What your dog will learn depending on your breed of gundog.
For a Gundog this is the most important virtue.
What is steadiness? Steadiness is the ability of a dog to remain calm when under shooting conditions, examples walking up, on a peg, in a hide or waiting to pick up.
You will be shown how to improve your dogs steadiness by training calmness during lessons.
Sit and stay now takes on a whole new meaning, your dog will now be expected to remain sitting while dummies and distractions are used. Dog's will also be expected to remain sitting at ever increasing distances from the handler.
If you have attended the basic obedience class you will have demonstrated your dogs ability to heel on the lead without pulling. All Gundog's in this class will be working towards heeling off lead, you will be surprised how quickly this can be achieved.
Walking up with dummies thrown will improve your dogs steadiness and to stop running in. If you are entering competitions this is the most difficult of disciplines to achieve and will require constant training. Heeling of lead will now become very important.
You will be shown how to use and blow a whistle. The whistle will be used to recall your dog, turn your dog, stop your dog and tell your dog to hunt an area.
This discipline varies depending on the breed of gundog.
Spaniels will be expected to close quarter and sit on command or shot.
Hunt, point and retrieve
breeds will be shown how to hunt, find game and flush on command.
All gundogs have to learn to take commands at distance, to include instant recall, left or right, get back and hunt when asked.
To ask your dog to find you or track a scent, is one of the most fun training exercises you can do.
To see a gundog going out for a retrieve and returning to deliver to hand is truly amazing. The retrieving and send away is normally easy but the delivery to hand proves very difficult to achieve for some handlers and their dogs. I will guide you in the best methods to achieve a good delivery to hand.
This will include water work, understanding the wind, scent and finding game.
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