About Us
The Maylandlea Gundogs are based at Greyswell Farm in the heart of Weardale in County Durham. We are a small family run, strictly amateur and private gundog kennel.
We breed working Labrador and Cocker Spaniel gundogs for our own use on the grouse moors in August/September, partridge and primarily pheasant shooting throughout the rest of the season. We strive to produce gundogs that are pleasant individuals, responsive to training, highly biddable and of the highest quality in the shooting field.
We have access to some wonderful training grounds both around us in the Wear Valley and at McNeil Farm, on the Bedburn Estate in County Durham. McNeil provides a complete mix of training grounds – from the 35 acre lake to undulating countryside, bank sides, stubble fields and woodlands. At Sunniside Farm, close to Wolsingham, on the southern aspect of the Wear Valley, the ground provides a superb mix of rough grassland, steep bank sides, a rabbit haven! We generally start the shooting experience with the young dogs over decoyed pigeons graduating in August onto the Durham and Cumbrian grouse moors – The Catlin Estate at Burnhope in Weardale. On alternate weekends from November through to January the dogs pick up on the Wall Shoot in Northumberland or sit at the peg on the formal shooting days at South Farm Causey in County Durham.
Harry has been asked many times on when it is best to start to train your gundog. It is about doing the simple things well done and not over complicating; training and developing a bond between the teacher and the student. Harry is very much of the opinion that this should start as soon as you take your puppy home, shortly after the puppy is eight weeks old. This without exception starts in the kennel or in the home at feed time, gently getting the puppy to sit, wait and eat when presented. When the pups are young he tries and to spend 10 minutes or so each day, more often than not late in the evening after a long day in the office, sat playing with the pup in the farm stables, throwing a tennis ball or simply "getting to know each other". It is the small things, laying the foundations repetitively clearly and simply, that have underpinned the training of the Maylandlea Gundogs. Everything stems from the discipline to sit, an exuberant student can be bought back into control when the foundations are laid properly and the young pupil fully understands that when he is instructed to sit he does so. As a young dog training has to be fun and in short bursts. Retrieving should come naturally and not be too formal in the early stages. It is important to encourage the retrieve, not being overly protective of sit wait and then the command to fetch, again this has to be fun, far better the young dog is on the front foot than reticent; it is far easier to pull back an enthusiastic pupil than it is to push out a nervous one. In the dark winter months it is amazing how much ground work can be laid under the dim lights in our yard, much of the basics are undertaken under the lights, sit and stay, left and right, and walking to heel. The simple things made easy.
As Harry shoots much of the education of his young gundogs, once the firm basics have been put in place is undertaken in the shooting field, either under the gun on a shoot day or when accompanying Harry when loading on the Catlin Estate Grouse Moors.
Our gundogs are tested across the broadest spectrum in the shooting field.
We have a strict breeding policy – we only breed a litter when we require replacements and/or additions to our own team of working dogs. We occasionally have surplus puppies for sale – we are not commercial breeders of dogs.
