Transform Your Dog with Clyderhow Gundogs Training

My very strict German gundog trainer (she trains trainers….) just said sprout is an “angel” and the nicest cocker she’s ever trained in front of the whole class. World made!!!!!! 

Thank you so much for her.

She's been joining me at breaks on shoot days for the last month. She's really enjoying meeting everyone.

I first came across Richard at CLYDERHOW Gundogs while searching for a working Cocker Spaniel. After my initial inquiry, Richard personally called me to discuss my experience and suitability, which immediately instilled confidence in his commitment to the welfare of his dogs and future puppies. Throughout the process, I was kept updated on the mother’s progress right up until the birth, and I was fortunate to be offered the only male pup. Richard provided regular updates, including progress reports and videos showing interactions with the mother and siblings. He also arranged opportunities for me to visit Ozzy—as he is now known—alongside his mum, grandmother, and sisters. Richard offered valuable advice on caring for Ozzy, including insights into behavior modification, and was consistently supportive. Since bringing him home, Ozzy has been an absolute delight. He passed all his veterinary checks with flying colours and has been admired by everyone who meets him. He is exceptionally bright, quickly mastering the basics of dog training—sit, stay, come, leave—and demonstrates excellent recall both by voice and whistle, showcasing the strength of his breeding line. Although I do not intend to work Ozzy, I have no doubt he would excel if trained in that direction, particularly in obedience training. He has a charming independent streak but is also affectionate, seeking out cuddles on his own terms. He accepts handling with ease, allowing me to brush him and check his ears and paws without issue—in fact, he seems to enjoy the grooming. Richard has continued to provide advice whenever needed, including tips for addressing lead pulling and jumping up, and I would not hesitate to recommend Richard and CLYDERHOW Gundogs to anyone looking for a well-bred, well-cared-for working Cocker Spaniel.

Morning Richard, hope you are well. I just wanted to give you an update on Freddie. At 20 months old yesterday, he competed for the first time as a Flyball dog with our daughter, who is 9 years old. He has been brilliant to train, showcasing excellent behavior modification skills, and he and our daughter are a very bonded little team. Spaniels in flyball often serve as the team height dog, and Freddie excels in this role, measuring 7’’ tall for jumps, which helps accommodate the larger dogs he runs with (full height jumps are 12’’). On average, the breed typically runs between 5-7 seconds in a full run, with some outliers both faster and slower. Freddie is definitely an outlier, clocking an impressive 3.89 seconds yesterday! 

Thank you so much for letting him join our family; he is very loved. In terms of speed, collies and lurchers usually run sub 4 seconds. The fastest dogs currently on the circuit are whippet x collies, specifically bred for the sport, achieving times as fast as 3.4 seconds. The fastest team of 4 in relay in the UK currently holds a record of 14.17 seconds. Regarding how you train for speed, it's all about the reward system and executing a clean safe box turn. Freddie's rewards are food and our daughter's affection; he wants to please her and is motivated to get back to her for his reward. While many dogs are trained with tugging as a reward during dog training, spaniels are less motivated by tugging and prefer to hold items in their mouths instead. His box turn still has more potential as he is quite young in terms of flyball training (we typically don’t start them on the box until at least 12 months, so he has only had about 7 hours of box training so far in short bursts of 10-15 minutes per session). 

To open on his first day of competitive racing with a purebred working cocker and clock in sub 4 seconds is an achievement we believe is quite rare. Everyone loves him.