HI
Can anyone reccommend somewhere in the surrey area for gun dog training with a view to field trials. Have a labrador and a golden retriever. Have heard of places around Bisley and woking but cannot find contact numbers.
Any info would be appreciated
Many thanks

Have you looked on the Gundog Club website?  I can ask for you, and see if I can find any recommended trainers rather than just pick a name from a list.  Have you done any gundog stuff before? 

Try contacting Di Stevens of Wylanbriar Labs www.wylanbriar.com - if she is too far away from you, she will definately be able to recommend someone in that area... :)

http://www.riverswaygundogs.co.uk/
Or make contact with Graham on this site.

If you put gundog training in, I put Sussex as this is where I am and lots came up..There is one towards Chichester too. There is another that trains in the Ashdown Forest..

Again need to know where you are in Surrey for us to be of help to you

A couple of recommendations for you from people I know down that way, I also know Di at Wylanbriar, and she is lovely and very helpful if you were to contact her. 

http://www.guildford-gundog-club.co.uk/

http://www.segundogs.co.uk/

There's also Gilly Nichols, not sure if I'm allowed to post her website as she's also a breeder, but her contact number is 01435 862146, I don't know her personally but she has some fabulous dogs and I've only heard positive things about her training methods.  And a couple I've only briefly heard of, but again, all positive stuff, John & Liz Barnes 01252 702493. 

Hope that helps.  Apols if I've posted the same info as anyone else, I can't remember who else others have said now. 

There is a boarding kennel run by a dog trainer called Anthony Williams just outside Billingshurst Sussex that did gundog classes when I took my dog there for hydro.

Thanks will try

Will try all of these
Thanks everso

thanks

Thanks

OK Thanks
Am totally new to gundog training.
Have ten year lab. Very fit and active. Plus 7 month retriever.

Good luck finding a trainer, hopefully there will be one out of the contacts listed.  Just to add, field trials require a very high level of training, so it may take you a year or three to get where you want, but it's a nice aspiration to have.  Working tests are a much easier starting point I believe, and are what I would like to do with my bitch if/when I get the chance.  Unfortunately, running your own business means you don't get much spare time. 

The other thing to think about is contacting your local gundog club, and offering to help out with working tests and/or field trials, as they are always crying out for volunteers, and it's a good way to get to know people and what goes on etc.  :)

OK
Thanks am new to this so thanks for advice will do

If you go on to the KC website and look under activities you will find lots of information on Field Trials and Gundog  Working Tests.

It might be an idea to decide what level you wish to work at, or even if you want to compete at all and would rather take part in beating and picking up at your local shoot? 

There is a very big difference from taking part in GWT (held mostly during the summer out of the shooting season with no upper limit on entries with classes from puppy, graduate, novice and open) to competing in Field Trials where there is (if I remember correctly) a finite number of 12? which can compete.  The classes vary and wins in two open stakes make the dog up to a FT Ch.  However there are a few things to consider:

GWT do not involve live game, shooting etc
Field Trials do involve the killing of birds
You can be disqualified from the latter if your dog is noisy or out of control
You have to stay for the whole day in the latter even if you were the first dog to run and have not succeeded!
If there are too many entries a ballot occurs, it is often advantageous to belong to every single relevant gundog club in the country to compete.

It is not cheap if you include training, entries, travelling etc.

I am not trying to put you off but sometimes you have to know all the facts before deciding whether you really want to do something or not.

If you want to see what working a dog on a shoot is like you could do no better than join NOBS which is a great organisation created for complete beginners and they do courses and provide opportunities to beat etc.

Good luck.

Ps it is essential if you wish to compete in either GWT or FT that your dog is a) a gundog and b) is registered on the KC breed register.

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/fieldtrials
http://www.nobs.org.uk/html/forum.asp

Gilly Nickols I don't know her personally but she has some fabulous dogs and I've only heard positive things about her training methods.

I do know here personally & she's lovely (so are her dogs).  She's been incredibly helpful to me over the past 5 years & my husband trains with her from time to time.  She's more East Sussex than Surrey though.

I've just flicked through my Sky planner & seen something I recorded accidentally on purpose. It's a program called "Howard Kirby - Gun Dog Guy" on the Horse & Country channel. It's bound to be repeated!