At Glasybont Gundogs, we often hear from clients who comment: I don’t want a super one like yours, as long as it is good with the wife and kids, comes back when called, is steady to distractions and livestock, great with other dogs, sleeps in front of the fire of an evening and is a pleasure to have out walking perfectly at my heel.
Up until recently, if a client was looking to buy the dog described in the opening paragraph, they would have struggled to source one. This is because good, working type gundogs, which for 90 per cent of their life are family pets need to have a controlled environment in their early months to ensure that their development facilitates the type of behaviours that we desire in adult life from our family canine companions. We often refer to it as kinder garden to prevent the terrible twos and hormonal teenage years!
To be clear, these are not re-homed or rescued dogs that have been re trained over a short period. These are bespoke bred and trained dogs to meet your individual specification.
It all starts with the right breeding. The parentage needs to be right. At Glasybont we look for dams and sires which are relaxed and seek to be with humans. What were their relatives like further up the family tree? Style, drive and speed are less important; we do not want to breed from highly strung parents which burst out of the kennel or dog box like a child which has eaten too many blue Smarties. These types are not suitable for the vast majority of people. Relaxed and steady dogs at home will move up a gear or two in the shooting field or on an exciting family day out. Overexcited dogs at home will be a handful or out of control once in a new exciting environment.
Of course, the breed of dog best suited to an individual’s lifestyle and personality is worthy of consideration before choosing a puppy. Labradors have long been regarded as the more docile of the gundog breeds – and for good reason – whilst spaniels have a reputation for being more energetic, and HPRs, pointers and setters, a little more head-strong.
The environment to which the new pup is introduced and subsequently grows up and lives in is key. The ground rules should be established before the pup arrives. At Glasybont we request that prospective owners create a ‘life’ diary which helps us understand how best your new companion can and should fit in with your day to day activities, as well as any changes that you are planning in your family dynamics. Be absolutely honest about aspirations, experience, the family and how it functions. The training program can then be tailored to the owner’s circumstances.
Remember, the primary objective here is to produce a well-behaved dog which slots perfectly into the owner’s life. When the young pup arrives, it needs to get used to its new home as soon as possible. And it should spend as much time with its owner as is feasible in order to develop a strong bond from day one.
Patience is a virtue which the dog must possess. It should grow up knowing no different. Patience should be practiced from the outset – whether waiting for food, waiting to go through doors, or waiting to jump out of the boot of the car. All Glasybont gundogs follow foundation training which provides the ideal basis from which to progress, whilst remembering the all-important basics of gundog training.
In its early days, the dog should be taught the habit of tuning-in and listening to the owner, and this consistency should remain for the rest of the family. A calm and positive environment makes for a calm and happy dog.
I find the most level-headed dogs tend to be those which are with their owners as much as possible. They become accustomed to much more from a young age. They learn that trips in the car or away from the house are part of a typical day, and not something to get too excited about.
A dog with any working blood running through its veins will have energy to expend if it has been sat in a crate or on its bed all day – that should be expected – and all dogs need stimulation to keep boredom at bay. Exercise should be relaxed, with the owner’s objective being to keep the dog’s attention on him or her. He or she should always be the centre of attention.
The key to moulding a dog into both an easy-going family pet and the perfect partner in life is more than just a training programme. It’s a way of life for the dog which keeps it on an even keel and encourages it to adopt a different mindset to the traditional gundog. If this mindset is nurtured correctly, the whole family can enjoy the company of a true friend, by the fireside and in life.
To train a pet trained dog for a family, we start from the breeding and would expect to have a hand over against the agreed training goals between 6-8 months of age.
Vini
We have two young kids at home and purchased our dog from Glasybont Gundogs. Zoe was the key person in charge of the whole process including a training program. First of all the character of our dog (Zoe has been working and focused her breeding strategy and principles in the behaviour of the dogs) is outstanding. Difficult to expect something like this even from a human. He is adorable and also obedient. He was trained for day to day family life and also for walking the dog. We knew exactly what to do and what words to use to give instructions to our dog from day one. Cannot be happier. Zoe loves her dogs and you could see how much effort she put into our little dog. Zoe is a very professional and trusted breeder. Thank you Zoe and team for helping us increasing our family!

Bramley
Having collected Bramley eight weeks ago, just before her first birthday, I would like to tell you Zoe what a wonderful addition to the family she has become and Labrador Gwen (10 years old) has been surprisingly accepting of this youngster.
Naturally, we all needed to adjust to each other but your year of training has made it an easy transition.
Before Bramley, I had three working Labradors over the years, with a large gap between one and two, two bought as puppies and one from our own litter. There is great satisfaction in training a dog from the puppy stage but it is demanding! With our second lab, we decided to have a litter as she was exceptional and everyone kept asking me to breed from her. This was not the best decision of my life as we did not have very suitable facilities and eight puppies resulted in four very demanding and stressful weeks of our life, as my wife and I worked the puppy shifts – never to be repeated! The old dog we have now was one of our pups and she is a wonderful companion and working dog on all game including deer. Now that my wife and I are a lot older, having an eight-week-old puppy was not going to be an option so Bramley has been a wonderful solution. We still have a few years of training to do with her but starting with a dog that is well mannered, house trained and walking to heel makes it all very easy. Thank you Zoe for your dedication and skill.

Lemmy
Hi Zoe,
It's been a while since we've been in contact and I just wanted to drop you line to let you know how grateful we are to you for giving us to opportunity of adding Lemmy to our family. He is now four months old as I am sure you are aware and he is the most amazing and perfect puppy we could have ever wished to own. His temperament and demeanour is outstanding, as is his mischievousness in equal measure. We really cannot thank you enough! He has settled in the rhythm of our family so well it's like he's always been with us and we cannot imagine ever being without him. Our two boys adore him, as do Paul and myself. Thank you so so much once again Zoe, much love to you and your family, we will keep you posted as to Lemmy's progress.

Maggie and Lunar
My wife and I approach Zoe in July 2019, looking to have two puppies in 2020. It was lovely to see a litter and to witness how the dogs and puppies are cared for. We planned to have two puppies in 2020. Both dogs that we now have are from two different litters. They are 18 months old and are some of the nicest and friendliest dogs that we could possibly have. Having two, may seem a lot more work, but they entertain each other as well as us. My wife had a stroke in 2018, so we didn’t want very boisterous dogs. Choice of puppy we left to Zoe. As a special request Zoe was able to provide basic training for our dogs.
These two dogs that we now have will be life-long friends not just for us but also each other.

Bodhi
Our Journey looking for a trained Labrador for our son with Autism.
We started our journey a few years back. Looking for a companion to our son with autism. He has very limited speech. We talked to several ‘high end’ breeders and trainers but Zoe and Richard stood out. Their life story and experience, integrity, humbleness, and their impeccable skill being gun dog breeders/trainers were second to none. Bodhi came to us at the age of 1 years old. Soft touch, no barking, walk to heel, waiting at least 10 seconds for his food( he is like no Labrador we had seen before so that and is still doing it before each meal ) his empathy towards our son has been the most touching bond for us to watch from the side lines. They are so connected to each other, unspoken friends for life. Everyone in the family always says- ``Oh Bodhi you are so wonderful.`` Zoe’s training is absolutely fantastic and we feel very lucky to have Bodhi as a part of our family.

Duke
We contacted Zoe in 2018 after reading about how Zoe’s son Owain had benefited from an assistance dog. Both Owain and X have a condition called Duchenne muscular dystrophy and so had similar needs from an assistance dog. Zoe was able to consult with us on the breeding selection and select from a puppy and train Duke for us to a point where we were able to integrate him into a busy London based family life.
