Train With Jane

14/08/2024

One space left.
Gundog taster session.
31 August
Please PM or Email for more details.

12/08/2024

1-2-1 slots available Thursday afternoon and Friday mornings. Please PM me if you are interested.

09/08/2024

Available September classes in the comments.

03/08/2024

This looks an interesting workshop to attend.
I have enjoyed Kays books.

Twenty years ago I was an enthusiastic promoter of replacing the term REWARD with the more academic term REINFORCER. Sounded more convincing.

“Give your dog a reward” often meant a pat on the head. Yep, I was around before food was used commonly and effectively.

Lots of anxiety still exists around the use of food in learning. “The dog will mug my hands” or treat bag, or pocket. Nope, not if you pay attention and use your Reward Predicting Stimulus with diligence.
"When can I stop giving treats?" When would you stop saying thank you: that dinner was delicious and I appreciate you cooking it for me.

The way you deliver the reward is more
important than the reward itself.

Do you remember the extras for excellence? A bag of mixed food values (very lacking in evidence of value) and you selected the right treat to match your assessment of the dog’s effort. BIG question whether the dog made a connection between high value for high effort or whether it was just a ride on the wave of unpredictability.

After ploughing my way through the Wolfram Schultz material and delving into the neuroscience of reward systems I now regard the term reinforcer a backward step and simply functional.

Interaction with a dog should be so more than a function. The reward is at the heart of their learning, NOT the behaviour we have be sold on developing. When we focus on the behaviour we lose focus on the reward.

The science based reinforcer promotion was often dumbed down to make it simple and easy to apply. Today we are more devoted to the experience our dogs are having: desire and pleasure. We have learned that anticipation brings alive the drive to learn not the fabled consumption. Gone are the click-and-shove recipes and fast food stuffing.

I get the biggest reward seeing my dogs passionate about their learning. 💥

https://www.learningaboutdogs.com/product/step-up-reward-skills/

NEVER STOP LEARNING BECAUSE LIFE NEVER STOPS TEACHING

29/07/2024

Please email [email protected] for more details. Held in Headley, Epsom.
We will cover life skills such as loose lead walking, recall and self control around distractions all in a fun game based way.

29/07/2024

Please look at your WhatsApp... I have bumped or cancelled lessons due to the weather.
Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

29/07/2024

This is a good resource to look at ... we can easily miss the warning signs.

With children and pets spending more time together over the summer holidays, it's super important to watch dogs closely and listen to their body language ⚠️

Dogs' stress signals often get misunderstood or missed, with some owners not realising their dog is unhappy until they growl, snap or even bite.

The canine ladder of communication is a useful guide, showing the different signals dogs show through their body language to communicate. As a dog gets more upset, their body language may change according to the steps on the ladder 🚦

It’s important to note that all dogs are different - not every dog will show every behaviour on the ladder and might not follow the same order.

Find out more: http://pdsa.me/rfce

[Visual description: An infographic explaining Kendal Shepherd’s ladder of communication and how to recognise stress in dogs by the signs they show in their body language. This is a traffic light system with red signals being the worst. Green signals are: Yawning, blinking, nose licking and turning their head away. Yellow signals are: Sitting and turning their body away, walking away, creeping and having their ears back. Orange signals are: Standing crouched, tail tucked, lying down with their belly exposed in a submissive way, stiffening up and staring. Red signals are: Growling, snapping and biting.]

08/07/2024

So true.

Gundogs, particularly those from working lines, are known for being “busy” and having lots of energy.

If you’re a first-time gundog owner, you might be shocked at how challenging it can be to get your puppy to settle at home.

You’ve probably heard the saying “a tired dog is a good dog,” but it’s really important that we don’t overexert our gundog puppies. Stick to the 5-minute rule to ensure their joints develop properly and prevent health issues later in life.

This means you should walk or exercise your puppy for about 5 minutes per month of its age. So, if it’s six months old, you should only do about half an hour.

If you have a particularly active puppy who is into everything at home and struggles to relax, you probably think this isn’t enough. But a longer walk isn’t the answer.

The best way to tire your gundog puppy out is to get it to use its brain, and this can be done most effectively with training.

When it comes to training, keep the session short and often. It is much better to do a few minutes of clicker training while the kettle is boiling and your tea is brewing than to try to do an hour at the end of the day.

You can do as many sessions as you want, but ensure your student is keen and willing. Puppies have short attention spans, which you want to capture. Always stop before they get bored.

To read more about getting your gundog puppy training off to the best possible start head to: https://gundogtrainersacademy.co.uk/blogs/news/when-should-you-start-training-a-gundog-puppy

05/07/2024

05/07/2024

I apologise for any inconvenience but I will not be answering emails or calls as I'm on holiday and attending my daughter's wedding. I will be back on Tues 16th July.

01/07/2024

Last chance to book course starting 6th July

Beginner Gundog 9.30 to 10.30.

Puppy's 12.30 to 13.30

please email [email protected] for more details.

26/06/2024

Within minutes, a dog could die in a hot car ⚠️ Please keep your pooches safe and never leave them in a warm car 🚗

[Image description: An infographic warning that dogs die in hot cars. It includes advice to call 999 immediately if you see a dog in distress in a hot car. Winding down a window is not enough to help your dog.]

25/06/2024

I try to support research into dogs by reputable organisations... sadly I can't help this time round....
The time is not right for another puppy to join my household. Maybe you can help 🙂

Big news 📣 We have officially recruited the 9000th puppy to Generation Pup - meet Golden Retriever Digby! He joined his family after their previous dog passed away and they were left with a dog-shaped hole in their lives 💛

Not only has Digby impacted the lives of his family, he is now helping dogs of the future. Being part of Generation Pup, pups and their owners are supporting our groundbreaking study with Bristol Veterinary School looking into the health, welfare and behaviour of our dogs throughout their whole lives 🐶

If you have a puppy under 16 weeks of age, you can get involved today: https://bit.ly/3v0xIK5

[Image description: A very light cream-coloured Golden Retriever puppy is siting in a grassy field wearing a blue harness with his tongue out.]

25/06/2024

I knew today was going to be very hot.
So change of plans...
I set up the barn for some free work which they enjoyed. We discussed how we can set up similar at home without spending a fortune.
The ball pool was a definite hit.

21/06/2024

Over the decades, in addition to their hunting and retrieving ability, gundogs have also been bred for their sociability, friendliness, intelligence, and trainability (biddable nature).

These traits have made them extremely attractive and desirable for families. And so, a large proportion of the gundog puppies born into the world every year head off to be pet gundogs with no expectation of working in the shooting field.

There is no doubt that gundogs do make excellent pets.

All my working dogs are pets first. They live in my home and sleep while I work, they stay close to me on our daily walks, and would be just as happy to join me at the pub and on a trip to the beach as they would on a shoot day.

But this is because their in-built, genetic “gundog” needs are being met.

There is no shame in wanting to own a gundog breed while having absolutely no desire or intention to work them on a shoot.

But there is a growing danger that more and more ‘working line’ dogs are missing out on vital opportunities to do what they were bred to do as they end up in pet homes with owners who don’t realise the importance of gundog training even for non-working dogs.

In this month's blog, we explore the implications of not doing gundog training, the benefits of breed-specific training and what ‘hobby’ gundog training involves for beginners.

To read in full head to
https://clickergundog.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-the-point-of-doing-gundog-training-with-my-pet-dog-if-i-don-t-want-to-take-them-on-a-shoot

If you know someone who has a pet dog that would benefit from participating in gundog training, even if they will never go on a shoot, please consider sharing this post or blog link with them.

📸 Alice Loder Photography

20/06/2024

Thank you Jules fantastic write up.
I fo love the "get it" bowl game.

“Steadiness is between the ears - it’s an attitude, an emotional response - it is not a behaviour.” - Jules Morgan

Within the sport of working gundog training, you will often hear people discussing ’steadiness’ as a desirable trait.

Ask a cross-section of gundog handlers what steadiness is, and you will likely get any, all and more answers like these:
Doesn’t run in
Doesn’t make noise
Doesn’t swap dummies/birds
Walks steadily to heel (doesn’t fidget, surge forward, sniff ground)
Doesn’t hunt on
Doesn’t chase birds/rabbits/deer
Doesn’t run around with the dummy (lap of honour)
Doesn’t run off or mess about between exercises
Doesn’t interfere with other dogs
Stops on the whistle/stops to flush

Quite a lot of these descriptions begin with the word ‘doesn’t’ and focus on things our dogs shouldn’t be doing, don’t they?!

This gives very little information about what we want them to be doing instead and how we can teach our gundogs to adhere to the desirable trait that is steadiness.

Before we rush off to look at how to go about the process of training and developing a ‘steady gundog’, it is important to identify what steadiness is and what it is not.

We’ll do exactly that in this month's blog before leaving you with details of how to teach your gundog one of the foundation exercises we cover in our classes, which will become the backbone of all of your steadiness training.

To read in full head to
https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-teach-your-gundog-steadiness

📸 The Darkroom

19/06/2024

1 space left on puppy class starting tomorrow.

11/06/2024

I do enjoy a puppy cuddle. After work yesterday I popped into a close friends and had the pleasure of meeting these beautiful lab puppies.... so tempted to bring one home in 2 weeks.... but Gav is not enthusiastic.

Please PM for more details or click on the link for more information.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/o5LE6DWAzKRks9Dg/

07/06/2024

All through the summer and into the autumn ticks and fleas are a real nuisance for our dogs:

Fleas
Itching is the first and main symptom. Excessive scratching can cause inflammation and infection, and sometimes dogs can suffer from allergic dermatitis. A severe flea infestation can lead to anaemia due to the extent of blood loss as the fleas feed.

Keep up to date with flea treatment and check your dog regularly so that you can catch a problem early. Fleas can also carry tapeworm eggs so, if your dog does get fleas, you will need to treat for worms too. Fleas only hop on and off the dog to feed so most of them will actually be living in the dog’s bedding and your carpets – you’ll need to treat your house, and probably more than once due to the length of the flea’s lifecycle..

Ticks
Ticks can carry many diseases and it’s possible for one tick to be carrying several at the same time. The most prevalent is Lyme Disease, although it’s actually still quite rare and generally less serious in dogs than in humans. That said, it is possible to cause damage to joints, kidneys, heart and nervous system. Watch for symptoms of swelling or pain in the joints and an elevated temperature, which can occur up to two months after infection.

Checking your dog regularly for ticks is important and so is the method of tick removal. Causing stress to the tick will likely cause it to regurgitate into the dog and increase the infection risk. Leaving it to fall off of its own accord will also increase the risk due to the length of time it is in the dog. You also don’t want to risk leaving the head/mouth parts behind which could result in an infection. The safest method of removing a tick is by using a tick twister/tick tool. They only cost a few pounds so are well worth the investment.

06/06/2024

Up and coming classes for June, July and August.
Book soon to avoid disappointment.