A black cocker spaniel running through grass with a purple training dummy in their mouth

Does your dog greet you with a sock, a towel or a slipper? Do they pick up anything and everything? Chase every scent down the lane, and disappear into the longest grass they can find - then come back thrilled with themselves, covered in burrs and bits of hedge?

The chances are you’ve got a gundog.

Gundog training for pet dogs near Reading

Is your dog a gundog?

A black show-type cocker spaniel walking towards the camera across a grassy field

Gundogs are some of the most common dogs in our homes now - they just don’t always come labelled as one.

They were bred to pick up, carry, hunt and retrieve, and that instinct doesn’t switch off because they now live in Reading suburbs. Give a gundog no job to do and they will go self employed.

Their career choice may not be as amusing - the recycling out of the bin, the contents of the laundry basket buried in the garden, a touch of landscaping in your lawn or a favourite flowerbed.

Some may even assume a role of a chief guard dog or go on squirrel patrols.

That’s the bit nobody warns you about when you bring home a cockapoo or a spaniel. You haven’t got a difficult dog. You’ve got a working dog with time on their hands.

It’s why we train gundogs and their crosses, and not every single breed. The classes are built around how these dogs are wired: the soft mouth, the urge to retrieve, the nose that won’t quit.

You don’t need a shoot, a tweed coat or any intention of ever picking up a pheasant to give that instinct an outlet. Our classes are for pet dogs and their owners - the cockapoo in a harness, the labradoodle with a coat on, the spaniel who’s never seen a gun and probably never will.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a class like this is meant for a dog like yours, it is. That’s exactly who we’re here for.

Book foundation

Gundog training classes - beginners and progression

A black and white spaniel-type dog jumping over a fallen log in woodland

You start with Foundation - a four-week course for gundogs and crosses who are new to gundog training.

It’s where the basics go in: focus, steadiness, the beginnings of recall and heelwork, and giving that instinct its first outlet.

Our training grounds are in the middle of beautiful Mapledurham Estate, in between Caversham, Henley-on-Thames & Pangbourne.

Sundays at 10.15am. £125 4-weeks course, rolling start dates.

From there, Progression is booked, building towards the Gundog Club Grade 1 and 2 assessments and well beyond.

Walking to heel off-lead, retrieving, distance control, steadiness around other dogs, dummies, wildlife, whistle work.

Sundays at 9am, £150 a 4-weeks block with rolling start dates.

You begin when you and your dog are ready rather than waiting for a new term. Most people book their next block before the last one’s finished.

The grades aren’t competitions. They’re friendly, non-competitive assessments against a set standard - heelwork, sit-stay at a distance, different types of retrieving and more.

They give you and your dog something real to work towards - and plenty of dogs surprise their owners. At the last assessment a cockapoo passed her Grades 1 and 2 hunting retrieving with distinction. The curly coat’s no barrier at all.

Sunday mornings in the field with your dog have a way of becoming the best part of the week - which is why most people don’t come once. They keep coming, month after month, often year after year, because there’s always a next thing to build.

Our training grounds are in the middle of beautiful Mapledurham Estate, in between Caversham, Henley-on-Thames & Pangbourne.

Book progression

Book foundation

Meet your gundog trainer

Gundog trainer with a springer spaniel on a green long line in a secure field in Caversham

Your trainer is Ian. He specialises in pet gundogs - gundog breeds and their crosses in pet homes. Dogs and their owners who don't plan on joining a local shoot, but still want to give their dogs an appropriate outlet for their instincts and spend some quality time with them in the South Oxfordshire countryside.

He’s qualified with the Gundog Training Academy, the only UK body accrediting force-free, reward-based gundog trainers, and trains his own Stabyhoun, Nero - the two of them currently working towards Grade 4 HPR

Book foundation

Ready to start?

Foundation is the place to begin. Book your spot below.

Frequently asked questions

A brown labradoodle exploring over rocks and logs in woodland

Is my dog suitable? What breeds attend your classes?

If your dog is a gundog breed or a cross with gundog in them, they’re suitable. That’s spaniels of all kinds - cockers, springers, sprockers, poodles, Labradors, golden retrievers, and the HPR breeds like Weimaraners, Vizslas, German shorthaired pointers, Stabyhouns and Munsterlanders. And the crosses, very much included: cockapoos, cavapoos, labradoodles, springadors and the rest. If you’re not sure whether your dog counts, send us a message and ask - the simple test is whether they love to carry, sniff out and chase things, which most gundog crosses do.

How old does my dog need to be, and do they need any training first?

For Foundation, your dog needs to be at least six months old and have some basic training in place - they should know the early basics before they start. Progression is for dogs who’ve completed Foundation and are ready to build on it.

Do we have to want to go shooting?

Not at all. Our classes are for pet dogs and their owners - dogs who’ll likely never see a shoot. The instinct to hunt and retrieve is there and these classes are about giving that instinct an outlet, not training for the field.
Although some of our clients do catch the bug and progress to the field work. Foundations are the same.

Where are you based?

Our gundog classes run at our field at Mapledurham, in the South Oxfordshire countryside between Caversham, Pangbourne and Henley-on-Thames.

Is the training indoors or outdoors?

Outdoors, in our secure 15-acre field - with the space and the real-life distractions your dog needs to learn around. We train in most weather, including a bit of drizzle, and only reschedule when it’s genuinely extreme - a heavy downpour, or heat that wouldn’t be safe or comfortable for the dogs.

Book foundation