Customer Reviews

Spaniels: Their breaking for sport and field trials

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This book is a true classic, written in 1914 by England's leading field trainer of flushing spaniels.

It is long out-of-print, but if you can find a used copy, by all means do so -- especially if you are a person who is serious about training flushing spaniels for the field. Even though it was written nearly a century ago it is stil the best book ever written on this subject. It was re-issued in an annotated version in the 1970s by Talbot Radcliff which is also now out of print but well worth getting in its own right just for Talbot Radcliff's outstanding commentary.

For those interested in dog training in general it is fascinating to see the clarity and savvy with which H. W. Carlton treated issues that we tend to think of as "contemporary debates" in dog training. Questions about correction vs. positive reinforcement, questions about socialization vs. training, questions about Nature vs. nurture -- the average dog owner may not find these things quite as interesting as professionals and serious hobbyists will, but for the serious dog trainer it is essential reading, if for no other reason than the insight gained into the history of dog training.

Another reason for serious dog trainers to turn to history: Obviously H.W. Carlton was one of the most successful trainers of flushing spaniels ever, long before the electronic training collar was invented. For those who feel uneasy (or who have clients who feel uneasy) about using electronic collars for field training, it is a step-by-step study in how this training was accomplished long before that controversial gadget was ever invented.

A "MUST READ" for serious field trainers of flushing spaniels, and a "Top-10-Read" for serious dog trainers of any breed(s) for any purpose(s) -- well worth the hassle often involved in tracking down long-out-of-print books.