Gundog and Obedience Training

in Edinburgh & East Lothian

Our new website

now under construction

Please call to discuss Training Schedules and/or Private Tuition on a one2one basis. Small groups of 2 or 3 are ideal. Behavioural problems can also be discussed.

Gundog training isn't necessarily aimed at working towards fieldwork and shooting... your gundog breed will be a more biddable companion with proper training regardless of whether your end goal is to work him/her.

Usually 1 lesson is sufficient to give the handler enough knowledge to proceed on the right track... knowing that wrong habits aren't ingrained at an early age... even as young as 4 months!

Basic skills such as walking to heel and recall can be taught in minutes..... working with the whistle will sharpen your dogs attention and you the handler will all of a sudden be more connected in all aspects of training... your aim is to stimulate him/her so that everything or everyone else is of secondary importance.

Eye contact is paramount in every task you set your canine companion. If you don't have this prerequisite then your intended task will become all the more difficult to achieve. There are obviously certain ways in which to encourage your dog to look towards you in order to do what you wanted rather than what he or she wanted!
Don't expect your puppy or young dog to listen to your commands if you don't have this established.....both audio-visual perception makes for a positive outcome in almost every scenario.

Once you see the success that these traits bring you will wonder how you failed to understand the simplicity of the things in the first place. Your voice essentially is what trains your dog... because your puppy's desire is to please you above everything else it will much prefer to hear the 'good' sounds coming from your mouth rather than the 'bad' ones!...

and last but not least, LEARN HOW TO TALK TO YOUR DOG!... yep, you really can speak doggy language..... no night classes or open university study required... you'll surprise yourself at how easy it is to master.

Alistair Mackay has over 25 years experience training dogs, winning 4 Field Trials (with different dogs) in Scotland and England. Take the first step today....you owe it to your dog!

NOW SERVING EDINBURGH, EAST LOTHIAN and THE BORDERS

NEW ADDRESS: 13 The Glebe, East Linton. East Lothian EH403EF

TELEPHONE: 01620 860177 & 07483873444

Email: mackay@branxholme.com www.youtube.com/anmackay

Training: John and Copper doing great . Click HERE:

Training : Jamie & Evie Story. Click HERE:

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February 1st

Well that's it over for another season....I'm sure keepers all over the land will be grateful if not relieved to have reached this time without committing hari-kiri!

Smeaton last Thursday in glorious weather provided the keepers day guns with a challenging test of their abilities with some fantastic flights of pheasant and woodcock......a total head count of 103 at the days end just showed how well the team of 9 guns acquitted themselves ....and on Monday another great day in glorious East Lothian sunshine provided Mike's team with the perfect setting to be out and about. Some delicious fare was set before our eyes at lunchtime with a most appetizing Shepherds Pie of Mike's and Chicken Curry provided by John....yummy !

Good crack was evident on both days with Philip and Mike putting on memorable days to recall in our dotage. ....

youtube...... videos will be forthcoming when I get the time to edit all the footage. Philip, please don't text me every week asking when they are being published ....ha ha...only joking!!

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Here's a pic of Philip's 2 fox red little girls Kelly and Ruby..£25 gift voucher if you can tell which is which............Philip's paying ha ha.

Jamie and Evie

Jamie had his first hand experience of a shooting day at Colstoun last week. The Keepers Day provided the perfect opportunity to work his little cocker Evie.

(more to follow)

Mike's wonderdog 'Sam'

Saturday January 21st

Well that's it for another year. Only a couple of beaters days to go at Colstoun and Smeaton. Today was Andy's Syndicate and they had a memorable day to finish the season for Mike with terrific high birds presented to them. Nice to meet Steve and Sarah. Sarah was a great help picking-up. Hope to see you both again in December.

Arlo 1st Retrieve on Video

COLSTOUN December 31st 2022

Arlo pheasant along fence

Arlo retrieving Steve's bird

Steve's bird @ Doddies

Colstoun January 16th

What a great day to be out and about with the fresh snow?.. we don't get it often so one has to make the most of it when it does come.... Colstoun provided the setting for a memorable day on the penultimate shoot of another season... Guns, beaters, pickers-up and all the dogs in perfect harmony make for a wonderful experience.

Last day on Saturday coming up and still super cold with snow on ground.

Arlo 2nd Retrieve

Arlo woodcock

The Boys

and a marvelous woodcock!

New strategy Alan!

The Magic Wand

December 31st Today saw the shooting days of 2022 come to an end at Colstoun. A great day was had with the Garage Syndicate who shot the well presented birds of Mike's to the tally of over a hundred. Apart from an inauspicious starting drive when he was wound up beyond control, Arlo eventually quietened down as the day progressed and acquitted himself to a more satisfactory conclusion by the time of the 6th and last drive.

Rhea Tribute

Balgone Keepers Day

Mikes famous dog 'Sam'

Latest:

NEW:
Video Consultation.
Half Hour pre 1st Lesson video consultation focusing on elements of training particular to your own pooch. .more details HERE:

March 17th

Amanda Barclay.

Cambridge.
Had video call with Alistair today in advance of in-person lessons later in the year. Rosie is our 2 year old cocker and we’re having trouble with her on-lead walking and recall. The session was very valuable and informative and Alastair gave us useful tips about where we’re going wrong. We will be working hard over the next couple of months to get Rosie ready for her ‘proper’ lessons in June.

March 10th

Checkout Bobby & Otis Training Report....HERE

February 19th

Met Alister today whilst walking dog in Binning Wood. He gave me advice about getting Hector to walk to heel better. Basically by using any old piece of rope as slip lead. Have binned my old method and Hector is different dog! Thanks Alister for free advice ha ha. (have booked a lesson though for next week)

George Gray

February 17th

We visited Alistair at the weekend with our nearly 6month old (very head strong) fox red lab Ozzy! Alistair had Ozzy’s attention from about 60 seconds in to meeting him. Alistair talked us through the basics and fundamentals of gun dog training which we’ve taken away and trying our best to apply! It was a very worthwhile session, Alistair has lots of knowledge and experience which really helped with the puppy training journey!

Sarah Kane

February 6th

I am writing this review after visiting Alistair at Branxholme Gundogs. My young lab Kally is 10 months old and needed something to stimulate him to further his training. Alistair quickly pointed out that giving him titbits wasn't the way in which to do this! As soon as he saw a 'treat bag' attached to my waist he figured I would be too generous with them. He was able to substitute treats with tasks that stimulated him with expanding his stomach.Alistair has a vast store of knowledge to impart on to novice handlers such as myself so it was a very rewarding hour for Kally and myself. I will definitely be going back in a couple of months to soak in more of this knowledge.

February 4th

Jimmy and I had a very informative lesson with Alistair today with our 5 month old cocker

Leah. We wanted to be sure we were on the right track with her training for the coming months. Just basic stuff really but important non the less. The usuall stuff with recall and walking to heal that seems to be everyone's problem.

Alistair was quick to put us right with some of our misconceptions and gave us renewed hope that we could progress without any major hiccups.

Getting rid of our harness was certainly the best advice, with Leah now walking with no pulling whatsoever on a slip lead. Supposing we don't see any other improvement in the coming weeks, the improvement in our walking hours is worth the cost of the lesson alone !

Thank you Alistair once again.

Pat and Jimmy (and not forgetting Leah)

Latest: Jan 28th

My two-year-old lab, Copper, is coming along nicely, but I needed some guidance regarding the next stage, with a hope to picking up and/or competing. Alistair was excellent in our first session - he assessed Copper over the course of the lesson, increasing the difficulty of the tasks gradually, and quickly found the areas that we need to work on. Copper and I are looking forward to our next session, having spent the last couple of weeks doing our homework. I was really impressed with Alistair’s knowledge and approach - I recommend him highly.

John M.

Please help other doggy people to determine how helpful,

or unhelpful for that matter, a lesson might prove to be!

Check out the guest book to see latest entries!

and remember, you don't have to want to work your gundog breed!.... just want a better behaved pet.