How do I get involved in regular (say, weekly) gundog training? I live in York and I've looked in various place for info but no luck so far so I'm trying here.

Very few gundog training clubs and societies do weekly training, most of us are too busy to manage more than once a month. I take a class at one society, also sometimes at another plus training my own dog and doing a bit of work on the shoot. Add to that the occasional working test and you can see how short time gets. Actually, most training is practising what you were doing at the last training session. At the end of class I try to tell people what I want them to work on during the next month. In your area you have "Yorkshire Gundog Club", Yorkshire Retriever Field Trial Society and Yorkshire Sporting Spaniel Club. Depending of course what your dog is.

Best wishes, John

What breed of dog do you have?

Hi thanks for the replies - I have a GSP

Hi Matilda, I know that the GSP club (Yorkshire group) hold Gundog training once a month at Oakenshaw (Crofton) or Snaith.  This maybe too far or not frequent enough for you?  I have attended and they are good, they split the group according to ability so puppies tend to get their own group.  Contact is on the gsp website

Hi Matilda1 - I'm also in York (didn't realise there were any other Yorkies on Champdogs!).  If you email me I can send you some details I picked up at Selby Game Fair. 

How did the Game Fair go Rosemarie?  Did you spend loads of money?!

For those not involved in gundogs, a game fair is an ideal way to meet people and ask all the questions you need answers to.

Hi Jacky.  Bought some rabbit skins to cover the dummies, a new lead and found out about some gundog training classes locally.  But the stalls weren't that great - lots of tacky stuff that didn't seem to have much to do with the countryside at all!  Still, there were some lovely dogs there, and the gundog training class seems to be a good find, hoping to get there in the next few weeks.

What a shame.  You need to go to the CLA, you can spend 3 days there and still not see half of all there is to see!  It takes you a whole year to save enough money to spend though!

I also went to the Selby Game fair and got the same impression.  Suppose I was spoilt by going to the CLA fair at Harewood last year!  I hear the Broughton Hall Game fair at skipton is supposed to be good?

I did manage to pick up a couple of pheasant feeders though - as far as rabbit skins go, I could sell them myself if I had the stomach to skin them! We have so many rabbits on our land.

I went to Selby a couple of years ago and wasn't overly impressed.

The one near Skipton is quite a good one to go to.   I used to live not far from it so it was a local one.  I would say worth going but expect a traffic jam.

Helen

my friend holds one in Beverley, can find out when there are for you if you like.

i went to selby very dissapointed dont think i will go next time, would highly recommend CLa or Midlands well worth it, good stands for gundogs, and some excellent people to talk to

Clare