Training sessions are held near me just outside Henley-on-Thames. The initial consultation lesson and first couple of bootcamp days will be in a low distraction environment to lay foundations, then on the last 2 days we'll head off to more challenging environments tailored to your dog's needs to tackle real situations and distractions - like woods, country walks, livestock, busy parks.

E-collars are used to provide communication with your dog when they are off lead. The feeling of the stimulation acts as added pressure to respond to a command, such as recall, which can aid in teaching your dog to follow commands even when under distraction. Think of it like this - if you were busy dancing in a loud nightclub, you might struggle to hear your friend calling your name. But if they were to tap you on the shoulder at the same time you're more likely to respond as you can physically feel them. Through low-level conditioning, we teach your dog how to respond when they feel the stimulation so they know exactly what it means.

In my experience, training in an intensive format like this yields better results in the long run than doing lessons every couple of weeks over a long period, where you have weeks in between with next to no guidance, life gets in the way and you end up quietly quitting. The use of e-collar conditioning can speed up the process of getting a dog reliably off lead by acting as an invisible long line, but all dogs need a basic level of training to be able to benefit from and understand the conditioning - including motivation to work for a reward and a good understanding of recall already, which is what we cover in the pre-bootcamp work.

No. A modern, high quality e-collar is nothing like the “shock collar” you’re probably imagining. A proper e-collar uses the same technology as a TENs machine (a device used in physiotherapy to stimulate nerve endings or muscles) to provide stimulation with 100 levels to allow you to fine tune it to your dog and use the lowest effective level. Most dogs are conditioned on a level under 10.There’s a fair amount of scaremongering around e-collars online as a result of people either seeing them being used incorrectly or simply not understanding the tool and making assumptions. But, when using a quality, modern e-collar and following a thorough, low level conditioning process there is absolutely nothing cruel about it, your dog will not be scared of you or the collar.

With proper training your dog’s recall should be highly reliable with or without an e-collar. Once you’ve taught the behaviour, worked around distractions and gone through the conditioning process you are not going to need to press a button to be able to recall your dog every time, it is there purely as a seat belt just in case that rabbit looks too enticing one day - remember, dogs are opportunistic predators, not robots.

They're not right or necessary for every single dog, which is why we have an in-person consultation lesson first to make sure it's the right option for you and your dog. However, they are an incredible tool for allowing highly prey and environment-driven dogs (like many spaniel are) to be safely off lead - so they can get the fulfilment and exercise they need while you have peace of mind that they'll come when you call.

This bootcamp has been designed specifically from working with hundreds of spaniels with prey drive. We take elements from working gundog training and pet training to create a unique approach that works for high drive spaniels in pet homes. Unlike standard dog training where you pay for an hour or two of lessons or classes and hope for the best, this intensive bootcamp focuses on teaching both you and your dog the skills you need. We're so confident that your spaniel will be reliably off lead by the end that we even offer a money-back guarantee.

Bootcamps run Thurs to Sun or Fri to Mon, initial consultation lessons are available Thurs, Fri, Sat or Mon.