South West Scotland Gundog Association

Welfare of our Canine Friends is essential in the pursuit of their wellbeing and excellence in our chosen Sport.

The South West of Scotland Gundog Association (SWSGA) has a Membership of approximately 300 dedicated members. They hale from all walks of life and locations; as far as the USA and Europe. We pride ourselves on being a friendly and welcoming Association and continually strive to promote the ethos and ethics of our governing body - The Kennel Club (KC) of the United Kingdom www.thekennelclub.org.uk. The KC was founded in 1873 by Sewallis Shirley and is the oldest recognised Club in the world......it is a non profit organisation.​

We offer members a Spring Test for Working Spaniels and Retrievers. This is usually held in May with our Autumn Schedule of Trials commencing in August until the end of January for both Retrievers and Spaniels.

Gundog 'Tests' are not governed by the KC as such but we at the SWSGA run our Tests under KC rules and regulations. 'Trials' however are and the rules and regulations we follow as part of our KC licence (KC ID 178), can be found in the 'J' Regulations of the KC Handbook.

As our name strongly suggests, we are located in the South West of Scotland, but we seek and secure ground wherever we can in the best interests of our Sport. Availability of ground is not as readily secured as in former years and so we sometimes have to go outwith our recognised area to secure good Trialling ground.

We are extremely fortunate, and honoured, to have His Grace, The Duke of Buccleugh, as our Patron.

The Buccleugh family are directly connected with the introduction of Labradors to the UK from Nova Scotia, Canada. This breed was introduced back in the 1800's and acquired by the 5th Duke of Buccleugh at that time. The afore mentioned Labradors remain the basis of the current Labrador line at Buccleugh Estates to this day.