Hill Laura - Advanced Retriever Training

Linda Grinham

First published in 2020 by
The Crowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2020

Laura Hill 2020

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 756 9

Cover photograph: Pip Wheatcroft

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I have to thank my parents who gave me such a fulfilled childhood and start in life, which made possible all the things that I have achieved since. Their love and support for everything that I have done has been unwavering.

I am indebted to two special gundog mentors: the late Dave Probert, who was instrumental in giving me sound and practical advice from the beginning, and Guy Bennett, who helped me in later years to develop my own style and methods, and who has continued to give invaluable advice with troubleshooting. I am thankful, too, to all my colleagues and friends who have helped me at various stages. I have learnt so much over the years, as well as laughing and crying plenty along the way. And hopefully there is still more to come.

Next I must thank Karen and Colin Rodger at Bern Pet Foods, who believed in me so early on, and who have been amazing with their long-term nutritional support of my team. Using ACANA has been instrumental in ensuring that my dogs are always in peak physical condition.

A picture is worth a thousand words. I could not have managed without the generous and patient contribution of Pip Wheatcroft, who has provided so many of the photographs and diagrams to illustrate and accompany my text. Other photographers and friends in the gundog world have also kindly contributed their images, including: Gary Barrett, Caroline Bridges, Marie-Eve Buchs, Caroline Dell, Barry Dutton, Patrice Fellows, Linda Grinham, George Howard, Stephen Hunter, John Jeffrey, Vanessa King, Sharon Kitson, Greg Knight, John Lupton, Sarah Middleton, Spencer Morgan, Neil Rice, Nick Ridley, Sam Thatcher, Sarah Winter and Sue Worrall.

Above all, thank you to my wonderful husband Derek for putting up with me and my dog habit, being my sounding board and unerring support. Without him, this fascinating journey would never have even begun.

FOREWORD

Hello, this is Laura Hill. Do you have a black bitch puppy available please?

Yes.

And so the journey began. A journey I have had the great privilege of being part of, albeit from the back seat. Laura named the puppy Pru, and three years later she was Field Trial Champion Jobeshill Octavia.

I had met Laura several times, had been training with her occasionally, but didnt know her very well. I kept a litter sister to Pru and so we spent more time together. We went to the same trainers and did much of the same things, but it soon became depressingly obvious that Pru was in a different league. I assumed my dog just didnt have it! But in hindsight, I realize that I was watching the beginning of the talented trainer that Laura was to become.

Her attention to detail was second to none. She would think about and analyse everything she and Pru did together. She would log weaknesses when they occurred, and go back and work on them, explore the reasons why they were occurring, and adjust her training to overcome them. By doing this she began to form an instinctive insight into how a dog thinks.

Understanding the mental process enables her to break down the dogs schooling so that she achieves the maximum out of the partnership. The training has complete clarity to the dog so it succeeds very quickly. There are no pressures of failure or negative consequences to inhibit the dogs understanding of what is being asked of it. Again, the attention to detail is foremost in her methods: everything is broken down into easy-to-assimilate lessons, both for dog and handler. The individual elements are learned and practised and then put together, enabling the dog to have a very positive attitude to all its work. You only have to watch Laura with her own dogs to see how relaxed and happy they are.

Communication is Lauras forte, and she applies her methods not only to her canine pupils, but also to her human ones. She will gently cajole, use her great sense of humour, and in some cases be quite forthright, but she will always ensure that you and your dog learn, and go away understanding so much more than when you arrived.

Laura has been generous to us all by writing this book, sharing her knowledge, and giving us an insight into how she has achieved success. It will be an inspiration to those who want to get the best out of their relationship with their dog, and aspire to improve the effectiveness of their training.

Jane Fairclough, Jobeshill Gundogs,
December 2019

PREFACE

Rapport: A close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each others feelings or ideas and communicate well.

Oxford English Dictionary

My early working title for this book was Lab Rapport, which I felt summed up my approach to living with and training my own dogs. But my editor rightly pointed out that this title might cause confusion with distributors indeed, some might think it was about relationships in laboratories! So reluctantly, I agreed to change it. She was correct, of course, and my new title is much more appropriate, in that it simply says what it is. Furthermore it is rightly inclusive of all retriever breeds, and not just the ubiquitous Labrador.

Advanced Retriever Training uses a holistic approach that will help owners think about and enhance their bond with their retriever, improve understanding of how their dog learns, and make training more effective and polished, using techniques that work. In it, I set out to provide a philosophy on living with, and training, your dog a mindset, if you like. It is a compilation of my experience and knowledge from teaching, competing and handling. I have also brought in my learning from studying animal behaviour, psychology and communications to inform the retriever training process. The book contains supplementary information from areas outside gundog training, which provides additional insight, as well as personal anecdotes and case studies. My aim is to help you to build your understanding and enjoyment of retriever training, and help you to improve the relationship that you have with your dog.

Although my experience is primarily with Labradors, I have trained and judged every retriever breed both here in the UK and throughout Europe. This has given me additional experience of the various breeds, further insight into the distinctive ways they work, and different methods and approaches used in training them. Much of my own personal experience is through training retrievers (and handlers) specifically for competition, but this is just an extra layer of producing an excellent retriever for the field. I also enjoy picking up, beating, and, when time and funds allow, shooting locally on the farms and estates around us.