The Gundog Club’s graded scheme will continue. There will be some changes to the administrative arrangements (for instructors) but, apart from these, the Gundog Club graded scheme will continue to be available as it is today and if you are planning to take tests, you may do so in the normal way.
The Gundog Club will cease many of its activities, saving a great deal of administrative time, effort and money.
The training books will no longer be sold by the Gundog Club. The Club is extremely grateful to Pippa Mattinson for donating the proceeds from the sale of these books over the years, and many people have benefited as a result. However, positive reinforcement dog training has evolved significantly since their publication, and the material reflects its time.
In the future, The Gundog Club will no longer require students to register with it in order to enter a Field Test. As the activities of the Club are reduced, it will no longer require registration fees to sustain its work.
Our accreditation was a mark of our trust in our instructors and our recommendation of them. Since the early days of the Club, many professional dog trainer accreditation bodies have emerged and established extensive frameworks for standards and qualifications. The Trustees no longer feel that our accreditation of instructors sits comfortably within the UK landscape of dog trainer accreditation.
Our instructors will still be listed on the Gundog Club’s website as individuals with expert knowledge of the Gundog Club’s graded scheme. The Club will cease to refer to instructors as accredited.
In summary, many of the activities of the Gundog Club will cease, but the graded training scheme will remain and if you are planning to take tests, you may do so in the normal way.
First steps to a basic back cast