Acer Gundog Training

Acer Gundog Training Online & In-Person Gundog Training for family pets & working gundogs 👉Herts & Cambs Our clients tell us that they want to live harmoniously with their gundog.

Gundog Training at Acer is for owners of pet gundog breeds such as Labradors, Spaniels & Pointer/Vizslas living in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. They want to enjoy going out for walks without feeling stressed. They certainly don’t want to have their arm yanked out of its socket and to suffer the frustration of seeing their dog disappear over the horizon and completely ignore them

every chance it gets. Gundogs are bred to work in the field and not to lie asleep on the sofa all day, waiting for their owner to return from a day at work. They like to run, to hunt, chase and retrieve things. Generations of selective breeding have gone into making these behaviours part of your dog’s natural instinct. Acer Gundog Training helps the pet gundog owner harness all of their dog’s drive and energy in a positive way. We can help you develop a harmonious relationship with each other based on co-operation and fun. Whether you have a new puppy, an exuberant teenager, or a mature adult dog, we have training to suit your needs.

- What is gundog training? Gundogs are now the most popular pet dogs in the developed world. Acer Gundog Training will help you to harness your gundog’s desires to hunt and retrieve and channel them into activities that use their natural instincts. At Acer Gundog Training, our style of training is aimed at ensuring your gundog’s urges and passions are controlled and exploited in the best way possible.

- Can I bring my pet dog to gundog training? The vast majority of working gundogs in the UK today, are first and foremost, pets. Most gundog owners do not work their dogs every single day, even in the shooting season. Most gundogs live indoors and spend their evenings snoozing on a rug in front of the fire. Many of the owners that come to us for dog training have no interest in taking their dog on a day’s shooting, their primary interest is in having fun teaching their dog good manners and building a lasting bond with their companion.

- Where are training sessions held? Most dog owners train their dog to sit and come when called within the confines of their home, or maybe at a class in the local church hall. The trouble is, these environments won’t equip you to deal with all the tempting distractions that your dog will face when you are out and about together in the countryside. Our training sessions take place outdoors in various countryside locations in Herts and Cambridge. We choose this environment because it is ultimately where you want to enjoy spending time with your canine friend and not to have to worry about unruly behaviour. We offer training in the form of individual sessions and group classes.

- We only use Positive Reinforcement (Reward-Based) training methods

Some of the traditional methods used in training working dogs are based around punishment and have now been shown to cause behavioural problems such as aggression further down the line. We believe in using positive reinforcement training methods to motivate and build the strongest bond between owner and dog. By applying rewards which are pleasurable to your dog, there is a very good chance that he will be encouraged to repeat a desired behaviour again and again in the future. To find our more, head over to our website at: www.acerdogs.com

29/07/2026

Dog training strategies most people skip 👇

Here they are again:

1. Name it when you love it.

2. Train for the environment before you train in the environment.

3. Sometimes it can feel like it's two steps forward and one step backwards.

And if you'd like more dog training strategies like these, join my free Bark to Basics course.

Comment the word GUNDOG and I'll send you the link to enrol.

Tired of being ignored on walks? Join us this August or September👇
28/07/2026

Tired of being ignored on walks? Join us this August or September👇

25/07/2026

👀 What your dog is looking at is generally what they’re thinking about.

Whether it’s the dog across the field, the area of ground they’re frantically sniffing, or the bird that just flew past - in fact, wherever they’re looking that isn’t you, that’s where their mind is too.

So, whilst my dogs are young, I teach them that to get access to simple things they value like food, like a door opening hold them, like freedom off the lead, I wait for eye contact first. It’s such a small habit, but it teaches them to check in whenever they want something, rather than just taking it.

Now, the exception to this rule is for marked retrieves where I teach my dogs to keep their eyes on where the dummy landed, but for early training where it’s important to build focus and a connection with your dog, this simple process is great.

Fancy giving this a go?

I’ve built this concept and a bunch of others into a 5 module taster course called ‘Bark to Basics’. If you comment the word ‘GUNDOG’ I’ll send it over for FREE.

Our Beginner Gundog Course is a 6-week, small-group outdoor course for all family pet gundog breeds age over 4 months.We...
23/07/2026

Our Beginner Gundog Course is a 6-week, small-group outdoor course for all family pet gundog breeds age over 4 months.

We'll show you how to build real control and good manners in your dog, so you end up with a well-behaved companion you love having as part of the family.

We've got courses coming up in August and September at both of our locations in Cambridgeshire.

For more details, comment the word CAMBRIDGE or head straight to our website: www.acerdogs.com

Our Gundog Puppy Course is a 6-week, small-group outdoor course for pet gundog breed puppies aged under 6 months.We'll s...
23/07/2026

Our Gundog Puppy Course is a 6-week, small-group outdoor course for pet gundog breed puppies aged under 6 months.

We'll show you how to lay the right foundations in your puppy's first months, so you end up with a happy, well-behaved dog you love having as part of the family.

As a result of our first August course selling out we’ve added another, and for good measure, one in September too!

For more details, comment the word PUPPY or head straight to our website: www.acerdogs.com

22/07/2026

Dogs don’t generalise their learning very well. Just because your dog can perform a behaviour at home, in the garden or somewhere familiar doesn’t mean they can perform the same behaviour everywhere else.

A dog that normally responds to a recall may struggle when they pick up on a scent or another dog appears. A dog that listens in the house may be far more interested in sniffing the ground once you step outside.

That is why training needs to be practised in different environments, around different distractions and at gradually increasing levels of difficulty. This process is known as ‘Proofing’. This is what helps them generalise the skills you’ve taught them.

People often describe this by saying, “He knows it, but only does it when he feels like it,” “She’ll stay until something exciting happens,” or “His lead walking is lovely until we reach the woods.”

Your dog may understand the behaviour in familiar environments, but that doesn’t mean they’re choosing to ignore their training when things become harder. It usually means the behaviour hasn’t been sufficiently proofed. Their training is not yet complete.

Real-world training is about more than teaching a behaviour. It’s about teaching your dog to perform it reliably wherever and whenever you need it.

If you’d like a step-by-step approach to teaching real-world skills with your gundog, join my free Bark to Basics course, which contains five easy-to-follow video lessons to get you started. Type the word ‘GUNDOG’ In the comments and I’ll send you the link to enrol.

5 Signs You’re Doing Just Fine As A Gundog Owner
21/07/2026

5 Signs You’re Doing Just Fine As A Gundog Owner

18/07/2026

A Reliable Retrieve Starts Here 👇

So here’s the thing, a retrieve isn’t just one behaviour.

It’s a behaviour chain: a series of individual behaviours linked together to form a sequence.

One weak link 🔗 can break the whole retrieve.

Marking →Running out → Picking up → Returning → Delivering

Find the weak link, strip it back, and rebuild it one step at a time.

And if you’d like more retrieving tips, my Bark-to-Basics course has a module that covers common retrieving problems.

If you comment the word Gundog, I’ll send you the link to join for free.

Save this for the next time your gundog’s instincts start looking like problem behaviours.I work with a lot of dog owner...
06/07/2026

Save this for the next time your gundog’s instincts start looking like problem behaviours.

I work with a lot of dog owners who get their first gundog and immediately try to stop the very behaviours their dog was bred to be really good at.

They can feel like “problem behaviours” in everyday life, but they’re often perfectly normal instincts showing up without an outlet.

Reframed and given a job elsewhere, the behaviour doesn’t always need suppressing.

That’s what our training at Acer is built around - giving pet gundogs a job for the instincts they already have.

02/07/2026

By the end you’ll trust your dog’s decision to remain steady.

Steadiness isn’t about holding your dog back. It’s about teaching them to make the right decision when it matters most.

When your dog is closer to the retrieve than you are, they’re always going to win the race of who can run fastest. You can’t rely on the lead or your speed. You have to rely on the choices they’ve learned to make under pressure.

That’s why I build steadiness progressively.

You do need a basic sit behaviour to start. But once you’ve got that reliably installed, you simply add increasing levels of distraction, remembering to go back and reward your dog regularly for making the decision to remain seated.

My personal preference is not to give dogs the odd cheeky retrieve as a reward at this stage because that starts to bake in too much anticipation.

When you’re doing this with your dog, think about every incremental step you add. Be sure that by adding it you are setting your dog up for success. That way you are building confidence and self-control rather than the need for restraint.

A truly steady dog isn’t one that’s physically prevented from moving. It’s one that chooses not to.

And if you’d like more ideas like this, comment the word GUNDOG and I’ll send you the link to join my free Bark to Basics course.

Address

Steeple Morden
Royston
SG80PD

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441223901340

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