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5 minutes with John Halstead Jr....

9/16/2017

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PictureJohn qualified and ran five dogs in the 2015 Retriever Championship where he won with Lady C, Carter's FTCH Asterix Aguzannis of Chatsworth
Wendy Bardsley talks to John Halstead  a distinguished trainer with an exceptional record having qualified to compete at the IGL Retriever Championship every year since 1992. John has developed his training methods over the past 30 years and takes great pride and pleasure in producing fantastic dogs.  

Who do you aspire to?

Now I’ve got to where I want to be in the gundog world I don’t aspire to anyone. I tend to be a leader rather than a follower but when I started gundog training I liked Alan Thornton, David  Garbutt  and obviously my Father.  I  watch these people and I'm impressed by what they do and you find out how to do it and over time you learn how to take it to the next level. I've always trained my own way right from the start. My Father encouraged me to find my own path.

Gundog training has moved on such a lot over the last 10 and 20 years. You come to places like the Game Fair and you’ll see people straight lining as they’ve learnt my methods and other people’s methods and the standard just gets  better and better. At first you must  have something to aim for but once you get to the top you’ve got to be a leader rather than a follower.

How do you stay at the top of your game?

Working hard. There’s no short cuts. Very rarely do I train with other people. 95% of my training I do on my own in a field for hours and hours. It’s similar to an Olympic athlete  they don’t train to compete everyday. They work out in the gym, they get up on the bar, fall off, get back on, fall off and they work on that exercise until eventually they perfect it and master what they want to achieve. It takes time and you can’t do it training with others. When you’re ready you then go into the field with others to see if what you are trying to achieve works.

Many thanks to John for giving up his valuable demo time to Biddablebardsley at The Game Fair, Hatfield 2017.



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Monday's Motivation

9/4/2017

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My affectionate lab, Jack has a wonderful personality and he’s a perfect companion to have around the house. When I’m at my desk working I often find myself glancing down and whispering a few words to him. I see the tilt of his head, the look in his eyes, the wag of a tail and then a gentle nudge of a wet nose. The signs of a dog who has never wavered in being there for me. I never tire of his enthusiasm first thing in the morning, and his sheer excitement when he sees the lead, whistle or a training dummy. His unconditional love for the family is real and uncomplicated. 

Jack is approaching 11 years old and he is walking a little slower these days. His back legs don’t work the way they used to. He sometimes gets confused when we go out on a walk and by the time we reach the woods he’s ready to go back home again. But his tail never stops wagging and his love for life is amazing. Jack’s patience was put to the test last Autumn when I came home  with a 3 week old kitten which I had found in the roadside. The tiny creature was weak and hungry so after an emergency trip to the vets I brought it home to nurse. Immediately the kitten developed a close relationship with Jack, sharing his bed, curling up together for a nap. They developed an unlikely, loving relationship and the kindhearted lab has helped to nurse the abandoned kitten back to health.

Needless to say the scrawny bundle of fluff has become a firm member of the family and now happily rules the roost. Only this morning Jack pondered down the garden and collapsed on the grass for a morning snooze. As he stretched out and began to soak up the September sunshine the cat trotted up beside him and rubbed herself against his body. His tail started to wag and he lifted his head up slowly and gave her a gentle nudge of a wet nose. 

Seeing the uncomplicated signs of a loving dog just makes my day…

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