New to field trials?

If you want to own a dog capable of performing at a day’s shooting you are more likely to succeed if it comes from a working line. Some dogs which have been bred for the show scene, or simply as pets, may have lost some of their working and hunting instinct, which is vital in working gundogs. You will need to be dedicated to developing your dog as a working animal which will require a lot of training. A working gundog can also be more demanding than a pet, or a show dog. They need plenty of exercise off the lead and their minds need to be kept active by constant training and working in the field.

• You will need the following basic equipment: slip lead, whistle with lanyard and dummies/balls
• Your dog must be registered on The Kennel Club Breed Register as a pedigree gundog under any of the four sub-groups
  • Retriever
  • Spaniel
  • hunt, point and retrieve
  • Pointer and Setter
• You and your dog must be fit and healthy to be able to walk across some of the rough terrain encountered on some country shoots
• Before you decide whether you want to get involved with this discipline, you should find out as much as possible about countryside activities from a number of sources – large game and country fairs are a good source to find out more and ask advice from the people involved
• You will need to read a copy of the J Regulations. You can either download a pdf version or or buy the Field Trial (J) Regulations booklet from our online shop
• If your dog comes from working lines, the breeder should be able to advise you about how to start to develop your dog into a working gundog and introduce you to other people in your area with similar interests
• It is worth reading specialist publications which are filled with articles and tips about training your gundog and the role of the dog and owner in the countryside. Titles include The Shooting Times, Shooting Gazette and The Field. These magazines also have activity calendars which list when and where game and country fairs are being held

Play training commences

Puppy training/playing/retrieving can take place from 8 weeks to 6-8 months

Basic training

Basic training can start at 6 to 8 months and involves:

• walking on a lead (as opposed to walking to heel) 
• teaching your dog to sit and stop on command 
• stopping on the whistle 
• sitting and staying 
• recalling to whistle 
• retrieving 
• steadiness to a thrown dummy, from a sitting position and then on the move 
• quartering 
• walking to heel (once good hunting/quartering is fully established)

Advanced training

• Steadiness to flushed/moving game 
• Handling game 
• Introducing gunfire/bangs 
• Dropping to shot/marking 
• Direction handling 
• Jumping fences/walls 
• Swimming/water work 
• Laying retrieving lines/simulating running game

If you decide that this discipline is for you, you can begin the process of training. You should remember that not only must your dog be fit and healthy to do a day's work, but you need to be as well. You must be fairly robust to be able to walk across some of the rough terrain encountered on some country shoots. Breeds of gundog fall into four groups:

• Retrievers
• Spaniels 
• Pointers and Setters
• Breeds which hunt, point and retrieve (HPRs)

The training you do must bring out the traditional working abilities for each category of gundog in the shooting field. One of the first steps is to join a field trial society or gundog club who can offer a range of training opportunities. Use Find a Club to find gundog training and clubs near you or alternatively look at our list of field trial societies. Field trial societies will help you with specialist field trial training and can suggest trainers who may be willing to train you to the gun on a one-to-one basis. Training a working gundog can take many years of hard work and includes developing a good rapport with your dog to ensure they are ultimately capable of working in the field.

Field trial societies may organise members' competitions and training assessments which are designed to develop your dog's ability and help with your training techniques. These are helpful, as your dog should learn to work surrounded by other people and dogs, as it would do out in the field. Clubs may also publish newsletters and magazines, and organise a range of social events.

Joining a field trial society is also a beneficial way to in which to able to enter gundog competitions. Over 700 field trials and many gundog working tests are held every year, and they can be oversubscribed. Preference is always given to club members, so if you want to go into competition you may have to join several clubs to stand a chance of getting a run. Once you have joined a field trial society you should ask to attend as a guest at one or two trials to see the standard required of dogs working in the field, and also to try to pick up training tips from top handlers in competition.

The majority of field trials are held in the autumn and winter during the shooting season, with Pointer and Setter 'circuits' in April/May and August/September.

Plenty of regular practice is essential when preparing for field trials. There are a number of training clubs across the country, many of which can be located via Find a Club.

Yes, working breeds, including Spaniels and hunt point and retrieve breeds, which have been legally docked can compete in field trials and gundog working tests.

There are field trials held for all four sub groups: Retrievers, Spaniels, Pointers and Setters and hunt, point and retrieve breeds.

Retrievers

At a field trial, dogs will be required to be steady by the handler whilst being shot over until commanded to quest for dead or wounded game, from land or water, and retrieve tenderly to hand.

At GWTs, Retrievers are tested on their game finding ability and the speed and directness of the retrieve. Judges will be looking for quick pick ups and fast returns, natural nose and marking ability, quietness in handling, control, drive and style.

Spaniels

Spaniels will be judged on how well they quarter the ground at a field trial, hunting for game and other quarry species, to be steady to flush, shot and fall and to retrieve tenderly to hand on command.

At tests, exercises are set to try and assess a Spaniel’s retrieving and game finding abilities using seen and hidden dummies. The judges will also be looking for good directional control.

Pointers and Setters

At a field trial, dogs shall be required to quarter ground systematically with pace and style in search of gamebirds, to point gamebirds, to be steady to flush and shot. Dogs should not be gun shy. The dog should work its point out freely, on command, without the handler either touching the dog or moving in front of it.

There are no GWTs for Pointers and Setters.

Hunt, point and retrieve breeds (HPRs)

At HPR field trials, dogs shall be required to quarter ground systematically in search of quarry, to point game, to flush on command, to be steady to flush, shot and fall, and to retrieve tenderly to hand on command from land and water.

It is difficult to assess pointing through artificial tests and there are limitations to how this can be done in a gundog working test. HPR breeds will be tested and judged on their quartering, hunting and retrieving skills in similar ways to the Retrievers and Spaniels.

Most gundogs aren't ready to work in competition for at least two years and the first sort of competition you will probably enter will be a gundog working test. These competitions are for members of the organising club only. They are designed to further good, sound, gundog work and encourage dogs' natural working ability, but do not involve shooting live game. Work is done with dummies, and these friendly competitions are a natural extension of the training you will already be doing with your dog. Gundog working tests are designed to suit the different working abilities of three of the four gundog groups: Spaniels, Retrievers and breeds which hunt, point and retrieve. There are no GWTs for Pointers and Setters.

Retrievers

Retrievers are tested on their game finding ability and the speed and directness of the retrieve. Judges will be looking for quick pick ups and fast returns, natural nose and marking ability, quietness in handling, control, drive and style.

Spaniels

Spaniels are set test exercises to try and assess their retrieving and game finding abilities using seen and hidden dummies. The judges will also be looking for good directional control.

HPRs

HPR breeds will be tested and judged on their quartering, hunting and retrieving skills in similar ways to the Retrievers and Spaniels. It is difficult to assess pointing through artificial tests and there are limitations to how this can be done in a gundog working test.

The aim of the Working Gundog Certificate (WGC) is to provide credible proof that the handler and dog are a competent partnership, with the qualities to fulfil the general requirements of work on a shoot. The certificate may be gained at a variety of different events so that all aspects of a dog's work in the shooting field can be observed. The certificate will be issued by The Kennel Club and will list those tasks achieved on the day. Successful partnerships will have the distinction of having their names published in the field trials newsletter.

Who can take part?

The certificate is open to all Kennel Club pedigree registered dogs, crossbreeds and unregistered dogs, whose owners wish to demonstrate their dog’s working ability. Owners of crossbreed and previously unregistered dogs wishing to take the WGC must register the dog(s) on The Kennel Club Activity Register in advance.

What is required?

Handlers and dogs will be required to demonstrate competence in the following:

• control
• obedience
• temperament
• hunting
• retrieving

Where and how will the assessment take place?

The WGC can be achieved at a variety of events:

• A shoot using game:
  On a shoot, assessors will observe the participants throughout the day as they work their dogs in their usual role. The assessors will not devise any situations but simply be observing how a handler and dog cope with the specific tasks that naturally arise during the day
  
  
• A WGC day for dogs that retrieve using dummies:
  At these days, the criteria will be assessed using simulated shooting field exercises:
  • handlers and dogs walk together to the start area with the dogs off lead and under control
  • a simulated drive with dogs assessed both in the beating line and waiting at pegs
  • hunting for seen dummies after the drive
  • hunting for unseen dummies after the drive
  • a marked retrieve from water
  • a marked retrieve from over an obstacle
  • a steadiness exercise where dogs are left together whilst handlers collect up decoys
    
    
• A WGC day for dogs that point:
  At these days, the dogs will be assessed on hunting, locating, pointing and steadiness. The dogs should hunt the ground in a regular pattern, point live game, produce on command and be steady to flush and shot. Some participants may wish to take the retrieving assessment which might be organised on the day or at a later WGC day, a gundog working test or on a shoot. 
  
  
• A gundog working test (GWT):
  An assessment at a GWT will be assessed against the criteria either by using separate exercises or using the exercises available on the day.

To obtain a free copy of the Working Gundog Certificate Handbook, please email your postal address to our field trials team or download a pdf version.

The aim of the Show Gundog Working Certificate (SGWC) is to provide credible proof of the natural working ability of a gundog registered with The Kennel Club that has already proved it meets The Kennel Club's breed standard by a qualification in the show ring.

Read more about The Kennel Club Show Gundog Working Certificate.

• Pointer and setter field trial competitors
• Spaniel field trial competitors
• Hunt, point and retrieve field trial competitors
• Retriever field trial competitors