11/09/2026
”Equally, there are times when we need to take better consideration of a dog's emotions. This should form part of the proofing process, but it is worth noting here because in the gundog world it seems that too many trainers and handlers expect their dogs to be void of emotion.”
At its crux, ethical training is all about looking at things from the dog's point of view. The issue here for a lot of handlers is that this requires putting their own ego aside and learning to understand their dog on an emotional level.
When we break behaviours and chains down into small steps, we focus on setting the dogs up for success and while we do challenge them we do so within reason. We avoid jumping so far ahead that the dogs cannot cope and start making mistakes over and over again.
During this process, it also means that we are focused on eliminating problems early on instead of waiting for our dogs to make mistakes at higher, more advanced levels.
But this is often not sexy or exciting enough. And in the early days it looks very similar to pet dog training, which can be cringeworthy for some hardy gundog folk.
It might not look like serious outdoorsy gundog work, but if your dog can’t be steady when someone throws a piece of chicken on the floor in a sterilised training barn environment, how do you expect them to be steady to the fall of a pheasant on a shoot.
Equally, there are times when we need to take better consideration of a dog's emotions. This should form part of the proofing process, but it is worth noting here because in the gundog world it seems that too many trainers and handlers expect their dogs to be void of emotion.
Arousal is something that’s talked about in such a negative way, as if our dogs should always be “calm” when training, but when you’re about to go beating or picking up, if you and your dog aren’t excited then there’s something seriously wrong!
We don’t want our dogs to be over aroused to the point where they can’t think but we also need to work through the process of gradually increasing the excitement and increasing their threshold so they can still respond to cues and aren’t put in a situation where they’re going to get everything wrong.
Sometimes that means humbly going backwards a step in our training and it involves looking at the other half of the team and not just pushing forward to suit your own training goals or ego. If they are not coping, or having an off day, you need to know when to quit.
Instead of being too quick to blame the dog for their “shortcomings”, handlers need to put their ego aside and take more responsibility for their training, or lack thereof.
If you have truly taught your dog something properly, and they really understand the cue and you have proofed it in that scenario, under those emotional conditions, then you really shouldn’t need to be repeatedly making error corrections, especially not at a high level.
And if the dog does something wrong once, remember they’re a living being, not a remote controlled tool. Laugh it off, reset and enjoy your time training or working together. They’re not here forever.
Read our full article on ethical gundog training here: https://gundogtrainersacademy.co.uk/blogs/news/positive-not-permissive-ethical-gundog-training-explained
📸 Alice Loder Photography
