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On Thursday 14th July 2022 we held a gundog taster evening to give people and their dogs of what we would cover in our longer 8 week gundog foundation course.

We looked at many things from heelwork and steadiness through to retrieving and recall from distraction.

All the owners and the dogs thoroughly enjoyed themselves and so did we.

What a great group!

If you would like to know more about our gundog training or any other of our services please visit our Services page or drop us an email at – Info@whistleandwag.dog

“I took my Jack Russell puppy, Lily, to her first Whistle and Wag course in January 2022. Lily was 8 months old and had a rough start in life so was reactive around dogs and people that got too close to her, didn’t sleep much and just couldn’t relax. She also has Inflamed Bowel Disease and Colitis, so wouldn’t eat and would often be ill for weeks at a time which had made training her extremely difficult. I was at the end of my tether and as soon as I contacted Jemma and Nici for help they were so supportive with me and patient with Lily.

The classes provided a safe environment for us to learn, the exercises were fun and adapted to suit every dogs ability. They gave us all time during each exercise to make good progress before moving on to the next one. In no time at all Lily learned to focus on each task rather than everything else around her and was becoming increasingly comfortable being around other people and dogs as a result.

The homework that is set each week helped us build on the skills we had learnt in class and laid good foundations for working on her manners and building a solid routine for her. When I had questions or concerns between each class Jemma and Nici were always quick to respond and offer much needed advice personalised to our needs, giving examples on how to implement particular pieces of training and always followed up with me to see how we were getting on.

In between the courses we have had 1-1 sessions with Jemma to work on challenges we had with Lily’s sleeping routine, chewing and handling which were invaluable to us. She was able to find the root cause of why Lily couldn’t sleep, taught us how to understand her needs better, implement structure in her day and even helped us find food and treats suitable for Lily’s dietary requirements.
We started having a few good moments in the day, then when she took to her new diet we had some good days every now and again and now we just have steady and predictable days. It’s hard for us to imagine a time where we would spend over an hour trying to get her in to her crate at night, or it taking 2 people to get her collar, or dreading taking her somewhere indoors with other people because it turns out we have a dog that is full of love and loves to sleep after all!
Lily still goes to classes to continue building on her skills and her confidence in different situations and I find the classes just as useful now as I ever did.
Thank you to Jemma, Nici and Molly for giving us the support we needed to make Lily the calm, confident and happy dog she was always meant to be!”

HANNAH + LILY