From Puppy to Progression: Introducing the Kugae Bird Dummy Range

At Kugae Gundogs, we believe good gundog training starts with building drive, confidence and enthusiasm before adding too much pressure or control.

Retrieving should be something your puppy or young dog genuinely wants to do.

That thinking is behind our new Kugae Bird Dummy Range – three bird-shaped training dummies designed to progress with your dog from those exciting first puppy retrieves through to more established gundog training.

Why We Developed the Kugae Bird Dummy Range

Traditional straight canvas dummies will always have an important place in gundog training, but we also like to introduce our dogs to different shapes, sizes and retrieving experiences.

A working gundog won't always be asked to retrieve something perfectly straight and easy to carry.

Our bird dummies feature a distinctive bird-shaped head and body, giving the dog something different to learn to pick up, hold and carry.

Rather than introducing one size and expecting it to suit every stage of training, we've created three progressive sizes:

Puppy → Junior → Novice

This means you can start small and build up as your dog's confidence, strength and retrieving ability develop.

Kugae Puppy Bird Dummy – Start With Enthusiasm

The Kugae Puppy Bird Dummy is where the journey begins.

Small and lightweight, it has been designed specifically for puppies taking their first steps into retrieving.

At this stage, we're not looking for perfection. We want the puppy to enjoy chasing, picking up and coming back with the dummy.

Keep sessions short, exciting and pressure-free. A few enthusiastic retrieves can be far more valuable than repeating the exercise until your puppy becomes bored.

The lightweight bird shape is easy for a small mouth to pick up and carry, helping to build confidence and, most importantly, that natural desire to retrieve.

Best suited to: puppies and dogs beginning their retrieving journey.

Kugae Junior Bird Dummy – The Next Step

Once your puppy is confidently retrieving and carrying the smaller dummy, you can begin to progress onto the Kugae Junior Bird Dummy.

The Junior provides a slightly more substantial retrieve while maintaining the distinctive bird shape.

This is a great stage for starting to introduce a little more variety into training. You might gradually increase the distance of a retrieve, change the type of ground you're working on or begin placing the dummy in slightly more challenging areas.

The aim isn't simply to make everything harder. It's about gradually developing a more capable and confident retriever.

Best suited to: growing puppies and young dogs with an established interest in retrieving.

Kugae Novice Bird Dummy – Developing the Retrieve Further

The Kugae Novice Bird Dummy is the largest of the three and provides a more substantial retrieve for dogs ready to progress their training further.

As your dog's ability develops, training can start to include longer retrieves, varied terrain and more challenging exercises.

The larger bird-style design gives the dog another shape and size to become comfortable picking up and carrying, rather than becoming accustomed to retrieving the same type of dummy every time.

Best suited to: older or more experienced dogs progressing into more established retrieving work.

Why Are There Different Colours?

All three Kugae Bird Dummies are available in Orange, Green and Blue.

Colour isn't just about choosing the one you like best. It allows you to change how visible the dummy is against different backgrounds and training environments.

When you're building confidence, you may want to make a retrieve relatively easy to find. As the dog's ability develops, you can start making exercises more challenging by changing the ground, distance and visibility.

It's another simple way of adding progression to your training.

Don't Rush Your Gundog's Training

One of the biggest things we try to teach owners at Kugae is not to rush.

A young dog doesn't need to perform advanced retrieves simply because another dog of the same age is doing them.

Build the foundations first.

Create the desire to retrieve. Make it enjoyable. Let your puppy succeed. Then gradually increase the challenge as the dog is ready for it.

The three Kugae Bird Dummies have been designed around exactly that principle:

Start small. Build confidence. Progress gradually.

They're not designed as chew toys or something to leave with your dog in the kennel or around the house. They're training tools, so use them under supervision and put them away when the training session is finished.

Tried, Tested & Used at Kugae Gundogs

As with our Kugae training equipment, the Bird Dummy Range isn't simply something we've added to the shop.

The dummies are tried, tested and used by our trainers here at Kugae Gundogs as part of the way we develop our own puppies and young dogs.

We want our equipment to have a purpose and to fit into a dog's progression rather than simply creating products for the sake of it.

That's The Kugae Way – building enthusiasm first, putting the foundations in place and developing the dog step by step.

Explore the Kugae Bird Dummy Range

Choose the stage that best suits your dog's current training:

Kugae Puppy Bird Dummy – for those first exciting retrieves.

Kugae Junior Bird Dummy – for growing puppies and developing young dogs.

Kugae Novice Bird Dummy – for progressing into more established retrieving work.

Whichever stage you're at, remember that good retrieving starts with something very simple:

Make your dog want to retrieve.

You can view the full Kugae Gundogs Dummy range in our online shop. https://www.kugaegundogs.uk/collections

If you're still unsure which lead would be best for your dog, get in touch with the Kugae Gundogs team and we'll be happy to help.

📞 WhatsApp: 07505 014363 📧 Email: info@kugaegundogs.uk