NGO Dogs for Deer Course

More News

The National Gamekeepers' Organisation Deer Branch is holding a one-day event on training dogs to track and find deer. The Dogs for Deer course will be held at the Englefield Estate, Reading, Berkshire on 24 March 2013.

Participants may bring their own dogs. It is a popular event and space is strictly limited, so early booking is highly recommended. The cost, including lunch, is �60. To book, please contact the NGO National Office on 01833 660869 or at info@nationalgamekeepers.org.uk

The Dogs for Deer course - a mix of lectures and practical demonstrations - should enable participants to go home with the skills needed to start training a dog for most deer work. The comprehensive syllabus �- which also covers wild boar - will focus on:

- how to begin training a pup,
- demands made on deer dogs,
- tackling the progression into work, and
- understanding signs when tracking and when called upon to locate an animal.

Those who bring dogs will have the opportunity to try set trails and to discuss a dog's progress with the tutors. There will also be an introduction to deer-dog trials and an insight into how dog-tracking competitions are run on the Continent. All participants will get an NGO booklet on training dogs for deer. An opportunity to tour Englefield's deer park will be provided.

The course leader is Alan Rogers, a former Sussex deer manager, who now lives in Sweden training and competing with dogs working both deer and wild boar. Veterinary surgeon Mark Elliott, with a long track record of training deer dogs, will assist.

The National Gamekeepers' Organisation Deer Branch represents professional and recreational stalkers in England and Wales as well as gamekeepers who control deer as part of their day-to-day work in wildlife conservation and habitat management. The NGO Deer Branch is believed by stalking industry experts to have more members actively engaged in deer manangement than any other organisation in the UK. Members of the NGO account for more than 50 per cent of the entire deer cull in England and Wales.

 ,

Notes to Editors
- For further information on this release please contact Julian Murray-Evans on 01766 523795 or email jmurrayevans@btinternet.com

 ,

- The Deer Branch of the National Gamekeepers' Organisation, which was set up in 2009, is a special interest group within the NGO membership. It aims to help improve deer welfare and management.

- Industry experts believe the NGO Deer Branch has more members actively involved in deer manangement in the UK than any other organisation.

- The NGO's stalker members carry out more than 50 per cent of the entire deer cull in England and Wales.

- Within its remit, the NGO Deer Branch advises the NGO National Committee on deer-related issues and works with the British Deer Society to train to Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1 (DSC 1). The Deer Branch also runs its own courses on Dogs for Deer and Game Meat Hygiene.

- Any NGO member interested in deer can join the NGO Deer Branch at no extra cost.