How to Help Gun Dogs Train Themselves: Taking Advantage of Early Conditioned Learning

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Summary: Reviews of HOW TO HELP GUN DOGS TRAIN THEMSELVES
Review: "Chapters 5 and 6 should be required reading for everyprospective puppy buyer." (Bill McClure of American Hunter.)"...One of the finest books on gun-dog training to cross my desk in a long time...The book is based on the premise that much of a dog's behavior is established during the first 16 weeks of life...The information she provides can prevent a whole host of headaches later in the dog's development...Bailey's book has been acclaimed by most of the dog training gurus in North America, including Field & Stream's Bill Tarrant and Outdoor Life's Larry Mueller." (George Gruenefeld, writing for The Montreal Gazette.) "Joan Bailey's credentials as an author on this topic are first-rate. She's familiar with the classic works in the field, has a wealth of experience as editor of The Gun Dog Supreme...and has been a field trial judge of versatile hunting dogs for almost two decades...HOW TO HELP GUN DOGS TRAIN THEMSELVES offers an organized and readable approach to training." (Sandy Gunn, writing for Dogs in Canada.)

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Summary: Overall, an excellant book!
Review: There are (too) many "how-to" sporting dog training books available, but I found this one to be different in how it focuses on first year conditioning of the pup rather than training, per se. I didn't agree with everything - not that you would - but I followed about 90% of the author's thoughts and found my dog's second year training to be MUCH EASIER. I think this is important if you have a sensitive breed that won't tolerate heavy handed training, such as mine. It also explained in considerable detail that way in which the puppy learns and this allowed me to sort of 'get inside' my dog's head to better understand how to do the conditioning and training so that he would be successful and the process would go faster and better.

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Summary: Excellent book for beginner and advanced dog trainers.
Review: This book helped me train my first bird dog. He is an eight month old Weimaraner with 3 legs of his Jr. Hunter completed, as well as his Novice Retrieving and Novice Shooting dog awards. It was recommended by a friend and it has turned out to be my refrence material more then once. Starts with preparing the home for the pup to shooting over pup. Two thumbs up. Highly recommended

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Summary: Great book on dog training whether gundog or family pet
Review: This book is a far reaching work that not only addresses the training of Gundogs but also any family pet...of importance is the sections on crate training to facilitate housebreaking and teaching the dog that there are restrictions on his activities...I also enjoyed her views on conditioning and letting the dog learn at its own pace with firm and consistent training by owner...and letting the dog learn to be a dog before pulling from its littermates and throwing it into a new environment. I have trained two dogs with her methods and let 4-5 friends borrow it when training their pets...all have been great successes. My copy is dog-eared (no pun) and hilighted throughout...but a great book for those that want to try a softer method with great results.

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Summary: This book covers the important fundamental basics.
Review: This book is different from the other hunting dog training books I've read. It covers a puppy's early development as a whole dog. Joan Bailey takes you from your puppy's first day in your home, through adolescence, to early adulthood. It will show you how to help your dog become both a member of your family and an excellent hunting companion. This book explains why a particular training method might work and how to develop a cooperative relationship with your dog.

Rating:
Summary: This book covers the important fundamental basics.
Review: This book is different from the other hunting dog training books I've read. It covers a puppy's early development as a whole dog. Joan Bailey takes you from your puppy's first day in your home, through adolescence, to early adulthood. It will show you how to help your dog become both a member of your family and an excellent hunting companion. This book explains why a particular training method might work and how to develop a cooperative relationship with your dog.

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Summary: No bad,...not good, but not bad.
Review: This book is fine for the average person who has no experience with dogs. But for the average gun dog owner, the first half of the book is a waste of time. The last half does have some good ideas, but I would rather spend my money on something more informative such as the writings of Bill Tarrant, especially the Delmar Smith method. It's hard to argue with success and Smith's training methods earned him many national champions. As for this book, I found myself in disagreement with a couple of the training methods, especially gun conditioning. Overall, it's a good book with many great ideas for the beginner.

Rating:
Summary: No bad,...not good, but not bad.
Review: This book is fine for the average person who has no experience with dogs. But for the average gun dog owner, the first half of the book is a waste of time. The last half does have some good ideas, but I would rather spend my money on something more informative such as the writings of Bill Tarrant, especially the Delmar Smith method. It's hard to argue with success and Smith's training methods earned him many national champions. As for this book, I found myself in disagreement with a couple of the training methods, especially gun conditioning. Overall, it's a good book with many great ideas for the beginner.

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Summary: Great for Novice Birddog owners
Review: This is an awesome book for novice birddog people. I highly recommend it, and give it to my (Pointer) puppy buyers. My favorite feature is that at the back of the book there are lists of things to remember to expose your puppy to by a certain age so that you'll end up with a stable dog. I pull it out every time I raise a pup as a sort of checklist. I agree with the majority of what the author has to say, and the author tends not to take sides (like on the issue of force retrieving). The book does have some info that is geared towards versatile birddogs rather than just Pointing dogs, which is fine as long as you are able to seperate what your dog needs to know. This book is geared towards the first year of puppyhood, not training... which is great as there are not a whole lot of books out there for this. Helps you to remember they are just pups and to just let them grow up for a while.

Rating:
Summary: Great for Novice Birddog owners
Review: This is an awesome book for novice birddog people. I highly recommend it, and give it to my (Pointer) puppy buyers. My favorite feature is that at the back of the book there are lists of things to remember to expose your puppy to by a certain age so that you'll end up with a stable dog. I pull it out every time I raise a pup as a sort of checklist. I agree with the majority of what the author has to say, and the author tends not to take sides (like on the issue of force retrieving). The book does have some info that is geared towards versatile birddogs rather than just Pointing dogs, which is fine as long as you are able to seperate what your dog needs to know. This book is geared towards the first year of puppyhood, not training... which is great as there are not a whole lot of books out there for this. Helps you to remember they are just pups and to just let them grow up for a while.