Your Questions Answered: Training A Working Gundog Puppy

I have recently been interviewed by a client as part of their studies. The Q&A session covered many questions I am frequently asked and so I’ll be posting the answers over the next few weeks here on the blog.

What is first thing you teach people coming to you with a young puppy?

Build your bond. Build your bond – don’t bribe it or buy it. That’s the first level. The second level is the basics, sit, wait, recall, focus work. The third level is advanced and that could be taking it on a shoot, going for a walk to the pub, fell walking, search and rescue – could be anything you want your working dog to do to train to their breed standard, to mentally and physically stimulate it.

I encourage people from day one not to let their dog off the lead. Keep the dog on the lead and work on what I call the inner circle training, sit, wait, focus. I teach short retrieves not throwing the dummy miles off, it’s the command itself we need to focus on. There is more chance of the dog switching off the further they are from you.

This is the foundation of training – I call it the Tessleymoor Way. It applies to every breed of dog and if dog owners follow this method, it will work for them.

What is the most common mistake people make when training their puppy?

They allow them to be off the lead too soon. They want to get their dog hunting too soon – looking at level three before they have done one and two. They give the dog too much freedom and let it range too far. It’s then very difficult to bring them back to staying close. That’s why it’s all about building the focus and building the bond.

Also, you don’t want to allow your dog to run off and play with other dogs or run up to people. On a shoot, you don’t want your dog jumping into the back of someone’s Range Rover and knocking some champagne flutes off, which has happened with one of my client’s. Never set yourself, or your dog, up to fail. If you know your dog is keen on jumping into car boots, put it on a lead while you’re walking past a row of open Range Rover boots.

Next up…choosing the right dog for the job

Posted: May 4, 2022