Found It, Fetched It - Your Fortnightly Dose of Gundog Wisdom from the LWDG

Ten years ago, the LWDG was bringing in about two hundred pounds a month and felt more like a nice idea than a business. This week marks ten years of the LWDG and ten years of Claire Denyer's Family Dog Services, so to celebrate, Claire turns the tables and interviews Jo in a business blind date. They talk about the exact moments it stopped feeling like a hobby (a national award for one of them, a very muddy fall on her bottom for the other), the bit of the job they still find hardest, how training has changed over a decade, and where they hope to be in another ten years. It's funny, it's honest, and it's the story behind the brand you've been part of.

Thanks for being here. If this episode gave you something, a laugh, a lightbulb, or just the feeling that someone gets it, that's exactly why we make it.
💬 Got something to say? A question, a story, a dog that's just done something unhinged? Come and find us on socials or over at the website. We genuinely want to hear from you.
📚 Not sure where to start with your training? Grab the LWDG Gundog Progress Gap Map. It'll tell you exactly where you are and what to work on next. No guessing.
🎓 Ready to go further? The LWDG Society is where the real work happens. Expert-led courses, a community of women who actually get it, and training that makes sense for the dog in front of you.
📱 Come and find us:Website: ladiesworkingdoggroup.com Facebook: Ladies Working Dog Group Instagram: @ladiesworkingdogs
✨ Every session. Every stumble. Every breakthrough. It all counts. You're not just training a dog. You're building something. Keep going. We see you. 💛

You trained it and you were proud of it. Then one day, in front of people, your dog looked straight at you and carried on sniffing. Recall going wrong feels personal, like the dog is calling you a liar. In this conversation, LWDG Group Expert Claire Denyer explains why recall almost never breaks where you think it does. Claire walks through how to rebuild it from the ground up, why the cheese-word panic never works, and how to use a long line as a way to talk to your dog rather than a way to hold them. If your dog has been stuck on the lead because you no longer trust them, this is the episode that gets you both off it.

Thanks for being here. If this episode gave you something, a laugh, a lightbulb, or just the feeling that someone gets it, that's exactly why we make it.
💬 Got something to say? A question, a story, a dog that's just done something unhinged? Come and find us on socials or over at the website. We genuinely want to hear from you.
📚 Not sure where to start with your training? Grab the LWDG Gundog Progress Gap Map. It'll tell you exactly where you are and what to work on next. No guessing.
🎓 Ready to go further? The LWDG Society is where the real work happens. Expert-led courses, a community of women who actually get it, and training that makes sense for the dog in front of you.
📱 Come and find us:Website: ladiesworkingdoggroup.com Facebook: Ladies Working Dog Group Instagram: @ladiesworkingdogs
✨ Every session. Every stumble. Every breakthrough. It all counts. You're not just training a dog. You're building something. Keep going. We see you. 💛

If you've ever thought that giving your dog a flirt pole or a tug toy would stop them chasing squirrels, this one's going to shift something. Predation substitution training sounds like the answer, give them an outlet for all that chase drive. But as Claire Deyer walks Jo through in this episode, it's not that simple. Here's what actually works, why outlets alone fail high-drive dogs, and when PST becomes part of a real strategy instead of a band-aid. Claire's spent a decade rehabilitating dogs that chase on command and won't stop, and what she's learned will reshape how you think about drive, boundaries, and what your dog actually needs from you.

In This Episode
What predatory drive actually is and why it's normal (not a flaw) in working dogs
Why chasing a toy will never replicate catching a real rabbit, the limitations of outlet training
How dogs behave completely differently when you're not watching (and why this matters for prey drive issues)
The skills you need alongside PST: reliable recall, stop whistle, steadiness, and self-control
How gun dog training fits into predation substitution training
Why diagnosing the root cause matters more than picking a training method

Thanks for being here. If this episode gave you something, a laugh, a lightbulb, or just the feeling that someone gets it, that's exactly why we make it.
💬 Got something to say? A question, a story, a dog that's just done something unhinged? Come and find us on socials or over at the website. We genuinely want to hear from you.
📚 Not sure where to start with your training? Grab the LWDG Gundog Progress Gap Map. It'll tell you exactly where you are and what to work on next. No guessing.
🎓 Ready to go further? The LWDG Society is where the real work happens. Expert-led courses, a community of women who actually get it, and training that makes sense for the dog in front of you.
📱 Come and find us:Website: ladiesworkingdoggroup.com Facebook: Ladies Working Dog Group Instagram: @ladiesworkingdogs
✨ Every session. Every stumble. Every breakthrough. It all counts. You're not just training a dog. You're building something. Keep going. We see you. 💛

Fear periods are a normal part of puppy and adolescent development, but most handlers go into them underprepared. They know the phrase but not the timing, the signs, or the right response. In this episode, Jo Perrott and LWDG Group Expert Claire Denyer break down both fear periods in practical terms: what they look like, when they happen, and how to work through them without making the dog's experience worse. Claire covers the difference between healthy exposure and flooding, the role of eustress in building resilience, and how the training a dog already has becomes an asset in the second fear period in a way it simply wasn't in the first.

In this episode
Why fear periods happen and what makes them vary so much from dog to dog
The first fear period: why it lands exactly when you bring your puppy home and what to do about it
The difference between exposure and socialisation, and why pushing puppies into group play during a fear period creates problems rather than solving them
The second fear period: when to expect it, why it blindsides confident dogs, and how hormonal shifts layer on top of it
What "go back to basics" actually means in practice, not just as a phrase
How to use eustress to build resilience without flooding your dog

Thanks for being here. If this episode gave you something, a laugh, a lightbulb, or just the feeling that someone gets it, that's exactly why we make it.
💬 Got something to say? A question, a story, a dog that's just done something unhinged? Come and find us on socials or over at the website. We genuinely want to hear from you.
📚 Not sure where to start with your training? Grab the LWDG Gundog Progress Gap Map. It'll tell you exactly where you are and what to work on next. No guessing.
🎓 Ready to go further? The LWDG Society is where the real work happens. Expert-led courses, a community of women who actually get it, and training that makes sense for the dog in front of you.
📱 Come and find us:Website: ladiesworkingdoggroup.com Facebook: Ladies Working Dog Group Instagram: @ladiesworkingdogs
✨ Every session. Every stumble. Every breakthrough. It all counts. You're not just training a dog. You're building something. Keep going. We see you. 💛

10 years. Thousands of conversations. One truth: you're not alone in all of this. Jo walks through the 10 lessons from a decade of watching what actually works with working dogs. Why your dog isn't difficult, just a gundog. Why more walks make them fitter, not calmer. Why consistency isn't about being strict. Why the dog you have right now is already the one you wanted. This episode is for anyone who's felt stuck, ashamed, or like they're the only one getting it wrong.

Thanks for being here. If this episode gave you something, a laugh, a lightbulb, or just the feeling that someone gets it, that's exactly why we make it.
💬 Got something to say? A question, a story, a dog that's just done something unhinged? Come and find us on socials or over at the website. We genuinely want to hear from you.
📚 Not sure where to start with your training? Grab the LWDG Gundog Progress Gap Map. It'll tell you exactly where you are and what to work on next. No guessing.
🎓 Ready to go further? The LWDG Society is where the real work happens. Expert-led courses, a community of women who actually get it, and training that makes sense for the dog in front of you.
📱 Come and find us:Website: ladiesworkingdoggroup.com Facebook: Ladies Working Dog Group Instagram: @ladiesworkingdogs
✨ Every session. Every stumble. Every breakthrough. It all counts. You're not just training a dog. You're building something. Keep going. We see you. 💛