photographer Alice Loder to provide you with some simple suggestions to help you capture professional-looking photographs of your gundog this shoot season.

To read the blog in full head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/surrey-dog-photographer-tells-us-how-we-can-get-better-pictures-of-our-gundogs-this-shoot-season

📸 Alice Loder Photography

18/10/2024

Heads up folks - for the next week or so I’ll be difficult to get hold of, grumpy, hysterical, jibbering, taciturn, and probably doing that laughing and crying thing at the same time - or is that just me 🤷‍♀️
I’m moving home - don’t worry, staying local and training will continue as normal.
Please bear with me, I’ll try to be nice.
See you on the other side ….roll on November ❤️

18/10/2024

If you're now working your dog, especially if this is your first year beating or picking up, you might be thinking that you don't need to revisit training until March.

But the shooting season isn’t the time to press pause.

If your dog is still young and inexperienced in the field, now is a crucial moment to stay consistent with your training, maintain and reinforce skills and prevent bad habits from forming.

You don’t want to wait to fix issues until the season’s over. You need to reinforce steadiness, keep your stop whistle sharp, maintain recall, and prevent sloppy delivery to hand.

So here's a gentle reminder to keep up your training, even while you're in 'working' mode.

15/10/2024

Unless you are cropping for an artistic effect, such as a head-and-shoulders portrait style image, capturing the entire body of your gundog in a photograph is crucial.

While it is absolutely something we have all done, nothing looks more amateurish than cutting off the dog’s feet, tail, or tips of its ears. This makes the photograph feel incomplete and awkward.

Proper framing of your shots to include the entire dog and some sense of location, space and context, will quickly result in a more polished and professional end photograph that has depth and tells a story.

If you are struggling to fit your whole dog in the frame, try taking a few steps backwards. Always check the edges before you take the photo, and consider taking the same picture from different angles.

Remember that photography is all about being creative. Try not to get stuck taking your photos from the same position - don’t be afraid to play around with angles that “break the rules”.

Want more photography tips? We have teamed up with Surrey-based photographer Alice Loder to provide you with some simple suggestions to help you capture professional-looking photographs of your gundog this shoot season.

To read the blog in full head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/surrey-dog-photographer-tells-us-how-we-can-get-better-pictures-of-our-gundogs-this-shoot-season

📸 Alice Loder Photography

12/10/2024

It is a common misunderstanding that the more light you have, the better when it comes to photographing your gundog.

Bright, direct sunlight can create harsh shadows and overly contrasty images, which are not flattering for any subject, including our gundogs. If your dog is a lighter colour, you will also lose a lot of detail.

Those cloudless, bright, sunny days can be quite warm too, and we want to avoid taking pictures of our dogs looking too hot and uncomfortable.

Overcast days and sitting in the shade of a tree are the best ways to get soft and even light. If you have a black dog, you will find that cloudy sunshine will be the best condition for your photographs.

Positioning yourself and the dog so that the sun is behind them will create a bokeh and a lovely dreamy background, especially if the sun is shining through the canopy of a tree or some ferns.

If you can choose when to take your photographs, early morning or late afternoon, known as the golden hours, provide warm, soft light that enhances the natural beauty of your gundog and the environment.

Want more photography tips? We have teamed up with Surrey-based photographer Alice Loder to provide you with some simple suggestions to help you capture professional-looking photographs of your gundog this shoot season.

To read the blog in full head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/surrey-dog-photographer-tells-us-how-we-can-get-better-pictures-of-our-gundogs-this-shoot-season

📸 Alice Loder Photography

09/10/2024

Gundog breeds are amazing family pets, but their energy can be overwhelming especially if this is your first dog.

Even if you don't want to work your dog or take them shooting, gundog training works with, not against, our labradors', spaniels' and HPRs' natural instincts.

Our foundation classes are designed for gundogs over the age of 8 months to help owners of gundog breeds provide an outlet for their dog's need to hunt and chase and retrieve.

Ideal for dogs who are new to training, the classes cover the foundation behaviours including heel location, games to develop a rocket recall, a reliable retrieve chain, hunting patterns, self management and much more.

You will also learn about your dog's personality, how to use a clicker and deliver reinforcement effectively, and how to engage with your dog to get them to focus on you.

Our foundation gundog training classes take place in Haslemere on the Surrey, West Sussex, Hampshire border.

No previous experience is required to join these classes to book today please head to: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/products/foundation-gundog-classes-saturdays

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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