Outdoor training, breed fulfilment and gundog-inspired fun
Give your dog something meaningful to do—and discover just how capable they really are.
Build a happier, more responsive and fulfilled dog through retrieving, searching, recall, steadiness and practical outdoor training.
The Country Canine Companion Club takes the most engaging elements of traditional gundog training and makes them accessible to everyday owners and suitable dogs of all breeds.
Outdoor
In-person training
All breeds
Suitable dogs welcome
No hunting
No experience required
£75 / month
Outdoor club membership
See what the Country Canine Companion Club is all about.
Watch Will explain how gundog-inspired training can fulfil your dog’s natural instincts, improve everyday behaviour and create a much stronger relationship between you.
No hunting, shooting or previous gundog experience required.
More exercise is not always the answer
Your dog may not need another walk. They may need a job.
A lot of owners try to solve excess energy by doing more of the same thing. A longer walk. Another lap around the park. More time running around.
But some dogs return home just as restless, excitable or difficult to settle as when they left. That is because physical exercise is only one part of fulfilment.
Constant pulling and scanning
Ignoring recall
Chasing wildlife
Obsessive sniffing
Stealing and carrying objects
Restlessness at home
Destructive behaviour
Frustration
Difficulty switching off
Interested in everything except you
Many dogs were bred to retrieve, search, carry, follow scent, wait for direction and work closely alongside a person.
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When those instincts have no appropriate outlet, they do not simply disappear
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Trying to suppress those instincts entirely can create conflict
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They can show up as restlessness, frustration and difficulty switching off
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The better option is to give them structure
The Country Canine Companion Club teaches your dog when they are free to search, when they need to wait, when to follow your direction and how to work as part of a team.
The opportunity
Give natural instincts an appropriate outlet under your guidance, instead of constantly fighting them.
Your dog learns when they are free to search, when they need to wait, and how to work as part of a team.
The club
The result is training that feels less like a battle and more like something you both genuinely enjoy.
Fulfilment is not about letting your dog do whatever they want.
It is about giving natural instincts an appropriate outlet under your guidance.
Practical outdoor training for everyday owners
The best parts of gundog training, without needing to hunt or shoot.
The Country Canine Companion Club is a practical outdoor training club that uses gundog-inspired exercises to build fulfilment, obedience and a stronger relationship between you and your dog.
No hunting. No shooting. No live game.
You do not need to shoot. You do not need to hunt. Your dog does not need to be a trained working gundog. We do not use live game, and the club is not designed to prepare dogs for real hunting.
Retrieving, searching and teamwork
We take the activities that make traditional gundog training so engaging—retrieving, searching, steadiness, recall, heelwork and teamwork—and turn them into something everyday owners can enjoy.
Listening is what allows the fun to begin
These exercises give your dog an appropriate way to use their natural ability while teaching them that the most exciting opportunities in the environment happen through you and with you.
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You might begin with your dog learning to collect a simple retrieve and bring it back.
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Success will look different for every dog. The aim is not to turn every dog into a competition gundog.
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Over time, you may work towards longer retrieves, memory exercises, whistle cues, directional handling, searching larger areas and working around greater distractions.
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The aim is to help the dog in front of us become more fulfilled, more responsive and more excited to work with their owner.
The most exciting things in your dog’s world should happen through you—not by ignoring you.
Fulfilment, control and partnership.
Every exercise is designed to satisfy your dog’s instincts while improving the skills that make everyday life calmer and more enjoyable.
Fulfilment
Give your dog an appropriate outlet for what they were built to do.
Many dogs naturally love to retrieve, carry, search, explore and follow scent. Instead of constantly fighting those instincts, we can give them structure and purpose.
What this can include
- Retrieving
- Searching
- Scent-based exercises
- Carrying and delivering objects
- Memory retrieves
- Working across different terrain
- Carefully managed water retrieves
- Using natural ability through structured tasks
Mental and physical fulfilment can tire a dog in a way that simply adding another walk often cannot. More importantly, it gives energetic and intelligent dogs something meaningful to do.
Control
Teach your dog that patience and obedience create access to the fun.
A good retrieve is about far more than chasing an object. Your dog needs to wait. Watch. Remember. Follow direction. Collect the retrieve. And bring it all the way back to you.
What sessions may include
- Steadiness
- Impulse control
- Recall
- Heelwork
- Stop or pause cues
- Whistle cues
- Holding position
- Working around distractions
- Remaining responsive at distance
- Waiting calmly before being released
Your dog learns that self-control does not mean the opportunity disappears. It is what earns them access to it.
Partnership
Build a dog who wants to work with you, even when the environment is exciting.
The real power of this training is the relationship it creates. Your dog learns to look to you for direction, trust your guidance, search where you send them and return to you with something valuable.
What we are aiming for
- Engagement
- Teamwork
- Trust
- Clear communication
- Directional handling
- Confidence away from the owner
- Responsiveness at distance
- A stronger desire to check in and cooperate
The result is a relationship many owners did not realise was possible with their dog.
Training that grows with your partnership
Start where you are and keep discovering what your dog can do.
You do not need any previous gundog experience to join the Country Canine Companion Club. Exercises can be adapted around the dog, the owner and the stage they are currently at.
Start at the right level
For one dog, success might be calmly waiting while a dummy is placed a few metres away.
Grow the challenge
For another, it might be completing a blind retrieve across a field, following directional cues or searching a wider area.
Achievable steps
Each exercise can be broken down and gradually developed as your dog’s understanding, confidence and control improve.
Example training areas
Retrieving foundations
Encouraging a complete return
Holding and delivering objects
Steadiness before release
Recall around outdoor distractions
Heelwork
Whistle recall
Stop or pause cues
Memory retrieves
Marked retrieves
Blind retrieves
Directional handling
Searching with purpose
Working across varied terrain
Building confidence at distance
Impulse control
Working around other suitable dogs
Carefully managed water introduction
Desensitisation to relevant sounds
The level of difficulty will always be based on the dog in front of us. Your Labrador may eventually complete an advanced retrieve through water and across a field. Your English Mastiff may achieve something brilliant by bringing the dummy all the way back without stopping for a lie down. Both are progress. Both are worth celebrating.
Water work, sound desensitisation and advanced dummy-launcher exercises will only be introduced when appropriate for the individual dog and under the guidance of the training team. No live game is used.
Much more than fetch
Enjoyable training that improves everyday life with your dog.
Fulfil Natural Instincts
Give your dog a safe, structured way to retrieve, search, carry and use their natural ability. A fulfilled dog is often calmer, happier and easier to live with.
Build a Stronger Recall
Your dog learns that returning to you does not mean the fun ends. You become the source of the next exciting opportunity, helping recall feel valuable rather than restrictive.
Improve Impulse Control
Waiting, watching and holding position are essential parts of the activity. Your dog learns how to stay composed even when something exciting is about to happen.
Strengthen Your Relationship
Training becomes something you do together rather than a constant attempt to stop your dog doing what they enjoy. That cooperation can transform the way your dog looks to you for guidance.
Provide Mental and Physical Exercise
Searching, remembering, waiting and following direction challenge your dog’s brain as well as their body. This can create a much deeper level of satisfaction than exercise alone.
Enjoy Training Outdoors
Spend meaningful time with your dog in the countryside while learning new skills alongside a community of owners working towards similar goals.
Is the Country Canine Companion Club right for you and your dog?
The club is ideal for suitable dogs who enjoy retrieving, searching, carrying or working with their owner. It may particularly suit retrievers, spaniels and other gundog breeds, but membership is not restricted by the name on a pedigree.
The club may be right for you if:
- Your dog enjoys retrieving, searching or carrying objects
- You want to provide a more appropriate outlet for their instincts
- You want to strengthen recall and engagement outdoors
- You want to improve steadiness and impulse control
- You are interested in gundog-inspired training without hunting
- You want enjoyable activities you can practise together
- You want your dog to become more responsive around outdoor distractions
- You are willing to take part, learn and have fun with your dog
- Your dog can work safely within a managed group environment
- You want a reason to spend more time outdoors together
You do not need
Previous gundog-training experience, specialist knowledge, a working gundog, an interest in hunting or shooting, or a dog capable of advanced exercises from day one.
Suitability note
Every dog must be suitable for the group and outdoor environments used. Dogs displaying uncontrolled aggression, significant reactivity, severe anxiety or behaviour requiring private assessment may need to begin with the Perfect Canine Companion Behaviour Clinic. The training team can help advise on the most appropriate route.
Simple, ongoing outdoor training
How the Country Canine Companion Club works.
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Confirm Suitability
The club is open to suitable dogs of different breeds and experience levels.
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Join the Club
Membership costs £75/month. Places are limited to 10 dogs per group.
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Attend Outdoor Training
Join Will and the WA Academy training team for practical sessions across the countryside surrounding the Will Atherton Canine Centre. Each session lasts 1 hour.
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Start at the Right Level
Exercises will be adapted around your dog’s confidence, experience and natural ability. You do not need to arrive with a polished retrieve or previous gundog-training experience.
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Keep Progressing
Develop the exercises over time through increased distance, difficulty, control and freedom.
Membership summary
Country Canine Companion Club
£75
/ month
Outdoor, in-person training
Suitable dogs of all breeds
Gundog-inspired exercises
No hunting or live game
Retrieving, searching and steadiness
Recall, heelwork and impulse control
Progression from beginner to advanced exercises
Coaching from Will and the WA Academy team
Training across private Derbyshire countryside
Places are limited to maintain a safe, productive and enjoyable outdoor training environment.
Train in the environments where these skills come to life.
The Country Canine Companion Club takes place across the outdoor training spaces surrounding the Will Atherton Canine Centre.
The changing terrain, scents, weather and natural distractions make every session different and give you the opportunity to build skills that work beyond a controlled indoor environment.
Secure Training Paddock
Introduce new exercises, establish control and build confidence within a secure outdoor space.
Open Countryside
Develop retrieves, searches, recall and directional handling across larger areas and more varied terrain.
Long Grass and Search Areas
Teach your dog to use their nose with purpose, search independently and continue working as part of a team.
Suitable dogs may have the opportunity to develop confidence around water and progress towards carefully managed water retrieves. As dogs progress, exercises may include longer memory retrieves, directional work, blind retrieves and the use of advanced dummy launchers. Every environment will be used according to the ability and suitability of the dog in front of us. The aim is to create an achievable challenge, allow the dog to succeed and gradually build from there.
Learn with Will and the WA Academy training team.
The Country Canine Companion Club is led by Will Atherton and supported by the WA Academy training team.
Will is a clinical canine behaviourist, the founder of WA Academy and one of the world’s most recognised dog-training educators.
His approach is built around understanding the dog in front of you, channelling natural instincts appropriately and creating a relationship in which the dog genuinely wants to work with their owner.
The team will help you break each exercise into manageable steps, improve your handling and adapt the training around your dog’s current ability.
You will learn what to do, why it works and how to continue practising safely between sessions.
Where can the training take you?
There is always another skill to explore.
The Country Canine Companion Club is designed to grow with you and your dog. A beginner may start by building enthusiasm for a simple retrieve. As the dog progresses, the same activity can develop into steadiness, memory work, searching larger areas, directional handling and working at much greater distances.
There is no expectation that every owner or dog reaches the same standard. You may want an enjoyable Saturday activity that gives your dog a meaningful outlet. You may want to improve recall and engagement on countryside walks. Or you may discover a genuine passion for gundog-inspired training and continue developing increasingly advanced skills.
The club gives you the coaching, environment and community to explore what is possible.
Related training
Perfect Canine Companion Club
Continue developing calmness, everyday obedience, socialisation and reliable behaviour in a structured group environment.
If behaviour is in the way
Perfect Canine Companion Behaviour Clinic
If a behaviour problem is preventing your dog from participating safely or enjoying outdoor training, private assessment may be the appropriate first step.
The team can help you choose the right path based on your dog’s needs, ability and the goals you want to work towards.
Real puppies. Real owners. Real progress.
See what happens when owners have a clear plan.
A weekly, in-person training club for owners who want to raise their puppy properly—and enjoy the process.
Calmer walks in 2 weeks
“We tried everything before this. The structure was exactly what we needed. Highly recommend to anyone struggling.”
Sleeping through night
“We tried everything before this. The structure was exactly what we needed. Highly recommend to anyone struggling.”
Can visit parks again
“We tried everything before this. The structure was exactly what we needed. Highly recommend to anyone struggling.”
Ready for weekly coaching that grows with your puppy?
£75 per month, per person · Max 10 owners · Saturdays 09:30
Questions, answered clearly.
Everything you need to know before you book.
Is this a hunting or shooting club?
No. The Country Canine Companion Club uses gundog-inspired exercises for training, fulfilment and relationship building. We do not use live game, and the purpose is not to prepare dogs for real hunting.
Do I need to own a gundog breed?
No. The club may be particularly well suited to retrievers, spaniels and other dogs with strong retrieving or searching instincts, but suitable dogs of any breed can take part.
Does my dog need to retrieve already?
No. You can begin with the foundations. The training team can help build enthusiasm for the activity, improve the return and gradually develop the retrieve into a more complete exercise.
Do I need previous gundog-training experience?
No previous experience is required. Exercises will be explained and adapted around your current level.
What will we work on?
Training may include retrieving, searching, steadiness, recall, heelwork, whistle cues, memory exercises, directional handling, impulse control and teamwork. More advanced exercises may be introduced as you and your dog progress.
Will every dog complete advanced retrieves?
No. Every dog will progress according to their ability, confidence and enjoyment. Success is measured against the dog’s own starting point rather than expecting every dog to reach the same standard.
Will there be water training?
Suitable dogs may have the opportunity to take part in carefully managed water introduction and retrieving exercises. This will only be offered when appropriate for the dog and the training conditions.
Will there be gunshots?
There is no live shooting. Suitable dogs may be gradually introduced to controlled sounds as part of preparation for advanced dummy-launcher exercises. This will only take place under guidance and at a level appropriate for the individual dog.
Can reactive dogs attend?
Every dog must be able to train safely within the club environment. Dogs displaying uncontrolled reactivity, aggression or significant anxiety may require private assessment through the Perfect Canine Companion Behaviour Clinic before joining.
How much does membership cost?
Membership costs £75/month.
How many dogs are in each session?
Sessions are limited to 10 dogs. This helps maintain a safe environment and allows the team to provide meaningful coaching.
Where does the club take place?
The club takes place across the outdoor training areas and private countryside surrounding the Will Atherton Canine Centre in Derbyshire located in Church Broughton, Derbyshire. The exact address will be shared after booking.
How long is each session?
Each session will last 1 hour.
What should I bring?
You will receive a full preparation list before attending. This may include suitable outdoor clothing, appropriate footwear, your dog’s lead, food rewards, water, a towel and any training equipment specified by the team. Specialist gundog equipment is not required when you first join unless stated otherwise.
Will sessions continue in bad weather?
We will endeavour to give as much notice as possible for any sessions that have to be cancelled due to poor weather. As this is an outdoor club, owners should arrive prepared for normal countryside conditions.
Can I cancel my membership?
Membership is priced at £75 per month, per dog. A maximum of 2 people per dog can attend the class.
Give your dog a job they love—and become the person they love doing it with.
Join the Country Canine Companion Club and enjoy practical, gundog-inspired training with Will and the WA Academy team.
Build fulfilment, recall, steadiness, impulse control and a stronger relationship while spending meaningful time together in the Derbyshire countryside.
£75 per month
Suitable dogs of all breeds
No hunting or previous experience required
Outdoor, in-person training
Places are limited to maintain a safe, productive and supportive training environment.