Training Offered
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The training services we offer...
A part from breeding, showing and working our own dogs we also actively train dogs, specialising in large breeds, working and civil protection training. However we also enjoy training dogs for many reasons from the basics of obedience and house training right through to the more complicated or competitive aspects. We provide support and guidance to people in day to day training needs with all sizes shapes and breeds of dogs of all ages including supporting all of our existing puppy owners for the lifetime of the dog they have purchased. Our training methods focus on positive re-enforcement techniques. We are currently also undertaking some accredited courses so that we will be able to demonstrate professional membership of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (ADPT) very soon along with National Training Inspectorate for Professional Dog Users (NTIPDU) and National Association of Security Dog Users (NASDU) Accreditation.
We offer the training in the following areas (click for more info):
Puppy Foundation TrainingAs with humans the foundation on which a dog builds its life and the experiences it has at an early age are hugely important.Between the ages of 7 weeks and 14 weeks puppies undergo a huge amount of learning which maps out a lot of their future behaviour and abilities.
 This is not to say that some of this learning if negative can not be undone, however from our experience the better it is and the more attention to detail at this age the easier training is and the easier the dog is to live with later in life.
We promote many techniques and especially a building of prey drive so that the pups attention can be brought onto a ball or a rag with can be used as a reward or motivator later. We offer practical 1:2:1 sessions where we walk you through how to do this and also how to build for the basics you will need later as well as house training, stopping your puppy finger biting and also crate training which is easiest from an early age. (Back To Top)
Socialisation Socialisation is a misunderstood concept in our opinion. Many people believe this to be getting puppies together to play, and while we also offer puppy picnicswhich can be fun these can actually be detrimental to the foundation training if they are not managed and understood correctly.
It is important that your dog bonds with you not that everything else is more exciting, and socialisation is about ensuring that fear and aggression towards dogs and many other everyday objects and occurrences are avoided by educating your dog through exposure in a positive non threatening manner.
We have techniques to ensure that even rare occurrences such as the noises from Hot air Balloons, Deer scarers, Helicopters, Fireworks, Cars back firing etc are learned from an early age and therefore Fear, Prey or Aggressive reactions are avoided once the dog has reached its adult size and strength. We also include work with other dogs, animals and situations such as crowds, cyclists, skateboards. The sessions for this training are normally a combination of 1:2:1 and group seasons.
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Obedience Training General obedience covers a wide spectrum of learning. Depending on your own experience and confidence you may have taught the basics of sit and down and walk to heel etc and may be looking for recall training perhaps where your dog has a tendency to run off to play with other dogs instead. General Obedience also includes fetching objects, a long down, manners at home.
 We teach using positive re-enforcement and as such building on the basics of our foundation course is always best practice where you have developed a desire in your dog for a specific reward (often a ball). From this point we can help you motivate your dog to do more and more advanced tasks or tricks.
This type of training is both fun for you the owner and rewarding as you develop the dogs level of ability but more importantly it helps ensure your dogs mind is stimulated which as a positive by-product helps avoid negative behaviours developing due to the dog finding ways to stimulate their own mind.
 We also train obedience as part of the Schutzhund (VPG/IPO) trials. The requirements for this type of obedience is a more strict than everyday obedience and we offer training to help you and your dog succeed in both these working trails and/or to pass the BH (Basic Handling) test. The patterns for this obedience assessment and also the rules can be found in our work section. This training is offered at classes, for groups at your club or premises or on a 1:2:1 basis.
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Ring Craft (Show Training) Showing a dog in Europe for working breeds is very different from the UK and US format. In most European countries working dogs will be double handled and the judge will want to see the dog pulling on their lead so that the chest stands out and the temperament of the dog can also be seen. Single handling with the use of bait is not encouraged and results from this style of showing in a European ring are rarely successful.
 We offer help and training to anyone hoping to campaign their dog in Europe as we do. We have shown successfully in Italy, Slovakia, Poland, Malta and Hungary to name but a few. The training is easiest when started young and builds on our foundation and basic obedience training that uses created ball drive (prey drive) to get the dog excited and wanting to win the reward. This desire for a ball can then be built into a successful show stance as some of the pictures here demonstrate. Seasons for this training are best 1:2:1 but we can also offer group seasons if a number of people would like to learn together, although for beginners only one dog will be trained at a time. Please remember that this is double handling training so you will need to people to handle one dog.
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ZTP Training The ZTP is the German Suitability for Breeding test which has now been adopted across most European countries. This test proves the suitability by checking the form and proportions of the dog, checking the basic health tests are complete and then checking the character of the dog in everyday situations such as crowds, opening umbrella’s, load noises etc and also in a simulated attack.
 The point of the everyday situations is to check that the dog does not get afraid or aggressive demonstrating it will have no tendency to bite as a result of this tendency being exaggerated or in the situation of heightened stress. The simulated attack is to demonstrate that the dog will defend you and they are confident and show no fear when biting the helper or when he puts the dog under stress while driving it. We have taken several dogs through ZTP successfully including having the first two UK based dogs ever to pass ZTP. One of these dogs is Tess who is in the inserted pictures with Judge Armin Hoppe.
 We can help you if you would like to do the ZTP in a number of ways. We can arrange group sessions at you club or home or you can attend sessions we hold either in the UK or in Europe to help you work with your dog to achieve the ZTP pass. This also includes helping you organise the paperwork need and entry into a suitable ZTP test in Europe (PET Passport needed). Alternatively we can train your dog for you and out them through the test. To achieve this, the dog will need to stay with us or one of our associated trainers (potentially in Europe) while training is undertaken and until the test is passed.
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IPO/VPG/Schutzhund Training Schutzhund training is a name often used to describe the biting portion of the working trail which was formerly called Schutzhund but that is now called IPO or VPG.  This type of biting is primarily sports biting and although it is good to build up some level of aggression in the dog to make the bite strong and to gain better points, the overall intention of the dog is to bite and win the helpers sleeve as apposed to bite the helper. In saying this every dog is different and as a helper I have to understand the intention and capability of each dog I work with.
The training for this type of work generally entails a dog chasing, biting and guarding a helper whether that helper is in a hide, running away from the dog (short attack) or if the helper is running to attack the dog head on (long attack). In order to train a dog to bite in this way and to hold when the helper uses pressure or when the dog is driven by the helper takes dedicated training.
 The dogs confidence must be raised through numerous techniques and exercises however if the dogs confidence or desire to bite becomes too high then it can be difficult to maintain obedience on the field which the examiner/judge will also score you on during the protection element of the test/trail.
 If you are interested in training your dog for IPO/VPG, whether to compete or for the title so that they can achieve international champion, then we can help you.
 Again there are a number of ways to achieve this, either through 1:2:1 seasons to get you started or to perfect any areas you would like to focus on, or we support groups of trainees either at one of the training grounds we use or at your own club or private premises if these are suitable.Finally if you do not have the time to do the training yourself with the dog and only wish to gain the title, then we can take your dog on as a residential trainee and undertake the training and the trial for you (this includes all elements to pass a trial (Protection, Tracking and Obedience).In the pictures on this page you can see us working with Vangilis Hellfire (IPO – in preparation – Middle Left), Vasco (IPO1 – Top and Middle Right), Zakyr Zewi Del Citone (IPO2 – Bottom Right), Eron End Hellfire (IPO3 – Top Left)
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Tracking Training Tracking is trained normally as part of Schutzhund training as it is one of the tested elements of this assessment. However dogs can also compete in dedicated tracking tests for foot-step tracking and article searching. Tracking can also be training in terms of “search and rescue” and “sniffer dog” training.
 Training for tracking takes long hours and dedication. It is not something you can do sporadically so dedication is a must no matter what the weather is like. It can be trained from a very early age (as soon as vaccinations are in place) and many dogs develop a great love for it and tend to track naturally after a while even when walking in the park or on the street.
 We teach tracking from basics and then work with you to advance your dogs abilities. Normally sessions begin as a 1:2:1 training where we discuss theory followed by a putting this into practice on the field. As explained above tracking takes dedication, with the best performers in this field stating a minimum of 3 tracking sessions a week so we also provide a guide for you to continue to train between supported training sessions.
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Protection Training As we have mentioned in other places on our website, civil protection is something that we train but it is not something to be entered into lightly. You need to have a reason, need to be 100% in control of your dog and you need to understand the risks of making a mistake, and your liability and the consequences for the dog if this should happen even once.
 We work closely with Bulwark Group who are a specialised high-end security firm who often need to provide civil protection dogs to their clients or work with them on close protection jobs with celebrities or high profile civil servants or business people. They have been using dogs bred and trained by us on a number of occasions and now have two of our dogs as permanent members of their team.
 We took a long time to decide if we would enter into providing dogs for civil protection work and training them for other people.
 Clearly we do not want to encourage the wrong type of people to contact us about training their dog to bite due to the potential risks and consequences for all concerned. In order to avoid this we quite often refer people to Bulwark Group who are SIA and NASDU accredited. They carry out an assessment to see if a protection dog is a required or if an alternative security arrangement or precautions could be applicable. If a protection dog is needed, then we will work with them to train you and your dog or train a dog for you. As you can see from the pictures some of our own dogs are currently in training and the dogs we breed have the potential to undertake this line of training.
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Other Training AvailableWhile we have done our best to list and describe the majority of training services we offer, clearly the list is not exhaustive. We are contacted with people with many other training needs or where their dogs have developed problems that they need to cure through effective and positive training techniques. If you have a training need that is not listed here then please contact us using the email address below
If you are interested in any of our training services then please email us at training@luna-scura.com (Back To Top)
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