http://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/

Teach Your Gundog, Haslemere (2026)

16/10/2026

As a handler, you will need to know exactly where your equipment is, that it is fit for purpose (and the exercises you want to work on), and is easily accessible.

There is nothing worse than turning up for training or an assessment than to find you have lost or forgotten something. It makes you feel uncomfortable and unconfident before you have even started.

By keeping your equipment in the same place, you should feel more in control which will transfer down to your dog.

It will also help you to remain focused on the task at hand and avoid any “faffing”.

Rifling through pockets can waste significant time at best, but can at worst negatively impact your dog’s learning and understanding, particularly if they are waiting for reinforcement.

When it comes to storing your equipment, I always recommend the use of dummy vests. They spread the weight of the contents easily across your shoulders, they don’t flap or dangle in the way of your dog, they have a lot of pockets, are waterproof and can be worn over coats and jackets in the winter yet equally comfortable over a t-shirt in the summer.

Dummy bags are fine if they are well-organised and secured so that they do not swing forward and interfere with your dog.

Plus, chucking or leaving the dummy on the ground will become a distraction that is not necessary, especially during your early stages of training, later on you can leave a dummy out on purpose as a distraction, but not at the learning stage of training.

As well as your dummies, you will also need to decide where you are going to store all your other training equipment such as whistle, lead, treat pouch, clicker, ball, get it bowls, posts and go-to targets, placeboard, steady fob, water, as well as things like poo bags, car keys, mobile phone, glasses, etc.

Put some thought into this, it will be invaluable in the future. I suggest you think about which hand you throw your dummy with, and how you will get the dummies in and out of the back pocket of your vest. Where will you put your lead while your dog is working? And have you got easy access to your clicker or treats?

13/10/2026

When training our gundogs, we all want our sessions to be productive and successful and feel like a good use of our often limited time.

And yet we have all been guilty of wandering into a field or a training area, with every intention of ‘doing some gundog training’ and realising that we’ve forgotten our whistle, have absolutely no plan as to what exercises we want to cover, or no way of communicating with our dog that now is training time.

What usually happens next is one or more of the following:

· You set up an exercise without the right equipment and then have to watch it go horribly wrong.

· You default to practising exercises that your dog is already good at and don’t make any progress in the areas you actually want to work on.

· You get frustrated that your dog doesn’t seem to be in the mood, you have no idea what to do, give up on training and send your dog off to have some more free time.

My most productive and successful gundog training sessions have always been planned before leaving the house.

Consider how sports people and military personnel prepare themselves. They ensure that all their resources are ready and in working order prior to use. They have warm-up and cool-down routines. Their training plan has been prepared in advance.

Everything appears to look easy and seamless but it is the work that is done beforehand that makes it run so well.

If you have ever watched field triallers competing, the best handlers will invariably look calm, relaxed and confident, making everything look incredibly easy. This is all down to their preparation and their routines.

But how exactly should you go about preparing and planning? That’s what I’ll cover in this blog to help you make the most out of your gundog training sessions.

To read in full head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-gundog-training-sessions

📸 Alice Loder Photography

10/10/2026

If we haven’t met before, I’m Jules Morgan, founder of Teach Your Gundog. I’ve lived with dogs all my life and have been a professional trainer since the early 1990s.

I’m an accredited animal training instructor with the Animal Behaviour Training Council (ABTC), a co-founder of, and accredited gundog training instructor with, the Gundog Trainer’s Academy (GTA), and a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). You can rest assured that I will only ever use ethical, science based, non-coercive training methods.

I am deeply passionate about ensuring that gundogs and their owners are supported and encouraged by their trainer with empathy and understanding as well as being properly qualified. As well as training and working my own dogs, I also enjoy keeping up to date with research into behaviour, psychology, neuroscience and physiology which helps me to expand my understanding of dogs and what motivates them.

To book a one-to-one, you can view my online calendar on the website or email [email protected]

📸 Alice Loder

07/10/2026

Life can be hectic, but your gundog training schedule doesn't have to be. If you already have a jam-packed calendar, there are inevitably times when class dates just don’t align with your other commitments. But this shouldn’t mean not training at all for the month.

Equally, if there’s a topic specific workshop you’d like to attend, but you can’t, there’s always the ability to catch up with one-to-one sessions, meaning you and your dog don’t miss out altogether.

With one-to-one gundog training sessions, you’re in control when it comes to choosing a time and date that also works with your schedule, ensuring that training fits into your life, not the other way around.

This approach also gives you more freedom and choice over how often you come to training. For some people, a week or two fly by too quickly, and it seems you are back at training before you’ve really had a chance to practice your homework. But for many, this can be too long to wait.

Perhaps you’re usually ready to progress your new behaviours after a few days, but are not sure what the next steps in the training are.

Or maybe you get home and realise there’s information you didn’t take in properly, your notes don’t make sense, or you just don’t feel like you’re training something the right way.

A one-to-one training session between your group classes can really make a difference in your progression and keep you on the right track.

Finally, if you have previously done some gundog work and would like to join the Teach Your Gundog classes, I will often ask you to book a 121 first so that I can see where you’re at with your training and place your dog in the correct group for their current level.

Quite often people downplay or over egg their dog’s abilities and having worked with thousands of owners and their dogs over the years I do find that this is the best way to ensure handlers don’t end up in classes that are either too easy for their dog, or a demoralising struggle.

📸 Bluebell Photography Sussex

04/10/2026

For those with multiple dogs, the one-to-one training approach offers a chance to start working your dogs together.

Unless you got puppies together at the same time, you’ll typically have dogs of different ages, working at different levels and in different classes. If you’re hoping to work them together in the future, as part of a beating or picking up team, you will eventually need to practice working them simultaneously.

If this is your first pair of dogs, it can take a bit of getting used to, and while you will likely want to continue with your individual dog’s group classes, 121s can help you start working them as part of a team and will give you some different skills and exercises to practice at home.

01/10/2026

For many gundog owners, 1 October marks an exciting point in the calendar as the pheasant shooting season begins in England and Wales.

So, to everyone heading out this season, I hope you have a safe and successful one. And more than anything, I hope you enjoy being out there with your dogs.

If you have a youngster... remember it can be very tempting to want to do too much too soon. You have spent months training, the season has finally arrived and you are keen to see what all that work looks like in the shooting field. But your dog does not need to prove everything on their first day.

A shoot day can be a lot to process. New ground, other dogs, people, birds, shots, movement and excitement all add to the level of stimulation your dog is dealing with.

Give them time.

Choose opportunities carefully, keep expectations realistic and be prepared to finish while things are still going well. One positive experience is far more useful than pushing on until your dog becomes tired, overwhelmed or too excited to think clearly. There will be other days and other seasons as they grow in experience.

Your training is not measured by how much your dog does on 1 October. Keep building their confidence, protect the foundations you have worked so hard to create and enjoy the privilege of spending time in the field together.

28/09/2026

Here's what's coming up at Teach Your Gundog in October and November...

Puppy / Beginner Gundog
Saturdays 9:30am to 10:15am, Haslemere
• 3 October
• 17 October
• 31 October
• 14 November

Foundation GAP 1
Saturdays 10:30am to 11:30am, Haslemere
• 3 October
• 17 October
• 31 October
• 14 November

Foundation GAP 2
Saturdays 11:45am to 1pm, Haslemere
• 3 October
• 17 October
• 31 October
• 14 November

Foundation GAP 2
Wednesdays 10am to 11:15am, Haslemere
• 7 October
• 21 October
• 28 October
• 11 November

Monthly Progressive GAP 3/4
Fridays 10am to 12pm, Loxwood
• 16 October
• 13 November

Royal Kennel Club Working Gundog Certificate
9:30am to 12pm, Loxwood
• 4 October

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

If you have not done any gundog training before - whether you have a puppy or young dog, or an older dog that has done basic training but nothing gundog specific - you will need to start with our Puppy / Beginner group classes.

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

25/09/2026

While well-planned gundog group classes should cover everything your dog needs to learn at each level, all dogs are individuals, and sometimes your dog might just need a little extra support and a different approach to help them have a lightbulb moment.

If your labrador is struggling with the stop whistle, your spaniel is having trouble with recall, or your HPR drops the dummy at your feet instead of delivering to hand, then one-to-one gundog training sessions could really make a big impact on your overall long-term training.

At Teach Your Gundog I have always kept class sizes small to ensure that I can spend dedicated time with each dog and handler to see how they’re getting on and offer support and personal guidance - whether that’s to help the owner with their handling skills or to help the dog work through the exercise.

However, the classes themselves and the planned training are there to cater to all, and if your dog is really struggling with something, there may not always be enough time or the possibility to cover in depth how to fix a broken behaviour or go through what’s happening in your dog’s individual brain.

For instance, there are a wide range of reasons why your gundog might not be delivering the dummy into your hand. In a class, delivery might be covered broadly, with a few different techniques showing how to teach it.

I can offer you some personal advice, such as suggesting changes to your body language (e.g. not leaning over and grabbing the dummy), or I might recommend some methods, such as teaching the clicker retrieve, or using food bowls to repair the “out and back” pattern.

But unless the whole class is experiencing the same thing, it is unlikely that I will have the time to go through these suggestions in detail or show you the methods step by step. And we may also need more time to run through other aspects that impact your dog’s learning such as your click timing or how you reinforce your dog.

With one-to-one training, however, we can zoom in on one area and figure out exactly what’s causing any issues or miscommunication with your dog.

Without disrupting a class, we can really drill down to what your dog is thinking and why they behave the way they do. Then, using this information, we can go through the different strategies, step by step, and will come up with a customised training plan that will work for the dog you’ve got in front of you - not the whole class.

Not only that, but in a private training session, you will also have an unlimited opportunity to ask questions without worrying that you’re taking up too much class time, as I’m just there for you.

22/09/2026

Socialisation is essential for our gundogs, especially puppies, and group classes offer an excellent opportunity for them to get used to being around other breeds in a controlled setting.

However, the abundance of distractions in a group setting can sometimes hinder their progress, and if you find classes to be a constant battle to get your dog’s attention, let alone develop their gundog skills, 121s might offer a bit of respite.

Our gundogs are bred for their keen instincts, sharp focus, and desire to hunt, chase, and capture game. But what makes them excel at gundog training can also be their own worst enemy in an energetic group class setting.

For instance, eager high drive dogs love nothing more than to retrieve the dummy. But this can make it incredibly challenging for them to sit patiently and watch others run out to the dummy they want so badly.

While we want our dogs to be steady and honour other dogs that are working near them, we do not want them to struggle or become overly frustrated, as this can cause lots of unwanted behaviours like noise, lunging and then boiling over and losing their heads when it is finally their turn.

During adolescence too, when hormones are peaking, keeping our dog’s attention on the training can be challenging. Imagine being 18 again and trying to concentrate on your studies when someone attractive invites you to a party that is taking place right outside your window.

Again, in time, we want our gundogs to be able to work in the presence of these distractions, but that is a big ask in the beginning when they are being taught new behaviours and are still learning what we want them to do.

By comparison, one-to-one training sessions can provide a sanctuary from these distractions. Here, it's just you, me, your dog, and hopefully their undivided attention.

We can then work on teaching the core behaviours so that when you are back in class, your focus switches and you can use the distractions to proof and strengthen your behaviours, instead of trying to battle against them.

Coming back to the example of the high drive dog, you might choose to focus your 121 training sessions on steadiness, arousal management and impulse control so that when you’re back in class, you already have some basics in place which you can build on, instead of trying to teach these skills from scratch when your dog is already struggling and not in the right frame of mind.

19/09/2026

Our Puppy / Beginner gundog training classes in Haslemere are the starting point for anyone new to gundog training.

They are suitable for all gundog breeds, including puppies and older beginners, and no previous experience is needed.

In these small group classes we start building the foundation behaviours that will support your training as your dog develops.

That includes heel location, games to build a rocket recall, a reliable retrieve chain, hunting patterns, self management and more.

You will also learn how your individual dog learns, how to use a clicker, how to deliver reinforcement effectively and how to build engagement so your puppy learns to focus on you even when the world around them is interesting.

And starting your gundog training journey with Teach Your Gundog also gives you a clear route to keep progressing.

Our classes are structured so that you can move on from Puppy / Beginner training into Foundation classes and then into more advanced groups as your skills develop.

If you enjoy having specific goals to work towards, you can also choose to take part in the Gundog Assessment Programme along the way. The assessments are optional, so you can still progress through the classes without completing the levels.

These classes are suitable for pet gundogs as well as those who want to work their dogs on a rough or driven shoot.

For booking and more information, head to https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/products/puppy-beginner-gundog-classes

📸 Bluebell Photography Sussex

Teach Your Gundog

16/10/2026

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