Blog - Out With The Old...
What a year 2024 turned out to be…
... it certainly wasn’t a year that I’d planned that’s for sure.
All I had in my diary for it was to publish The Well Mannered Dog, move The Pet Gundog Club to a new platform and have fun competing with Emrys both in Competitive Obedience and Working Tests.
The start of the year went according to plan with The Well Mannered Dog being published the 1st of March and launched at Crufts.
I was absolutely thrilled that it went straight to Number One on the Amazon Best Seller list – thank you so much for supporting my latest book.
The Advanced Pet Gundog book won the American Legacy Book Awards which makes it a hat trick for the series, to say I'm a bit proud of that is the understatement of the year.
June saw 6 more instructors accredited which now brings the total up to 22 (plus we have another 10 in training) and it also saw 4 Accredited Pet Gundog Instructors awarded Advanced status.
I competed with both Emrys and Dante in Competitive Obedience, Emrys wasn’t ready and kept wanting to say hello to the judge, whereas Dante completely surprised me as he won out of the Beginner class in his 3rd competition.
Putting Emrys through some serious paces on the gundog field on the 2nd of July saw him go lame and he’s been on the lead ever since.
Diagnosed with some serious connective tissue issues we started regenerative therapies with him at Greenside in Melrose with stem cell implants taking place in November and laser treatment in progress – we’ll know how well the healing is progressing at the end of January, so fingers crossed.
The CLA Gamefair kind of threw all the plans up in the air when I found an issue with the Lez Graham Retrieving Roll and within an hour of doing so met Sam Gould of Gamekeepers Goods. A long conversation culminated in me redesigning the retrieving roll and registering the design for some new training equipment.
The revamped Lez Graham Retrieving Roll plus The Squinty Dummies, Balls and Clip to Slip Leads were all launched on the 1st of November, and I have to say, the dummies really are something else – very motivating for the dogs as the contrast fires up their prey drive.
Last but by no means least, we welcomed the fabulous Faelan into our home 💜
We had absolutely no plans on getting another dog this year but sometimes things happen when you need them to happen rather than when you want them to.
He’s a smashing dog, really sweet-natured, a thinker and very strong both physically and mentally – yup, it’s great to have another Goldie. Initially, I’ll be concentrating on Competitive Obedience with him, and we’ll see how that goes – he moves like he was built for the sport, and at some point, I’ll also hope to take him picking up as both of his parents work but that’s a couple of seasons away.
I think it’s safe to say my planned quiet year didn’t really go to plan… but thank goodness it didn't as it’s been a bit of a cracker.
A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped me get through the year, joining me on live chats, liking the content I’m sharing, coming along on my virtual dog walks, and being a part of it all with me. Thank you.
Wishing you and your loved ones a peaceful start to the year and hope that 2025 brings with it good health, happiness, and all that you wish for yourself.
Lez
first published 4 January 2025
buy the book - https://thepetgundog.co.uk/Home/Books
join the club - https://www.lezgrahamonlinetraining.com/the-pet-gundog-club
Blog - Out With The Old...
What a year 2024 turned out to be…
... it certainly wasn’t a year that I’d planned that’s for sure.
All I had in my diary for it was to publish The Well Mannered Dog, move The Pet Gundog Club to a new platform and have fun competing with Emrys both in Competitive Obedience and Working Tests.
The start of the year went according to plan with The Well Mannered Dog being published the 1st of March and launched at Crufts.
I was absolutely thrilled that it went straight to Number One on the Amazon Best Seller list – thank you so much for supporting my latest book.
The Advanced Pet Gundog book won the American Legacy Book Awards which makes it a hat trick for the series, to say I'm a bit proud of that is the understatement of the year.
June saw 6 more instructors accredited which now brings the total up to 22 (plus we have another 10 in training) and it also saw 4 Accredited Pet Gundog Instructors awarded Advanced status.
I competed with both Emrys and Dante in Competitive Obedience, Emrys wasn’t ready and kept wanting to say hello to the judge, whereas Dante completely surprised me as he won out of the Beginner class in his 3rd competition.
Putting Emrys through some serious paces on the gundog field on the 2nd of July saw him go lame and he’s been on the lead ever since.
Diagnosed with some serious connective tissue issues we started regenerative therapies with him at Greenside in Melrose with stem cell implants taking place in November and laser treatment in progress – we’ll know how well the healing is progressing at the end of January, so fingers crossed.
The CLA Gamefair kind of threw all the plans up in the air when I found an issue with the Lez Graham Retrieving Roll and within an hour of doing so met Sam Gould of Gamekeepers Goods. A long conversation culminated in me redesigning the retrieving roll and registering the design for some new training equipment.
The revamped Lez Graham Retrieving Roll plus The Squinty Dummies, Balls and Clip to Slip Leads were all launched on the 1st of November, and I have to say, the dummies really are something else – very motivating for the dogs as the contrast fires up their prey drive.
Last but by no means least, we welcomed the fabulous Faelan into our home 💜
We had absolutely no plans on getting another dog this year but sometimes things happen when you need them to happen rather than when you want them to.
He’s a smashing dog, really sweet-natured, a thinker and very strong both physically and mentally – yup, it’s great to have another Goldie. Initially, I’ll be concentrating on Competitive Obedience with him, and we’ll see how that goes – he moves like he was built for the sport, and at some point, I’ll also hope to take him picking up as both of his parents work but that’s a couple of seasons away.
I think it’s safe to say my planned quiet year didn’t really go to plan… but thank goodness it didn't as it’s been a bit of a cracker.
A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped me get through the year, joining me on live chats, liking the content I’m sharing, coming along on my virtual dog walks, and being a part of it all with me. Thank you.
Wishing you and your loved ones a peaceful start to the year and hope that 2025 brings with it good health, happiness, and all that you wish for yourself.
Lez
first published 4 January 2025
buy the book - https://thepetgundog.co.uk/Home/Books
join the club - https://www.lezgrahamonlinetraining.com/the-pet-gundog-club