Point!: Training the All-Seasons Birddog [Hardcover]

James B. Spencer (Author), Herb Holmes (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

If you want to hunt with a Pointer, a setter, or any other birddog, at a leisurely pace or in competition, this book will get you off to a proper start as well as have your teamwork with your dog. Spencer, a regular contributor to Gun Dog magazine, covers what to look for in 10 popular breeds of birddog, how to train, where and how to compete, and most important, how to enjoy your huntin' buddy. With a foreword by Herb Holmes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876057806
• ISBN-13: 978-0876057803
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,743,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a solid book that details training your own dog, June 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Canfield, Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Point!: Training the All-Seasons Birddog (Hardcover)

I have read many books on training pointing dogs, and have trained with some very fine trainers in the past. While I do not agree with all the training techniques (such as the author's mannor of progressing from point, to steady to wing and shot), I found other useful information in every chapter. I was particularly interested in how the author described the way various breeds react to different training - for example, a Brittany will generally respond to a very soft taining hand and lots of praise; while a German Shorthair will (generally) respond to a stronger hand with less praise. This is important to me as I'm about to start with a GSP, having trained primarily Brittanies in the past. Another aspect of this book which I found both refreshing and educational, was that the author consulted with various professional trainers - both to provide their perspective of the breed they work with, and to give the reader other opinions. Most dog books give the reader only the author's opinion, and as anyone who trains dogs knows, opinions vary. This book has earned a place on my shelf next to what I consider to be the best of the best of gun dog training books. Also, it is an entertaining read.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical step by step guide for training a pointing dog., March 26, 2001

By 

David Riddell (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Point!: Training the All-Seasons Birddog (Hardcover)

I've read every birddog book I could find since getting my Brittany last year. This book is the best. Authors vary widely in their opinions on proper dog training and a lot of the advice out there is plain wrong. Based upon my experience, Spencer's advice is right on target. What's even better, the clear and concise writing in this book makes it a very easy to follow guide. The first 98 pages provide an overview of birddog hunting in the U.S., and descriptions of 10 birddog breeds. For the next 146 pages, every sentence explicitly helps you understand the how and why of each aspect of training from puppyhood to the dog's first season afield.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unassuming and Better than Most, July 8, 2002

By 

Robert Oswald (Carroll Valley, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Point!: Training the All-Seasons Birddog (Hardcover)

This book is the best of the bunch so far. I have read several training books to work with my GSP, and this one has been the most enjoyable and most accurate. The purpose and methods are clear, and the results one should expect are also laid out nicely.

One of the really great things about this book is the unassuming tone of the book. The author is clearly a working man who has responsibilities that include things other than dog training. After reading most other books, I come away feeling guility, as though I am torturing my dog by not giving her enough of my time. This author clearly understands that not every man has several hours per day to dedicate to training. I also like the way the author spells out so many things, but is noticably short-winded on one area: discipline. Too many books I read lean to far to one extreme or the other. Wolters says beat your dog into submission. Tarrant says don't touch your dog, but feel free to hand out emotional abuse as needed. I think effective training lies somewhere in between, and this book lets the reader judge the dog and doesn't spend a lot of time with high handed preaching(personally, I find that grabbing my pup's scruff and giving her a deep-throated growl usually conveys my displeasure more than adequately without needing to hit her as Wolter suggests, or punish her by withholding her food as Tarrant suggests).

Anyway, the techniques are sound, I get the results I desire, and my dog and I have a lot of fun together in the process, so this book gets my vote for the best training manual I've read so far.