Hello
My name is Becky Oldfield and I live in Collingbourne Kingston with my husband Michael, our four dogs and chickens.
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Dogs are pretty much my life! Everything revolves around them so I'll introduce them too.
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First up we have Finnegan, a 15 year old dachshund. Finnegan is not a working dog, in fact he has never worked a day in his life! But he is the sweetest, most opinionated old man and we wouldn't change him for the world.
We also have Cherry, the red working cocker in the photo. Cherry is my right hand girl. Cherry has been beating with me for seven years, she's such a good girl, steady and reliable and gives the best cuddles too.
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Next we have Sienna, another working cocker girl. Sienna is amazing, she does everything at 100mph. She is teaching me so much and is great for my development as a trainer.
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Last but not least is Freya, our third working cocker. Freya is just a puppy still but will hopefully join the beating team in the future.
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My spare time is mostly spent training or walking my own dogs but I also like reading and gaming when I get the chance.
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My Story
I initially studied German (not much use to me now I know!) gaining a BA (Hons) degree in German Language at Reading University. After finishing uni I worked in an investment bank on the European dealing team and then in a stockbrokers as an assistant. But when we got Finnegan I realised working with dogs was what I really wanted to do. So I had a bit of a change!
I have worked with dogs professionally since 2010, firstly through my other business, Contented Dogs, offering premium adventures for dogs, and then through my gundog training business, Contented Gundogs Training Club, helping other people to enjoy training with their dogs.
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As much as I love the adventure side of the business, training and in particular training gundogs, is my real passion. So I bit the bullet and spent years studying with the Gundog Trainers Academy, completing both their handlers and teachers courses.
I passed my assessment on dummies and qualified in 2021 as a gundog trainer. I also completed my graduate handler's course in 2023 and passed my assessments, meaning I am fully qualified to teach on both dummies and on game. The Gundog Trainers Academy are committed to force free training and are the only gundog training organisation in the UK to be accredited by the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC).
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As an accredited GTA trainer, I abide at all times by their rigorous code of practise, which can be found here
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I am also a registered Animal Training Instructor with and member of the Animal Behaviour & Training Council (ABTC), click here for details.
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Since qualifying as a trainer I have been offering a range of gundog training options, including group courses, 1-2-1 training and workshops.
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I do also work my dogs on shoots. Me and Cherry have been beating on local shoots for years now, she's a brilliant little working dog, who is never happier than when the beating clothes come out in the morning as she knows she is going to spend the day doing her favourite thing! Sienna is still young but has been out beating on a couple of days this season, hopefully by next season she will be out full time.
I also like to work through the Gundog Club graded field tests with my dogs. So far with Cherry I have gained a distinction in grades 1, 2 and 3 and a merit at grade 4. We have also gained our Kennel Club Working Gundog Certificate on Game. Sienna has gained a pass at grade 1 but I hope to move onto more with her soon.
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As a fully accredited trainer I like to keep my knowledge current and am constantly learning, whether through courses, webinars, books or sessions with other trainers. This year I completed the Gundog Trainers Academy's Graduate Handler's course, which was great and I look forward to completing more next year.
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