Services - Working dog and ferrets
Early history
Ferreting has been a countryside skill for almost a thousand years. It has put meat on the tables of many a family when times were hard. I also tend to be of the opinion that the art of working your dog and ferrets began up to one hundred and fifty thousand years ago. Back to the time man first domesticated the dog. Small game would have been an essential element in any survival strategies and the dog would certainly have increased the chances of a successful hunt.
What J and J Greenwood can offer you
Our ferreting days offer the opportunity to work your dog to game and are geared towards those who wish to
- Learn what is involved in ferreting
- Improve their skills
- Introduce a young dog to the field
- Want a day out with their dog doing what nature designed the dog to do
- Avoid the pitfalls of training a dog to this essential working skill
- Try our Dads and Lads days
- Gain knowledge in many areas of working your dog
There is of course a behavioural element to the day, as the courses are run by Jim Greenwood, a qualified behaviourist and help can be given with retrieving, recall, teaching a true mark etc.
The courses are held in various locations, including Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Scotland.
Courses held in Scotland are particularly popular as they provide the opportunity to try lamping on the Friday and Saturday night and involve challenging and varied terrain such as open fields, dry stone walls and working on the shoreline.
What is involved in the day?
Well, it is very much designed to suit your personal requirements, with as much or as little instruction on the equipment needed and the equipment to avoid, as you wish. If there is something you wish to work on, please ask Jim.
Instruction can include a day working your dog, learning how to train a mark, the signals your dog gives you and how best to enhance your working partnership.
Lunch is provided and if you are staying over, you have bed and breakfast and your evening meal in the company of Jim and others, where the discussions are normally dog and ferret related, at the local watering hole.
New for this year is the Catch it Cook it weekend course ,where we take you out to catch your supper and then back to base to teach you how to prep your catch and various ways of cooking it. Often we have an internationally renowned chef to do the cooking. These weekends are held in the wilds of Argyle in Scotland but don't worry, the accommodation is 4-star.
For details of pricing for a ferreting day or week-end, please enquire by using our contact us page.
Numbers are limited to ensure each handler gets personal tuition and advice.
Spaces are also open to owners who wish to learn the rudimentary skills firstly, without their dog.