Hi all
Have not been on here for a while and I have been reading with interest the mails on training. Can i ask why you send dogs away to be trained I would have thought half the fun would have been training the dog yourself or is this common practice?

Just wondering

Luv
Jane

I've never heard of this but surely its more important to train the owner I've always thought that we should have a dog licence (like a driving licence) and to get that- a lot of expensive lessons & since everything is getting smaller - dog licence displayed on their collar and then Doggy Police!!

Hi Jane
I think the threads you've been looking at are for gun dog training not everyday obedience training
hth
Liz :)

Hi Jane,
You're quite right, people who send their dogs away for training are missing the most important part - how to work with their own dog!! Even "trained gundogs" will often only work for their trainer, and not for their owner. IMHO, if you can't be bothered to take the time to train your own dog (with professional help if needed) then don't get the dog!!

Not everyone has the time or facilities which are required for training a gundog. When you have a young dog, it is a big time commitment. Plus, we all need a little professional help when we're starting out.

I trained one dog myself and we bought the other as a complete package from a professional trainer. Having had the trials and tribulations of training a wilful spaniel :D I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to send their dog away to a professional for some "polishing".

9th & The Professional Trainer Defeating Spaniel

As 9th says, training a working gundog is not the same thing as training a pet dog. Not everyone has suitably ground for training. It might be ok to do some training in the local park but people have no idea of your needs. I've put dummies out only for them to be picked up by some nice person before I’ve walked back to my dog! People just do not associate a dummy with someone three hundred yards away! A friend using a starting pistol to get his dog use to gunfire found himself confronted by the Armed Response Squad!

I am lucky in that I have something like a dozen different training grounds I can use, some private some public but not to heavily frequent by others. We need fields, woods, small and large expanses of water. We need wildlife to get our dogs use to working to the exclusion of everything else. We need fences to jump, cover to hunt up. We need time. Lots of time every day, rain or shine and if we have all that we need the knowledge to be able to put all that to use and a dog with the brain to be able to absorb the training!

Regards, John

a dog with the brain to be able to absorb the training!

Now I see where I'm going wrong :D

Hi thanks for your replies, I would have thought gun dog training is not very different from trials training, obedience or agility and I know of nobody that sends their dog away to be trained.
I have a 16month dog that is currently working A and B yes we need help but we go together and learn together. He is my companian and I would not send him away to any "professional" trainer to train no matter how good I do not like going on holiday cause I have to be apart from my dogs let alone send them away to be "trained". In my humble opinion if I sent my dog away and then entered anything it would mean nothing I had not done that work and lets face it that is the point, the man in the street can take a fully trained dog and take it to a trial but to have trained it yourself takes dedication.
before I get shot down in flames it is only my opinion and I can say again I would never send my obedience dogs away to be trained as I never sent my horses away to be broken in, yes I needed help but the bond we had i was not prepared to have broken.

cheers
Jane

You asked for the reasons, I have given them to you. Years ago I worked obedience and can assure you it is a totally different ball game. You trained your dog and worked obedience for your amusment. These people shoot for their amusment and the dog is there to assist them. To them the training is not the end but only a means to an end.

I know plenty of people who send their dogs away for periods either for basic or refresher training. I personally wouldn't chastise people who want to do the best for their dog training wise and who don't have the time, facilities, patience or talent to do it themselves. :)

I know it's diffrent for me as Molly is my rescued BC. But I don't think I could send her away for training? But again its each to your own as long as you love your dog? ;) Julieann

We bought Carrie from a professional trainer and she and Al couldn't be more in love, she is totally devoted to him. All together now, Awwwww ;)