Welcome to the photo gallery of our PPGB Winter Dog Walk 2023 held at Canine Countryside Escapes in Hertfordshire.
We had a great few hours with 21 dogs, 33 humans and plenty of sandwiches and cake!
A massive thank you to Graeme Knights for taking and processing all the photos. He has apologised if he’s missed anyone but I’m pretty sure there are at least a few photos of every dog!
In our latest blog, PPGB Chairwoman Daisy, sits down with Brooke Smith, Bruce’s owner to talk about the training journey they have been on with Bruce.
How old is Bruce?
Bruce is 1 year 8 months old, he’ll be 2 in September.
Is Bruce your first dog? Yes as a family, but Matt grew up with dogs.
What does a day in the life of Bruce look like? Bruce now sleeps in his crate, so he generally barks/cries to be let out of the crate in the morning, usually around 6am. We let him out and he comes and gets into bed for a cuddle which we all love. On weekdays he’ll have a morning Walk, followed by breakfast, then will spend the day lazing around. We’ll have some playtime, he particularly loves playing ‘find it’, with the tug-e-nuff, I’ll hide it, then he’ll find it and will run up and down the stairs and then I’ll hide it again. Bruce will then have a nice evening walk then home for dinner. At the weekend we like to go for longer walks through the forest.
How does Bruce interact with other dogs? Bruce LOVES other dogs, and wants to play with all of them. As he has so much energy, we have to gauge with the other dog if they are happy to play. His best mate is Bear the Bearded Collie and they love playing together. With Bruce, we have to sometimes remove him from the situation or else he will continue to play all day.
Could you outline the issues you were having with Bruce? Pulling on the lead was probably the worst one. I couldn’t walk him at all once he hit a certain size, he’s now at 34kg!
Recall where there were distractions was terrible, we could only go to quiet fields where we could see someone coming and could put him on his lead before he bolted over to them. Bruce always wanted to play with me when I was at home working, he wouldn’t settle or relax by himself and would follow me around the house, whereas if Matt was working at home, he’d relax and leave him alone.
Before we realised the positive impact of the crate, we had the opinion of it being mean to put him in there, since we have been using the crate in training he now takes himself off to his crate for some space. Bruce sleeps in his crate throughout the night now, he comes up in the evening for a cuddle with us and then Matt takes him down to his crate when Matt goes to sleep.
What training methods have you tried? We started with puppy group classes when Bruce first came home which was really basic and mainly socialised him with other dogs. Alongside this, for the first couple of months, before he’d had his jabs and could go out, I taught him some basic commands such as – sit, stay, paw and come. Using YouTube and treats.
When Bruce was 6/7 months, we reached out to a trainer and had a 1:1 class. The method she taught us for the lead pulling was on a slip lead, and to change direction every time he pulled. At the class Bruce was walking a bit better but once the class was over, on the same day he was back to pulling. The same trainer took him out on her own to practise this method but it just wasn’t working. Bruce wouldn’t engage with food or toys on walks. There just wasn’t any interest in anything other than other people or dogs that would hold his attention.
After a couple of months with this trainer, I was walking back from shops and met a guy who trained police dogs. This trainer’s method was to stop walking him completely and only train him twice a day in the garden or the main road outside our house. He came to our house a couple of times but we needed to leave it a month – 6 weeks between visits. In our first session, he taught us to lure Bruce with food under his nose until he followed us around the garden, then we’d ask him to sit, and we’d walk away with him still in a sit until we called him to come. We still do this with Bruce now as he’s very good at it.
In our second session he wanted us to work on play and food. It was quite a confusing session, and as we’d had to leave it so long in-between sessions we felt we weren’t getting anywhere with the real issues Bruce was having. In the end we stopped working with this trainer as it was a lot of money and we just weren’t getting anywhere. We did carry on practising what we’d learned but didn’t know what to do next.
We tried the Halti face harness to help with Bruce’s lead pulling but he was absolutely petrified of it. We tried to desensitise Bruce to the Halti, putting it on him in the house and giving him lots of treats but he still hated it and was constantly trying to get it off his face on walks. The only things Bruce likes to wear is his collar and slip lead.
When we went on holiday in February this year, my brother looked after him for us, but Bruce was not engaging at all with him. He wasn’t listening, dragging him on walks. We realised that we had gotten used to his high maintenance behaviour but hadn’t really realised how bad it had got.
I found Best Life Dog Training on Instagram and watched before and after videos of his training methods and read all of the reviews. I scheduled a phone conversation and took it from there. Bruce was about to start living his best life!
They advised he would have to go in for residential training to be trained professionally and set the foundations for good behaviour so we can carry on. We’d need to implement what Bruce had learnt every day and keep it up.
When the trainer from Best Life picked Bruce up said he’d have him walking nicely in a day, and it took him a week. Usually it only takes 1-2 days so it shows how set in his ways Bruce was. When we picked Bruce up the trainer said to us if we would have carried on as we were we’d have been training for years.
Bruce stayed with him for 2 weeks, and they worked on all of his issues.
It still is sometimes difficult and he definitely tries to push his luck but now we have the tools to be able to manage it. Bruce’s off lead behaviour and recall are amazing now, we can trust him anywhere and know he’ll always come back to us. I would recommend residential training for those having issues with their PP. They are a breed that always craves attention whether that be from good or bad behaviour and are a lot of hard work.
I would also recommend only sending them to a residential trainer that only has 2 dogs at a time and can dedicate all day to working with your dog. Rewards based training is not for every dog and we learnt the hard way.
We were told the E-collar would be used in Bruce’s training and went in open minded. When Bruce came home we had to carry on using the E-collar but now it is only used in an emergency. Even just wearing the collar, he acts differently. Some of the walks we do now we never would have been able to do, but now we can keep him safe we can get out and explore a lot more, which makes Bruce very happy. Now all you have to do is say his name and he’ll sit down.
Bruce still wears the E-collar on walks as a precautionary measure, but he’s gone from a dog with no recall to being amazing, all within a couple of months. In time we are hoping to not have to use it at all.
How has Bruce changed since his residential training? Bruce is already so much better and so are we, as we now know how to manage his behaviours. He’s a lot calmer, although sometimes we have to help him to initiate being calm, he does now relax and settle. Bruce is getting a lot more exercise, which has made him a much happier dog. We can now go out and explore new places without the worry and fear of him either pulling me over or not coming back when I recall him.
Would you recommend a PP to potential owners looking for a new dog? What advice would you give? If you are a first time dog owner you need to know how much work you need to put the work in. They’re not the easiest breed but if you put the work in they are an amazing breed. I would say that not all dogs react to force free training, and you have to be open minded with your training methods.
They are definitely not a breed for the faint hearted but if you’re willing to put the work in you’ll have a truly amazing dog. Obviously not all dogs of the same breed are the same, this is just our honest opinion of our experience.
With that being said, they are such a loving and affectionate breed and we’ll probably never have a dog with Bruce’s personality again. We love him so much and wouldn’t change him for the world.
It started as a typical Sunday, a little lie in and then into the car heading off for our walk. Despite my humans telling me what a fun day was ahead, I didn’t realise just how much fun was in store. Chopped Liver, that’s my strict human, was saying something about it being great that the field was enclosed, so I couldn’t just run off and completely ignore the whistle, or in fact any training I’ve had for the past five & half years. She also said something about my other human being too soft with me but I completely tuned out to that as he is my favourite.
I laid down and went into standby mode on the motorway but as soon as we came off I was up and sniffing all the new smells around me. I love seeing new places and get really excited. I was desperate to say hello to the horses we drove past but we didn’t stop so I barked a quick hello as we went.
Next thing I knew we were parking up next a large enclosed field and best of all it contained my breed. Yes I wasn’t the only PP amongst the usual other breeds at the park. I was amongst my tribe! In fairness I am a similar colour to a Vizsla but there are only so many times you can be called a chubby Vizsla or Boxer/Lab cross without wanting to bark in their faces I am a Portuguese Pointer for goodness sake..
First things first I wanted to introduce myself to each and every human, this is something I always like to do wherever I go. After all they have specifically come to see me, well that’s what I think, so it’s only polite to give each one a little bum wiggle.
Human introductions over it was time to meet my fellow PPs. I was a little shy at first but after a good sniff I realised I was amongst friends and soon became confident enough to say hello to everyone. I can be a little choosy who I socialise with and I’m usually in work/hunt mode when out but these were a good bunch. I imagine it was great for the humans to see 15 high energy PP’s charging around together.
The next hour or two was just a happy blur of socialising, running and sniffing. I’m confident in saying that I inspected and sniffed every inch of the field. I kept a good eye on which humans had treats. I wasn’t shy in using my ‘Please’ face and miraculously appeared at their sides.
Then all too quickly it was time to go home. We all said our goodbyes and bundled back into our cars. I’d had a thoroughly lovely time and settled happily onto my bed in the boot. My humans also seemed happy, I think the tea & cake helped with that.
It was a great afternoon and I’m not surprised we have the PPGB Club, after all who wouldn’t be a fan of us.
We went to Crufts at the NEC on gun dog day which was Sunday 13th March 2022. Travelling from Essex we left just after 6am and reached the NEC just after 8am and joined the many people (mostly showing) getting in. We got a bit of attention as we were wearing our PPGB t-shirts as always keen to promote the breed! Being there so early we first visited the Portuguese Pointer Club UK who were representing the breed on stand G18 in the Discover Dogs section. The stand looked good with lots of photos and information on the breed. It was nice to see Carol but the public hadn’t really started to come through the doors yet and the section was quiet.
We picked up a show guide and worked our way around the huge numbers of trade/retail stands. We could have spent loads but picked up a few treats for Amber and a few practical things for us for dog walking and agility. The guide was invaluable and really helped us ensure that we didn’t miss anything! Big shout out to Barking Bags, Dickybags, Scrumbles and Canine Cottages for making us feel welcome at your stands.
Knowing that judging for the import group was happening later in the afternoon we navigated our way to where the breed was stationed and caught up with Mark, Di and others.
Unfortunately we didn’t get into the main show arena to watch any of the flyball or agility as it was full (you only have to pay to get in later in day).
We stopped for a bite to eat before heading back to the Portuguese Pointer stand at Discover Dogs. The whole of the Discover Dogs section was a lot busier now and it was good to see a good number of people take an interest in the breed. It was good to see Tom Gorrian and hopefully the breed will again be represented at Discover Dogs at ExCel in London later this year.
After a brief stop for Debs to get her fix of the St Bernards (they were her first dog) we returned back to the area where the Portuguese Pointers were waiting to be judged. All the dogs and owners waited patiently for their turn and they were eventually judged late in the afternoon. Once again a Korthals Griffon won the group and progressed to the televised gundog final. Videos of the dogs being judged are on the Portuguese Pointer of Great Britain Facebook page.
We eventually left just after 6pm and got home about 8.30pm. Thank goodness that dinner was in the slow cooker!
Tips for the day: Book your parking ahead of the day as it is a little cheaper
Get there early
Take care on the pavements as they can be “messy”
Get a show guide
If you can take your own food
Try and get into the main arena before it fills up
Don’t forget gun dog day will be on Thursday 9th March when Crufts returns in 2023
About 4 yrs ago we begun our search for a dog and looking into the responsibilities that come with being a dog owner in the UK. We’d grown up surrounded by dogs but living in and bringing dogs up in Africa is very a different process and environment in regard to space and weather etc. They were primarily our guard dogs and lived in kennels outdoors. Our dogs in the UK are way more spoilt and I’m not ashamed to say they have prime spot on the sofa!!! When we started our search, we begun looking at dog rescue centres but found it difficult to find a suitable dog as we have two cats, and a high percent of rescues are not cat friendly. That lead us to doing a 180 and researching dog breeds and puppies. We’d never heard of the Portuguese Pointer, even though we are Portuguese but fell in love with the breed having visited Crufts and Discover Dog at the ExCel centre in London. Through the knowledge we gained having visited these shows, we begin following the PP Facebook page and found a litter that gave us our first PP, Rocco. It was a great experience bonding with and training a puppy, sometimes successfully and it still continues, but we couldn’t shake our longing to give a dog in need a home. We also wanted a play mate for Rocco but by this point we were so in love with the breed that we were conflicted with which way to go – another PP puppy or rescue another breed? It wasn’t long before our answer came along, again via the Facebook PP page, at the beginning of 2020. An article was posted by the Not For Profit Organisation Pointers In Need, who mostly re-home English Pointers from main land Europe. However, this article was about a PP in the UK who needed a new home due to his owners deteriorating health. She was his second owner and rescued him at 6 months from a family who brought him from Portugal but couldn’t give him a good home. The bonus for us was that he was fine with the family cat. We immediately expressed our interest as it ticked the cat friendly, rescue and PP boxes and after phone interviews, house check and form filling we were able to meet Judge with Rocco, luckily just before the first lockdown, to make sure they would be compatible. We needn’t worry as they are 6 months apart in age and matched in energy and enthusiasm and got on like a house on fire from the moment they met. We’re not going to pretend that its been plain sailing. The first week was tough whilst we all adjusted and to make matters worse Judge had digestive issues for at least the first 6 months that we still have to watch and his basic training was lacking including recall of which there was none. He’s also not so good with our cats. He’s had to learn the hard way to give our cats space. They definitely made him know who’s boss. But with time, patience and continuous training he’s making small improvements. It’s a continuous process but we can’t imagine our home without him now as he’s brought us so much joy, we just hope he’s as happy to live with us as we are to have him. Pointers in Need were very professional and helpful with Judge’s adoption but our Facebook PP community are really the ones we have to thank with all the support we have received. A special mention to Ian for taking the time out to assist with the adoption and to Mark Taylor for all the time he’s spent on the phone and texting to help with tips and resources to assist with Judge’s training. We don’t show our dogs, just your standard pet owner but we’ve owned about half a dozen different breeds before stumbling on the PP and maybe a bit biased, but they are the best dog breed ever. And if you’re thinking of a rescue PP, then please check Pointers in Need and please do your homework as any rescue will undoubtedly need additional attention, patience and training so be prepared. It is less daunting and been way more rewarding than we thought. Looking forward to our next PP group walk where we can finally introduce Judge and fingers crossed he will be off lead and well socialised by then.
