IMPORTANT: MOST APPLICATIONS TO JOIN THE POSITIVE GUNDOG GROUP ARE TURNED DOWN. IF YOU WISH TO JOIN THE GROUP, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
This is an information page for members of the Positive Gundogs Facebook Group and for those who would like to join. You can find the latest group information here, together with joining criteria and instructions.
About the group
Positive Gundogs is a specialist education and practical support group. Our aims are to help those who wish to train gundogs without the use of force. And to further the progress of force free training within the gundog community. We are not a general gundog training support group.
Most of our existing members are either force free trainers or aspire to be so. We also have some traditional trainers in the group that are interested in helping us further our goals, and willing to offer their knowledge and experience to help us work out force-free alternatives to mainstream training techniques.
It is against the rules of our group to promote the use of aversives to other members.
Please check out this information before applying to join the group: What is Force Free Gundog Training and read parts A and B below before sending me an email (part C).
A. This group is open to applications from:
- Established force-free gundog trainers – those that are already training their gundogs without force
- Force-free dog trainers from other disciplines who wish to learn about gundog fieldwork and / or contribute their own knowledge and skills to the group
- Cross-over gundog trainers – those that have trained with force in the past but who are now learning to train without it
- Newcomers to gundog training who intend to train their gundogs without force from the start
IMPORTANT: In your application, you will need to tell me which of the above groups you belong to. It isn’t sufficient to tell me you have a new puppy, or that you want help with your dog.
B The group is not open to applications from:
- Those who are not interested in gundog fieldwork or in helping those who are
- Balanced trainers – those using a mixture of rewards and aversives.
- Those who just want general help and support with gundog training
- Those that have not yet made their mind up about force free gundog training
- Those who want to discuss the pros and cons of force free gundog training
The group provides a support network for positive reinforcement trainers to help one another with some of the challenges of training in a highly distracting environment without the use of punishment, and with being part of a minority group within the larger gundog community.
It is also a place where newcomers to gundog training can learn the principles of science based dog training, and where we can discuss the future of force free training and the best way to ensure it’s growth and success.
The group’s role does not include educating or converting those who are not yet ready to change their approach to gundog training.
If you are still at the ‘discovery’ stage and are interested in finding out more about positive reinforcement training there is nothing wrong in that at all. But you are not ready for our group. You can find plenty of information on this site. Operant conditioning in a nutshell for gundog trainers is a good place to begin
C How Do I Join
There are two steps to joining.
Step 1: Email me (pippa@pippamattinson.com) In your email you need to
- Tell me which of the four categories in part A you fall into
- Confirm in writing, that you have read, and agree to abide by, the rules of the group
Step 2: Click on the ‘JOIN’ button on the group page
Don’t forget to include your Facebook name in your email so that I can match your email with your join request
Why can’t I get into the group?
I regret that I don’t have time to send out questions to those whose emails are missing the relevant information, so if you fail to include it, you won’t be admitted to the group
Bear in mind that most people who fail to get into the group are turned down because they don’t make clear that they are specifically interested in force free training.
PLEASE NOTE, AGREEMENT BY COMMENT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE AND COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED ON THIS ARTICLE. Many thanks for reading.