The Widget's Farm training approach is to use learning theory to motivate and reward animals for the desired behaviours.  Animals, be they dog, cat, horse or chicken, are trained at a pace that suits them and are encouraged to make good choices that can be rewarded.  We can provide private lessons and also do lots of the popular courses such as Puppy Classes and also some that are a bit different like Gundog Fundog and Tracking Detectives.  Check this page for upcoming courses or, even better, follow us on Facebook for announcements on new course dates.  www.facebook.com/widgetsfarm

CLASSES

We believe our classes our special in that they are kept small (never more than 6 dogs), and formed from the best of other great courses – for example, the Widget's Farm Puppy Class is influenced by Ian Dunbar’s Sirius Puppies, Lincoln University's “Lifeskills for Puppies” and Chirag Patel’s Practical Puppy Course.  And we assess the different abilities of each dog and owner as we go along and suit the training and interactions accordingly.  

However the most important thing is that training classes at Widget Farm are fun!  Fun for dogs and fun for owners. 

Puppy Lifeskills Class – 6 week class in our puppy barn (£80)

Innovative, small classes that aim to be fun for both puppy and owner. We help you train the puppy with the lifeskills they will need for living happily within a family and growing up to make good choices. We also cover all the popular skills such as training loose lead, fast recalls, "leave", vet handling etc. Eligibility: 8-16 weeks old and one week after their first vax.  We want you to start training asap so a 10% reduction if you sign up to a course before you have the puppy - do get in touch and ask us for the discount code.

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Puppy "meet the world" Course – 4 week class both at the farm and in the real world (£70)

We take your basic puppy skills and improve and refine them. Some classes are also held out in the real world and include a trip on a train and shop keeper challenges!  Eligibility: 4 months to 6 months – must be one of our own Puppy Class graduates

Adolescent Class – 4 week class focusing on training the teenager (£80)

This is our most popular class as owners often struggle to understand where their sweet doting puppy has gone!  Dogs and owners learn training skills important for the adolescent stage and how to deal with common problems.  Dogs also have the opportunity to train around other dogs in a safe and secure environment.  Eligibility: 6 months to 2 years- open to all

Widget’s Yoof Club – drop-in Saturday training with changing topics (£10/session) - Open to all of our Adolescent Class Graduates.

Adult Training Class - 4 week course (£70)

A fun class that proves that you can teach an old dog new tricks! This class helps you with all the niggly issues that you’d like to get under control and includes obedience issues such as recall, loose lead, greetings and more.  It also includes behaviour advice to help you and your dog understand each other.  Eligibility: open to all dogs over 2 years.  Some new entrants may require a 121 session first to check suitability for a class environment.

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Feisty Fidos – specialist rehab classes 

Open to any of our existing fear-based behaviour clients looking for further rehab opportunities in a managed situation.  New clients interested in these classes will need to undertake a behaviour assessment first.

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Fundog, Foundation Class – 1 day introduction to foundation elements of gundog training (£85)

Open to any level, age and breed.

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Gundog Fundog, level 1 – 8 week class (£120)

covering grade 1 standard - retrieve, control, recall, heel, whistle.  Grade 1 Test can be arranged at end of the course for those interested.  Dogs should have a desire to retrieve but need no further skills