Griff's Training Update: The Wins, The Challenges and The Reality
Sue Watkins 
An honest update on Griff's training journey. The wins, the frustrations, and the lightbulb moments that keep us both learning.
Griff's Training Update: The Wins, The Challenges and The Reality
I thought I might update you on how training is going with Griff.
Why? Well, who really cares? I obviously care about his training, but as a trainer myself, I think it's important to share the reality that my dogs aren't perfect. They don't get everything right, and neither do I.
Social media can sometimes make training look very polished. Dogs appear to progress smoothly from one success to the next, but that's rarely the whole story. I hope that by sharing our journey—the successes, frustrations and occasional setbacks—it might encourage, comfort or even inspire some of you who are navigating your own training challenges.
Meet Griff
For those who are new here, Griff is a working-bred Golden Retriever from strong working lines bred primarily for deer stalking and pheasant shooting. He turned two in March and is still fairly immature, with a huge zest for life.
Most importantly, he makes me laugh every day. Occasionally he makes me cry too!
My long-term plan is for Griff to become a picking-up dog. Last season I took him shooting with me for part of the season and, honestly, I was delighted with him. He has plenty left to learn, but he made some fantastic choices.
He sat up quietly off lead during drives, remained steady to shot and birds falling, and only went for retrieves when asked. I wasn't asking anything particularly ambitious of him; last season was about gathering information and allowing him to learn. This coming season we'll build on those foundations and see where the journey takes us.
Alongside shooting, I'd also like to return to competing. I haven't competed for over ten years, largely because I haven't had a dog suited to it. Whether Griff will prove to be the right dog remains to be seen.
At the moment, I have no real desire to trial. I don't have the time, dedication or headspace required for that level of commitment, and if I'm honest, I don't think Griff is a trialling dog. Working tests are much more likely to be our focus.
Having previously won out of Novice Dog Novice Handler with another dog, Griff would need to compete at Novice level. We have quite a way to go before we're ready for that.
Training Doesn't Always Go to Plan
Like everyone else, life gets in the way of training.
Work has been particularly busy recently. I've just finished teaching a block of training camps alongside a good friend, which meant Griff's own training took a bit of a back seat for a couple of weeks.
During the final week of camp, Griff was able to join in some training. He found working amongst a different group of dogs challenging, but overall he made some good decisions and produced some pleasing work.
Yesterday, however, was our monthly private training session with a friend, and it provided both a significant win and a significant challenge.
A Steadiness Breakthrough
The theme for the day was steadiness.
After placing out a few memory retrieves around the training ground, we began with a walk-up exercise. A spaniel hunted out in front while Griff, another dog and their handlers walked behind.
Griff was off lead throughout.
His heelwork wasn't perfect, but he managed himself well. When a shot was fired and a dummy thrown, the dogs had to stop, mark the fall and remain steady while a dog was selected for the retrieve.
Several dummies were thrown in different directions throughout the exercise, and Griff remained steady throughout. Even when another dog was sent, something that can often trigger him to run in, he stayed put.
Then came one of those wonderful training moments.
The trainer mentioned that some dogs find it easier to remain steady if they are allowed to stay standing rather than being asked to sit every time a shot is fired. It gives them less reason to anticipate being sent.
That really resonated with me.
Traditionally, I've asked Griff to sit whenever a shot is fired. However, sit is also the position I usually send him from for retrieves. To Griff, sit may have become a predictor that a retrieve is coming.
So I changed things.
The next time a shot was fired, I simply stopped moving and expected Griff to stop too. I didn't ask for a sit.
The change in his body language was immediate.
He appeared far more relaxed, less expectant and less focused on the possibility of being sent. It felt like a genuine lightbulb moment.
Sometimes the smallest adjustments make the biggest difference.
Throughout much of the session, Griff remained off lead, calmly sitting or standing while other dogs worked and while we discussed training. Considering how much excitement there was around him, I was incredibly pleased with that.
The Challenge
Of course, training sessions are never all wins.
Our challenge came when we returned to one of the memory retrieves we'd placed out earlier.
The field had recently been cut for haylage, leaving rows of drying grass that created natural channels across the ground.
I lined Griff up and sent him.
He drifted slightly off the line I had given him, moving into the adjacent channel, but continued directly to the retrieve, picked it cleanly and returned. The deviation was perhaps ten percent at most.
At the time, I accepted it.
Later in the session, I sent him for another memory retrieve in the same area.
This time, however, he seemed determined not to go where I wanted him to.
He ran out part way and returned.
He ran in the wrong direction.
He got recalled and sent again.
At one point he came within a couple of feet of the retrieve before turning around and returning to me.
It wasn't that he didn't know there was a dummy there. He absolutely did.
Nor was it that he didn't understand what I was asking.
He simply didn't want to do it.
I could have intervened with extra handling cues or casts, but that wasn't the point of the exercise. The lesson wasn't about handling. The lesson was about following the line I had given until he either found a retrieve or received different information.
For Griff, giving additional help at that point would likely have encouraged him to question every future send. He is a dog who benefits from clear, black-and-white information. If I allow him to negotiate too much, he starts to believe everything is open for discussion.
That's not necessarily true of every dog, but it is true of Griff.
Looking back, I do wonder whether I should have stopped and recalled him on that very first retrieve when he deviated from the line. By allowing that small drift, perhaps I muddied the water for the later exercise.
Eventually, after exhausting every alternative he could think of, Griff completed the retrieve.
The support from everyone present was hugely appreciated because, if I'm honest, my frustration levels were rising rapidly.
Thankfully, we finished the session by collecting the remaining retrieves without any further issues.
Learning Happens in the Difficult Moments
One training session can contain a huge range of emotions.
There are moments where you feel incredibly proud, moments where you question everything and moments where you suddenly see a solution you've been searching for.
Yes, we want to set our dogs up for success, but learning also requires challenge. Sometimes we need to test our training, discover the weak points and gather information. Making everything easier isn't always the answer.
I came away from this session with plenty to think about and several things to work on. But more importantly, I also came away recognising just how much progress Griff has made over the past few weeks.
For that, I'm incredibly grateful.
A huge thank you to everyone who was there yesterday—you know who you are.
Hopefully the coming weeks will allow me to get back into a more consistent training routine. Progress may not happen at the speed I'd like (I'm notoriously impatient when it comes to training!), but that's all part of the journey.
After all, we're all learning. Griff included.