How to Prepare Your Gundog for the Shooting Season

The shooting season has a habit of coming around quickly.

Your dog may have finished last season working brilliantly, but after several months away from the shooting field, it isn't always as simple as picking up the whistle and carrying on where you left off.

Whether you have a Labrador, Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel or another working gundog breed, a little preparation before the season begins can make a huge difference.

At Kugae Gundogs, we believe the weeks leading up to the season should be about refreshing the basics, building fitness and gradually putting your dog back into realistic working situations.

Start With the Basics

Before worrying about complicated retrieves or advanced handling, go back to the foundations.

Ask yourself:

Is my dog walking nicely to heel?
Is the recall reliable?
Is my dog responsive to the whistle?
Will they sit and remain steady when something exciting is happening?
Are they focused on me when other dogs are around?

These may sound like simple things, but they are the foundations of almost everything you'll ask your dog to do during a day's shooting.

There's little point having a dog capable of a fantastic retrieve at 100 yards if you can't keep it under control when a bird gets up in front of you.

Spend some time getting those basics sharp again before progressing.

Get Your Dog Fit for Work

Fitness is easily overlooked.

A dog that has had a relatively quiet summer shouldn't suddenly be expected to spend a full day beating, picking-up or working heavy cover.

Start increasing exercise gradually.

Walking, controlled free running, swimming and training sessions across different terrain can all help build fitness without suddenly putting too much strain on your dog.

Think about the type of work your dog will actually be doing.

A spaniel hunting through thick cover will need a different level of fitness to a dog that spends much of the day sitting at a peg.

Whatever their job, build fitness steadily rather than trying to achieve it in the final week before the season starts.

Refresh Your Whistle Commands

Now is a good time to sharpen up your whistle work.

Your recall, stop whistle and directional commands should be clear and consistent.

Don't assume that because your dog understood them perfectly six months ago, they'll immediately be just as sharp now.

Start somewhere relatively straightforward and gradually introduce more distractions.

If your dog isn't responding reliably without much happening around them, they're unlikely to suddenly improve when there are birds, guns, dogs and people everywhere.

Work on Steadiness

One of the biggest differences between training at home and being on a shoot is the amount of excitement.

There are other dogs, people moving around, shots being fired and birds appearing unexpectedly.

That's why steadiness needs to be practised before the season.

Work on your dog remaining calm while other dogs retrieve. Introduce distractions and movement while asking your dog to remain sitting.

You can gradually make these exercises more challenging as the dog's confidence and control improve.

The aim isn't to catch your dog out. It's to teach them that even when exciting things are happening, they still need to listen to you.

Don't Forget Delivery

It's worth spending some time refreshing retrieving and delivery before the season begins.

A dog running out enthusiastically for a retrieve is only half the job.

You want them returning directly and delivering properly rather than dropping the retrieve at your feet, running around with it or becoming distracted on the way back.

Use dummies and different retrieving situations to remind your dog exactly what you expect.

Don't rush to make every retrieve difficult. A few simple, successful retrieves with a good delivery are often far more useful.

Train in Different Environments

This is something we believe strongly in at Kugae Gundogs.

A dog can look fantastic in the garden or on the same training field every week. The real test is whether that training still works somewhere completely different.

Take your training into different environments.

Work on stubble fields, woodland, hedgerows, longer grass and around water where appropriate.

Different smells, terrain and distractions all help prepare your dog for what they'll encounter during the season.

This is particularly important for younger dogs approaching their first shooting season.

They need to learn that the rules don't change simply because the environment has.

Introduce Realistic Distractions

As the season gets closer, your training can become more realistic.

That might mean working alongside other dogs, introducing shot carefully, practising steadiness while another dog retrieves or asking your dog to hunt while remaining under control.

You don't need to recreate an entire shoot day.

Instead, introduce individual elements gradually so your dog has an opportunity to understand what's expected.

A shooting day can be an incredibly exciting environment for a young gundog. The more of those experiences you can introduce sensibly beforehand, the less overwhelming that first day is likely to be.

Is Your Gundog Actually Ready?

This is perhaps the most important question.

There's no shame in deciding that your dog isn't ready for the shooting field yet.

Taking a dog too soon can undo months of good training.

If your young dog is struggling with recall, steadiness or basic control, putting them into an environment full of game, shot and other dogs is unlikely to solve those problems.

Sometimes another few weeks or months of training is the best decision you can make.

There will always be another shooting day.

Don't Leave It Until the Week Before

One of the biggest mistakes is realising the first day's shooting is approaching and trying to fix everything at once.

Start preparing early.

Short, regular training sessions over several weeks are far more valuable than trying to cram everything into the final few days.

And remember, you're preparing yourself as much as the dog.

Refresh your whistle handling, think about your timing and make sure you're giving clear, consistent commands.

A well-prepared handler usually produces a much better-prepared dog.

Need Some Help Before the Season?

If you're unsure whether your dog is ready for the shooting season, we're always happy to help.

At Kugae Gundogs, we train dogs in realistic environments across our ground in the Lincolnshire Wolds, working on everything from the basic foundations through to advanced gundog work.

Whether your dog needs a little fine-tuning, help with a particular problem or more intensive training before the season, we offer assessments, one-to-one sessions, group training and residential gundog training.

The most important thing is not having the perfect dog on the first day of the season.

It's having a dog that's under control, listening to you and ready to enjoy the day alongside you.

Put the preparation in now, and you'll both get far more from the season ahead.

For advice contact us 📞 WhatsApp: 07505 014363 📧 Email: info@kugaegundogs.uk