Drill library

Gundog training drills

Short, reward-based exercises you can run in a garden, park or field. Each one lists the kit, the steps, how to make it harder, and the mistakes to avoid.

• Steadiness training for a gundog puppy: the sit and wait gameA calm sit and wait game that builds the foundation of steadiness in a gundog puppy from ten weeks old.Steadiness · Puppy · 10 min
• Steadiness 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
• Sit to flush: steadiness training for a working spanielThe classic sit to flush exercise, teaching a spaniel to drop or sit the instant game gets up in front of it.Steadiness · Advanced · 15 min
• Stop 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
• Recall training: teaching the recall pipsTeach a gundog puppy to come back on a series of short whistle pips, starting in the garden with high value rewards.Recall and whistle · Puppy · 8 min
• Stop whistle training at distanceTake a reliable stop whistle from close range out to open ground, the next step once lawn work is solid.Recall and whistle · Intermediate · 12 min
• Delivery to hand: first steps for a gundog puppyThe earliest stage of delivery to hand, teaching a puppy to happily carry and hold a light dummy or toy.Delivery to hand · Puppy · 8 min
• Delivery to hand: sit and presentBuild a clean, close sit and present as the standard way a gundog finishes every retrieve.Delivery to hand · Novice · 10 min
• Delivery to hand with distractionsProof a reliable delivery to hand against real world distractions before entering a working test.Delivery to hand · Intermediate · 12 min
• How to teach a single marked retrieveThe building block exercise for marking: watching a dummy fall and going straight to the spot.Marking · Novice · 10 min
• Marking retrieves with two throwersAdd a second thrower to test whether a gundog can mark and remember more than one fall at once.Marking · Intermediate · 12 min
• Marking retrieves in coverTest a dog's marking ability once the dummy disappears into longer grass or light cover rather than open ground.Marking · Advanced · 15 min
• Memory 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
• Memory retrieves: multiple marksAsk a gundog to hold two remembered falls in mind and collect them in a sensible order.Memory retrieves · Intermediate · 12 min
• Introducing left and right castsThe first steps of directional handling, teaching a gundog to take a left or right cast on command.Blinds and handling · Intermediate · 12 min
• Blind retrieve handling basicsIntroduce a gundog to collecting a dummy it never saw fall, guided purely by whistle and hand signals.Blinds and handling · Advanced · 15 min
• Teaching the back castAdd the back cast to a dog's handling vocabulary, sending it directly away from the handler on command.Blinds and handling · Advanced · 15 min
• How 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
• Quartering into the windRefine a spaniel or HPR's ground pattern to make proper use of the wind, a key skill for efficient field work.Quartering · Intermediate · 12 min
• Hunt, point, retrieve basics for a young HPRAn introduction to the three part role of an HPR, encouraging natural pointing without pressure on a young dog.Quartering · Novice · 12 min
• Introducing a gundog to waterA gentle, confidence first introduction to water, the foundation for all future water retrieves.Water work · Puppy · 10 min
• Water retrieve basicsA dog's first proper retrieves from water, building on confident swimming with a simple floating dummy.Water work · Novice · 12 min
• Heelwork on lead: the basicsTeach a gundog puppy to walk calmly and closely at heel on lead, the foundation for off lead heelwork later.Heelwork · Puppy · 8 min
• Heelwork off leadTake reliable on lead heelwork and prove it off lead, ready for the peg or a working test line up.Heelwork · Advanced · 12 min