Hawcroft Training DVD

Although I have owned gun dogs for a long time and spent a considerable amount of time training and hunting gun dogs, I still consider myself to be somewhat of a novice in training them. I was able to get Macy to the point where I felt that she was a decent pheasant hunting dog, but she certainly wasn’t a hunting dog that I would want to show off, and I didn’t know how to get her past that point. I also wanted to make sure I was giving Rocky every opportunity to progress as he should. So, I scoured the internet for free videos that could potentially help me with my dilemma. However, I discovered that even finding a video that has a Cocker in it can be challenging, let alone one with a well trained Cocker! I spent a lot of time reading books and forums (see links in the right hand margin), but felt that I still needed to actually SEE training in progress, not just read about.
During one of my regular perusing sessions on the internet, I came across the Hawcroft Gundogs  website. Simon Tyers is the owner of this kennel, and he took the time to put together a rather lengthy training series (5+ hrs) that is directed specifically at Cockers. Simon has a rather impressive resume, as you will find from reading his website, and I was intrigued by the DVDs that he is offering on his website. I would have bought them immediately, but they are somewhat cost inhibitive. However, as I considered the amount of time and money that I had already put into my dogs, and also considered where I wanted to eventually end up with my dogs (finely-tuned hunting machines!), I decided to spring for the DVDs. Simon offers the DVDs for sale on his website, but I have been told that he can be difficult to contact because he has a busy field trailing schedule. The DVDs are also available from Paul French Video International, which is where I purchased mine from. The cost is £99.95, which comes out to roughly $157, plus shipping. My DVDs were in my hands about 4 days after I ordered them, so shipping speed was relatively fast.

I purchased all three of the DVDs, although they can be purchased separately if you only feel you need help at a specific point in your training. For further explanation of what is covered in each of the three DVDs, click on the Paul French link above. It gives specific details as to what Simon covers in each one.
I’ll start off by covering what I felt were the positives about these DVDs, and then I will move to the negatives. First, I found the DVDs to be interesting the entire way through. I watched all five hours in one day, and have since watched them at least once more. Simon uses different Cockers all the way through the DVDs, and I found it interesting to see his interactions with each Cocker, and also to see the different personalities of each dog. I thought this was much more helpful than using one Cocker throughout. I know that my two Cockers have different personalities from each other, and to try to train both of them the same way would be disastrous, so watching Simon handle each Cocker was beneficial to me.
Second, I found the DVDs to be relatively comprehensive. Five hours is a fair amount of time, and he has it fairly well packed with training. Simon covers everything from tiny puppies all the way through an almost finished dog. While the first DVD was not very relevant to my situation, I still watched it and found it to be helpful. I know that the next time I go to choose a puppy (hopefully in the not-so-distant future), I will refer back to this DVD to refresh my memory. The second and third DVDs cover everything that you would need to turn a Cocker into a hunting machine.
Third, I appreciated Simon’s training methods. He does all of his training without the use of e-collars. He also is very gentle with his dogs, and keeps everything very calm in his training. He will occasionally use a harsh word with his dogs, or scruff a neck, but it is very clear from the DVDs that he is in no way harming his dogs. I was very impressed at how relaxed and patient he is throughout the entire training process. He does not always use well trained dogs to demonstrate his training, and in some cases the videos capture his first sessions with different Cockers. Obviously,  these Cockers did not immediately respond to his methods, so it was beneficial to watch his patience and repetition with these Cockers.
The negatives were very scare from these DVDs, but still should be mentioned. First, when the last DVD ended, I was left wishing there was more to watch. It would have been useful to watch him actually running a Cocker in a field trail, or least be informed what other steps were necessary to get a Cocker to the field trail level. The series ends with a Cocker that would be a phenomenal hunter, but that is not quite ready for a field trail. I suppose that it is also a positive for these DVDs that after watching five hours of them I still wanted more!
Second, I would have liked a more information about how much time Simon spends training each Cocker, and the normal amount of time that it takes him to accomplish each step of the training. I expect that he left this information at so as to not create false expectations for owners with their Cockers, but at the same time a general idea would have been helpful. Sometimes I feel that I spend too much time training a particular command and maybe “over-train” the command. Knowing when Simon feels it is time to move on, and when it is time to go back to that command would have been helpful.
Third, Simon is training his dogs specifically for European field trails. Because of this, a portion of the series is spent on training for rabbits. While I do not discourage my dogs from flushing rabbits, I also wouldn’t care if they didn’t. Some of you might hate the thought of your Cocker sniffing a rabbit, so that part of the DVDs might be particularly frustrating to you. However, if you have a true Field Bred English Cocker Spaniel, keep in mind that it’s not-so-distant ancestors were going after rabbits, so it might be a hard animal to break your Cocker of showing interest in!
Before concluding, let me mention in a generic way some of the things that I learned from these DVDs. First, I learned a more calm and patient method of training. I wouldn’t have considered myself to be a spastic trainer prior to watching these DVDs, but I know that I learned to use a quieter voice and to be more patient in the repetition of training commands. Second, I increased my confidence in administering correction to my Cockers. I now have a much better grasp on how much correction to use, and when to use it. Third, I learned a lot about creating an insatiable desire to retrieve. In this day and age of force-fetching, it was very encouraging to see a trainer that cultivates a natural desire to retrieve, rather than using the alternative of force-fetching. Fourth, I learned a lot about how to get my Cockers to do things such as making blind retrieves, memory retrieves, quartering, and steadying to flush and shot.
To wrap this up, I found these DVDs to be extremely helpful and well worth the cost for me. Now, if your money is really tight, you could probably survive without having them. However, if you lack confidence in your training, or just want to take it to the next level, these DVDs could be very beneficial for you. Many of the things that I watched on these DVDs I had already read about elsewhere, but it was extremely helpful for me to actually WATCH it take place, rather than just reading about it. I plan on keeping my DVDs and referencing back to them from time to time, so I can without hesitation recommend them to you.