Dog Sports
Once your puppy has successfully completed the basic Puppy School puppy training, the sky’s the limit as far as further training is concerned. There are many excellent ‘dog sports’ which you can now take part in. Many of our tutors also teach activities you can participate in, why not contact your local trainer and see what other training they offer.
Agility
Dogs learn to negotiate tunnels, jumps, long jumps, high walks, sesaws, tyre jumps and A frames. This is then done around a set course at speed against the clock as in show jumping for horses. The handler runs around the course and controls the dog’s directions with the dog off lead. Dogs compete against others for the fastest time with fewest faults. For further information, please visit www.agilitynet.com
N.B. Although training can begin straight away, puppies will not be able to start jumping until they are 18 months old when they have finished growing as, otherwise, this can damage their growing bones and joints.
Obedience
Dogs learn to respond precisely to obedience cues, such as ‘heel’, ‘sit’, ‘stand’, ‘down’ and ‘stay’. They learn how to retrieve a scented article from unscented ones, and to be sent away to a specified place. Precision is very important and handlers compete for points which are easily lost if positions are not exact. For further information, please visit www.obedienceuk.com
Similar to obedience but a little bit less formal you could also try Rally. www.thekennelclub.org.uk or www.talkingdogsrally.co.uk
Hoopers
Hoopers is a low impact dog sport suitable for all ages and abilities as there is no jumping and all obstacles are on ground level. You guide your dog around a course of hoops, tunnels and barrels in the quickest time and with as few faults as possible. There are a number of organisations you can compete with or find an instructor local to you. www.caninehoopersuk.co.uk or www.caninehoopersworld.com
Working Trials
Dogs learn to track and search for missing objects, as well as how to negotiate a 6ft scale jump, 9ft long jump, 3ft clear jump, walk at heel, retrieve a dumbbell, come when called, stay when told and be sent away from the handler as directed. For further information please visit www.kennelclub.org.uk
Dancing with Dogs
Sometimes called Heelwork to Music, dogs are taught "moves" by their handlers which are then linked together and choreographed to interpret their chosen music. Routines are assessed for "Programme Content", "Accuracy and Execution" and finally "Musical Interpretation"
For more information, visit www.caninefreestylegb.com or www.heelworktomusic.co.uk
Flyball
Dogs learn to run to a box by jumping a line of jumps, and then press a pedal on the box that delivers a ball which they retrieve to their handlers. Teams of dogs race against each other to see which are the fastest. For further information, please visit www.flyball.org.uk
Gundog work
If you have a gundog breed, you might be interested in exploring gundog work as an activity to get involved in. This doesn’t have to involve shooting or dispatching game, if you find that distasteful.
The gundog breeds are divided into retrievers, spaniels, pointers and setters and “hunt, point and retrieve” breeds (HPRs). Each of these subcategories functions in a different way and fulfills a different role as a gundog, so it’s worth investigating what the role of your breed should be, in the field, because this will have a big impact on the training. There are many books on the roles of the breeds and a lot of information online.
If you are not sure about the idea of game being shot around you, you probably want to start off with “gundog working tests”. These are held in the summer months and organised by various gundog clubs. They are a series of tests, usually about 4 or 5 separate tests, which are identical for each dog and they are based around retrieving canvas dummies and obedience. No game is shot. There are separate working tests for retrievers, spaniels and HPRs. These are competitive, with placing results, but they are also informal and friendly.
Another option is to check out the newly formed “Gundog Club”, whose purpose is to make gundog work more accessible to the pet owner. They run a graded testing scheme which is non-competitive and again uses only canvas dummies and involves no shooting. To help pet gundog owners prepare for these tests they also run weekly courses around the country. For more information see: www.thegundogclub.co.uk If you are the non-competitive type, shoots all over the country are always looking for more beaters, especially those with dogs. (Beaters are the people who make lots of noise and scare the birds up.) The type of dogs which are best suited to beating are spaniels, but other breeds are used - some people even beat with terriers, collies and GSDs! It’s a good idea to make sure your dog has an excellent recall before you take it on a shoot - or keep it on a lead, walking with you.
Water Work
If you own a giant breed such as the Newfoundland, you might consider using their natural tendency towards water in a positive way by becoming involved in water work. Since the late 1980s there has been an increasing interest in this sport.
Regular training events are held where the dogs can learn to swim and retrieve articles from the water. They can then progress to more difficult tasks such as towing people and boats and the advanced dogs learn to jump from a boat and search for a ‘casualty’ to tow in. These skills can be taught for fun or assessed at progress tests which the dogs work through at each level. For further information, please visit www.thenewfoundlandclub.co.uk
Scentwork
Why not harness the power of your dog's nose and teach them to find a specific item or scent using their incredible sense of smell. There are competitions or you can participate just for fun. Check out www.uksnifferdogs.com/ or www.thecollegeofscentdogs.com for some more information.
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“Puppy School has been an all round excellent package from start to finish but the greatest asset to this training was Sally! Sally was calm, clear and responsive to us all so you feel you get the benefit from being in a group of handlers and puppies with all the benefits of that but also individual attention to support you and your puppies specific needs/issues. Banjo is a nervous puppy, Sally was very sensitive to this and managed situations so Banjo benefitted from all the training exercises and interaction in a very positive way. She also gave me lots of support in how to help him outside of class. It was also brilliant to have a booklet and online access at home to watch reminder supporting material videos of the things taught in each session. There were also a range of vouchers and free trial bags of different foods which has proven helpful in determining what works for Banjo. I have had several puppies over the years, and have been to several classes, this has been the best experience yet for both me and my puppy. Thanks especially to Sally! ”— Maria
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“I would, and have already, recommended Puppy School! I messaged Julie before signing up as I had some questions about how the sessions would be run. Julie got back to me quickly and I booked easily online. Julie is very friendly, approachable and has a great deal of knowledge and experience to share. The classes were all very well run and very enjoyable for both pups and owners. The exercises were good and well thought out. ”— Charles
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“Very enjoyable course with Sally being extremely calm , friendly and informative. She explained and demonstrated each task very well, it’s purpose and what practice should be done and how often. She was also very reassuring and encouraging if the puppy (or owner!) didn’t quite do things correctly.”— Annie
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“Rocket and I enjoyed every class and Cat was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. It was fab watching her interact with each dog, and be able to show owners what was possible, no matter what temperament of dog. Fantastic to watch and great tips given as we went along trying the new skills. ”— Andrea
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“We had such a wonderful experience with Jacki as our Puppy School tutor! She is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and supportive. Jacki explains training techniques clearly and makes them easy to follow, which really helped us feel confident. She creates such a positive learning environment where both the puppies and owners feel comfortable. Her calm, encouraging approach made a huge difference for our puppy, who grew in confidence and picked up new skills quickly. You can really see how much she cares about the dogs and their families. Thank you, Jacki, for giving us the tools we need to continue training and for making the classes such an enjoyable experience!”— Penelope