For Labradors, spaniels and HPRs
Give your gundog a job.
A free 15 minute field drill every week, matched to your dog's breed and age. No kit to buy, no experience needed. Just you, your dog and a pocket of dummies.
- 01 Tell us your dog's name, breed and age.
- 02 Get one short drill in your inbox each week.
- 03 Watch a bored dog turn into a working partner.
Get this week's drill
Free. One email a week. Leave whenever you like.
Bred to work. Stuck on the sofa.
Most Labradors and spaniels in Britain come from working lines, and most of them will never see a shoot. That drive does not switch off. Without a job it comes out as pulling, chasing, and chewing the skirting boards.
Gundog training gives that drive somewhere to go. Steadiness, marking, whistle work and hunting cover are the same skills a picking-up dog uses on a shoot day, and they make a calmer, happier pet at home.
Start with one of these
All 24 drills- 01Stop whistle training: the lawn drillThe classic single pip stop whistle exercise, taught first on the lawn before it is ever needed at a distance.Recall and whistle · Puppy · 8 min
- 02Steadiness to a thrown dummyTeach a young gundog to hold a steady sit while a dummy is thrown, before it ever learns to retrieve.Steadiness · Novice · 12 min
- 03How to teach a spaniel to quarterThe foundation pattern for spaniel field work, teaching a dog to work ground methodically in front of the handler.Quartering · Novice · 12 min
- 04Memory retrieves: an introductionTeach a gundog to remember where a dummy fell after a short delay, the first step towards memory work.Memory retrieves · Novice · 10 min
Training plans by breed
Want a hand in person?
We list 157+ gundog trainers and clubs across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus shooting grounds and country stores near you.
The whistle cheat sheet
Stop, recall, turn and hunt on. The standard UK gundog whistle signals on one printable page. Stick it on the fridge so the whole family uses the same commands.