Hi all,
I 've just got a brill black Labrador pup of 12 weeks old. He's full Ped and KC registered. I am looking for some where to join, a club for gun dogs, where i can learn to train him for shooting and maybe surries, field trial tests, then later, if poss Field Trials????
  The problem seems to be the area that I live, Sheldon, Birmingham. If anybody knows of any clubs in my area, I realy would be grateful.
   I realy hope somebody can help me,
                     yours hopefully,
                          gibbos1

Have you tried asking the KC? They list all clubs which train and work towards tests and field trials.

We used to have a really lovely member on these boards who would have been able to give you just the answer you are looking for. 

Oh, how his wealth of knowledge is missed.

You could try the BASC website under the gundog section.  http://www.basc.org.uk

0870 6066750. This is the KC contact 'phone number for information about training clubs.

If you have a look on : http://www.gundog-magazine.com/clubs.htm     you will get a list of contact details of all the gundog societies in the country.

For starters I would try : Coventry & District Gundog Society, Dove Valley Working Gundog Club, East Midland Gundog Club, United Retriever Club.

These clubs operate fairly locally to yourself, but more importantly run regular training sessions during the Summer. All of these four clubs run working tests in the summer and field trials during the shooting season.

Some societies require new members to be proposed and seconded by current members of the society, which can put some newcomers off. However, if you ask to attend a training event or working test and offer to help, you should usually be able to pick up the required signatures that way.

You are unlikely to be able to to actually train with your pup in gundog training classes until its about 6 months old. However, in the meantime I'd recommend just going along to watch some classes, as well as reading a few training manuals & watching some videos. It certainly helps if you can start off the classes with a reasonably well mannered pup, and have a bit of an idea what you are trying to achieve. If you need any recommendations of books & videos, let me know.

Hope that helps & good luck!