Training Your Retriever (Hardcover)

by James Lamb Free (Author) "IF YOU ALREADY own a retriever-or any other kind of dog for that matter-you may as well save your eyes and skip this stuff about..." (more)
Key Phrases: triple land mark, shackled ducks, retriever trials, Amateur All-Age, Field Trial Champion, American Kennel Club (more...)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (May 9, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399136207
• ISBN-13: 978-0399136207
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #345,680 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!, February 20, 1997

By A Customer

Although geared toward training your dog to be a hunting retreiver, this book is a must use when training your retreiver, and I would venture to say, any dog. When used properly, this book can help you teach your dog skills which will make you and your dog much better companions. My dog once began to run out into the street in front of an oncoming car. Because he was trained to stop on command, he stopped running when I called, and he narrowly escaped death. This book will show you how to teach your dog these basic obedience skills, as well as skills you might not think very useful, but will come in handy later on. For example, it is essential to hunters that their retriever remain still and quiet when in a duck blind. I'll probably never be in a duck-blind, but this skill is useful when you need you dog to go lie down. I highly reccomend this book

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Retriever Training Book Of All Time, February 25, 2001

By	Mary Horst (Peoria, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Mr. Free's book is for those who want a HUNTING dog. If you're looking for a book to train Fido to do cute tricks for your friends like retrieve the paper go elsewhere. He trained dogs for field trials and intended them to be 1-owner dogs. I plan to train my next dog to be a more serious hunter than prior dogs I've owned. Even if you want a family dog that you can take in the field without being embarassed in front of your hunting buddies you can get several great methods from this book. Mr. Free stresses the importance of getting a good pup from exceptional pedigree to save yourself a lot of heartache down the road. I plan on using about 90% of what he recommends in this book. I own about six different retriever training books and this is by far the best. BTW if you plan on training anything other than a labrador retriever you may be put off by his obvious prejudice for this breed.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just For Retrievers, August 31, 2000

By	Richard Medrala "camper07" (Egg Harbor City, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

I first used this book to train a retriever. At the time I had no prior experience training a dog. I applied Mr Free's rules and in two weeks the dog knew the bacic commands--sit, stay, come, heel, and quiet. Since that time, I have used Mr. Free's rules to train a Springer Spaniel and a Beagle. The latter had been to school and the owner could not walk the dog because of it pulling. I took the dog for a 15 minute walk applying Mr. Free's rules and returned the dog to the owner holding the leash with just two fingers!