Customer Reviews

Point!: Training the All-Seasons Birddog

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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.

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.

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.

This is the first bird dog I own and every single item from the book which I have used in training has been on the button. The pleasure of seeing my dog behave as predicted in the field cannot be described, and would only be understood by other bird dog owners .
The success of this book is that it's easy to read, insightful and accurate in the advice it dispenses.
It makes it easy for the dog owner to move through that confusing and daunting task of training his dog from puppy to successful bird-dog without making a mistake.

This is the first bird dog I own and every single item from the book which I have used in training has been on the button. The pleasure of seeing my dog behave as predicted in the field cannot be described, and would only be understood by other bird dog owners .
The success of this book is that it's easy to read, insightful and accurate in the advice it dispenses.
It makes it easy for the dog owner to move through that confusing and daunting task of training his dog from puppy to successful bird-dog without making a mistake.

I have recommended this book for years for newbies wanting to break their own dogs. Spencer uses humane techniques and his humor keeps it fun to read. I used a lot of his techniques to break my own dog, but followed his retrieve training step by step and force broke my own dog in a couple weeks. It's good stuff!