How to become a gundog training instructor
If you’re considering a career in gundog training, you might be wondering where to start.
There is currently no legislation around the dog training profession in the UK.
Someone who has never owned a dog before can buy a domain, publish a website, set up social media channels, and start offering one-to-one training sessions and group classes in their back garden if they want to.
However, just because this is legally possible doesn’t mean it should be your approach.
If you are serious about a career in gundog training, you should be willing to put in the work. Before launching your business, be prepared to learn as much about science and theory as possible while also gaining hands-on training experience with dogs and humans.
Traditionally, professional gundog trainers have been deemed qualified based on how effectively they worked their dogs in the field, their decades of experience, and the number of working tests and field trials they have won.
Owners looking for advice on what to do with their dogs would seek out trainers who were well-known by fellow hunting and shooting folk and had a reputation for always having cracking dogs in their kennels.
While this approach is still the norm for many, there are also an enormous number of gundog owners who do not have connections in the field sports world, who don’t know what field trials are, and who are simply looking for a trainer who understands their breed and something fun and productive to do with their dog.
Changes in how society approaches dog training also mean that more people seek out gundog trainers who only use modern, science-backed training methods. They want to work with trainers who use force-free, positive reinforcement techniques that don’t require punishment, coercion, or harsh handling.
This means that while experience and the ability to train gundogs to an excellent working standard are still key, a lot more goes into starting a career in gundog training.
In this article, we will examine the difference between working with dogs and humans, how to gain that much-needed experience and knowledge, and what it’s like to become an accredited gundog training instructor with the Gundog Trainers Academy.
Do you want to be a professional gundog trainer or a professional gundog training instructor?
There is a significant difference between becoming a professional gundog trainer and a professional gundog training instructor.
If you are looking to head down a new gundog-shaped career path, one of the first things you will need to consider is: do you want to train gundogs or their humans?
If you want to be a professional gundog trainer who only trains dogs, you might want to focus on generating income through media appearances, paid influencer partnerships, and sponsorship deals with brands from gundog equipment suppliers, pet food manufacturers, and clothing companies.
You might also be able to breed responsibly from your proven, award-winning, and health-tested dogs, offering puppies and part- and fully-trained dogs for sale. You can also provide residential training services for those who have limited time.
In these scenarios, you will want to focus more on your dogs to gain recognition in the sport. As well as competing in working tests and field trials, you may also look to achieve advanced level certificates, like the Kennel Club Working Gundog Certificate on Game.
However, when we talk about becoming a gundog professional, most want to embark on the path of a professional gundog training instructor who teaches gundog owners how to train their dogs.
You may still want to explore responsible breeding, residential training and sponsorship deals. But your main day-to-day work will involve one-to-one training sessions, group classes and workshops, and even assessment days.
While it is important to demonstrate your gundog training prowess, your main job in this capacity involves working with the human part of the equation.
This requires a different skill set, and to be successful, it is just as vital to learn how to teach people with different learning styles, how to manage different personalities, and the other sometimes dull but practical and necessary aspects of running a public-facing business, such as health and safety and risk assessments.
What we mean by qualified gundog instructors
There is a long held view in parts of the gundog world that someone can only be taken seriously as a professional trainer if they have reached the highest levels of competition, often measured by field trial results.
While we have huge respect for people who choose to pursue that path, it is not the only valid route into becoming a professional gundog training instructor.
Nor is it a realistic or necessary benchmark for supporting the many gundog owners who simply want well-trained dogs they can enjoy living and working with.
If you want to learn tennis, you do not expect your coach to have won Wimbledon, and in most sports the people competing at the very highest levels are not the people teaching beginners at a local club, because the skills needed to perform at the top end of competition are not the same as the skills needed by those who are just starting out or who simply want to do things well for their own enjoyment.
Most professional gundog training instructors (including those accredited with the Gundog Trainers Academy) do not advertise themselves as competition trainers. They are not setting out to replace the role of specialist trial trainers who support people aiming for high level competition.
The majority of our accredited instructors do work their dogs on shoots, and some compete at a novice level. But more importantly for the clients they work with, all have broad, practical experience across all gundog breeds and roles.
Our role within the gundog training world is to help handlers from all walks of life build clear, solid basics that allow people to progress to working on a shoot, or simply having a reliable, happy pet gundog at home. And if a gundog owner does decide they want to move into trials or higher level competition, our instructors are all able to support that transition by referring handlers on to trainers who specialise in areas they don’t.
It is also important to recognise who most gundog owners actually are. The Royal Kennel Club registers more gundogs than any other breed group each year. The reality is that most of those dogs live as family pets, with owners who have no interest in shooting or trialling, and who simply want to meet their dog’s needs properly and enjoy training and working with them in ways that fit their lives.
There is often a gap between parts of the traditional gundog world and the wider pet dog world, and that gap does not help the dogs. We often support pet dog trainers who want to understand gundog work properly to better help their clients who might just be looking for general obedience.
As well as working with fieldsport enthusiasts, our accredited gundog training instructors also welcome newcomers into the world of gundogs in a way that feels safe, giving pet gundog owners a place to learn about breed-specific needs and training without being judged for lack of prior knowledge or lack of interest in working their dog.
Finally, when it comes to being labelled as qualified we often see comments about dogs not being trained on paper, and that trainers should only be judged on what they can do in the field.
We agree that dogs are trained through hands-on work, and practical skill is central to what we teach and assess. But good practical work sits on top of good understanding.
The process to become an accredited gundog training instructor with the Gundog Trainers Academy includes practical assessments alongside written work, because the written elements allow us to check that instructors have a good understanding of learning theory, behaviour fitness, welfare, safety, ethics and how to coach people, not just how to handle dogs.
No practical skill can be developed exclusively on paper, but you still sit a theory test to drive a car. The written work does not replace practical experience. It supports it, and it helps ensure that the people teaching others are making informed, responsible decisions in the field.
How to become an accredited gundog training instructor with the Gundog Trainers Academy?
Before you embark on your career as a professional gundog training instructor, you must know how to train a gundog.
This might seem like a given, especially if you have been drawn down this path because you own a working, or pet, gundog and want to transform your hobby into a job.
Nevertheless, we are seeing an increasing number of dog trainers with a high number of clients with gundog breeds who want to specialise in this area of training but need more experience and knowledge of field sports.
And that is okay - we all have to start somewhere! This is why, to qualify for our teacher’s course, all students must first complete our handler’s course.
The GTA Handler’s Course
The handler’s course is open to anyone looking to improve their gundog training and handling skills, not just those who want to make it their career.
The handler's course, divided into four three-day modules over a year, is for gundog handlers of all abilities, with any breed of gundog, looking to improve their training skills and develop their understanding of learning theory.
The course covers the basics, with the content of each module being tailored to those attending the course as every student comes with a different skill set, level of experience, and prior knowledge.
Generally, module one focuses on the theory, and will help you understand how gundogs learn and how we can use clicker training to effectively communicate with our dogs and teach them the skills they need. There will still be plenty of practical handling too. Modules Two and Three may contain some theory, but will be focused on the practical.
In module four, there will also be the opportunity to attend a shoot experience day at the Kemble's Field shoot. You will be able to participate in beating and/or picking up with your gundog, depending on their breed and your preference. You will also learn about shooting etiquette and how to prepare game for the table.
Real-life gundog training experience and understanding of the world of field sports are invaluable to all professional trainers. Even if your clientele are exclusively pet gundog owners, it is vital you understand what our gundogs were bred for, their roles on a shoot, and the ethics surrounding the management of game.
The GTA Teacher’s Course
While experience is the all-important foundation on which you’ll build your business, it does not guarantee that you will be good at teaching your gundog handling skills to someone else.
Working with the human end of the lead is, therefore, the focus of our Teacher’s Course. This course is split into four four-day modules spread over the year.
There is plenty of practical work, but it also includes classroom-based learning to cover more in depth theory as well as looking at people’s different styles of learning, and other important aspects of running a training business like health and safety and risk assessments.
Those on the Teacher’s Course can eventually become accredited gundog training instructors with the Gundog Trainers Academy. To achieve this, students need to complete various assignments that demonstrate their ability to work with gundog owners and dogs.
Currently we are an ABTC (Animal Behaviour Training Council) accredited assessing organisation which means that an independent third party moderates our assessments to ensure that all of our accredited gundog training instructors meet the industry-agreed criteria for welfare and ethics, teaching and training dogs and people, professional conduct, and underpinning knowledge.
Those taking and passing the Teacher’s Course and full assessment process also graduate as ABTC registered Animal Training Instructors. This is a Level 4 qualification, equivalent to the first year of a university Bachelor’s degree or a Higher National Certificate (HNC).
To date, we remain the only gundog training organisation in the UK to be accredited by the ABTC.
The GTA Accredited Instructors
After completing the GTA Teacher’s Course, submitting their assignments and passing the theory and practical tests, students will be awarded their accreditation on dummies.
Our accredited instructors can use the suffix GTA-Ad and will be listed on our website database, provided they continue to adhere to our code of practice and complete the annual continuous professional development requirements.
GTA-Ad instructors can also progress further to become accredited on game. To achieve this, they need to attend various live game training days, both as a handler with their dog and as a teacher.
To ensure they can help owners with all breeds, they are asked to teach both beating and picking up dogs on the shoot training days to demonstrate their ability to coach clients looking to work gundogs in both scenarios.
Finally, they need to deliver a presentation on shooting to show they understand field sports. They should also have proof that they have coached clients on health and safety, the equipment needed, etiquette, and what to expect on a shoot day.
After becoming accredited on game, instructors will be fully accredited with the Gundog Trainers Academy and can then use the suffix GTA.
If you would like to become an accredited gundog training instructor with the Gundog Trainers Academy, our Handler’s Courses are now open for enrollment. For more information, click here.