Clicker Gundog (Learning about Dogs)

excellent, like all the Learning About Dogs series
From the back: Gundogs have inherited specialized skills that have been honed over hundreds of generations. This book looks at taking this natural skill, enhancing it and using it to enrich a working partnership that is a joy to experience. Good field work is built on an understanding of the dog’s ability to maintain self control and the handler’s ability to understand this and the environment. With Clicker Gundog you can learn how to develop a partnership with positive training in detailed, easy to follow recipes. From the basics to hunt and retrieve training, the key to success in all these areas is high level control that exceeds the stimuli of a shoot. This is achieved by careful planning and avoids any negative experience. Helen Phillips has been shooting for many years with her team of Hungarian Vizlas. These multipurpose dogs will hunt, work with the beat, point, flush, retrieve from all terrain and in water. The dogs accompany both Helen and her husband on a range of different types of shoots from large commercial events to a pleasant day rough shooting. Helen has Distinction in the Certificate in Canine Training and Behavior and now teaches on the same course at Warwickshire College. She teaches a variety of clicker training courses at Learning About Dogs including regular workshops in gundog training.Contents:1 Introduction2 Foundation Training Intro to the Gun Recall for Puppies Target to the Hand Elastic Recall Sit in Front Positioning the Dog Chin to hand target Shaking on Cue Jumping Working at a Distance Drop Stop Left and Right Back3 Control Training Capturing Scent Teaching the dog to focus on you Squeal, means join me Measuring fitness and excitement Measuring effect of stimuli Testing control against the environment Using target hand to measure control Using caged birds to develop self-control and stimulus control Park the dog Walking free4 Hunt Training Introducing the dog to game Catch up game Experiencing the moment Wing hunting game Hunting “Go Find” Hunting placed food Using cold game or scented dummy Connecting scent and location of game Using caged birds and quartering Strengthening the point with a wing Strengthening the point with caged bird Flushing on cue Drop to flush Establishing the quartering distance5 Retrieve Training Retrieve assessment Sit and mark Marking from the shot Collection and delivery Generalise dummies and game Adding the cues More shaping on the pick up Change to hand Which way to deliver The complete chain Directed retrieve Blind retrieve Retriever from water Retriever over jump6 Ready For the Shoot

Fairly quick read
Easily understood.

condition. Book with modern usable info!
Good info . Book in poor conditiin.

Not bad, but is from a British perspective
While not a bad book for clicker trainers, one of the main things to know before you purchase is that this book is written by a Brit for an English style of hunting. There is much talk throughout about organized hunts where there are different lines of dogs and hunters responsible for different parts of the hunt. Each line has duty such as finding birds and flushing, forward lines to drive the birds towards and then retrieving lines that pick up the birds after they’ve been shot. Different from a hunt in the US where one dog (or a small group) handle all of those duties in a given hunt. Also, for owners of pointers (and the author owns and trains Vizslas), there also isn’t much regarding whoa training.That being said, there is still a lot of useful information in this book, and I’m sure you could train your dog to be a proficient hunting dog using this as a training aid. Aimed at clicker trainers (obviously), it is a “Level 3” book, meaning that there are also level 1 and 2 books that are referenced within. I believe these refer to books written by Kay Laurence, also of the UK. Training may be training, but be aware of the author’s perspective before you purchase this book. I haven’t read it yet, but there is a recent release by an American author that teaches hunt training for dogs using clicker training called “Positive Gun Dogs: Clicker Training for Sporting Breeds” that may be from a better perspective and more relatable for us Americans.My reason for 3 stars is the lack of American hunting perspective (and thus some additional work is necessary to see how some of this applies to you), the fact that it references other books for some of its training exercises and finally the cost. I think that $30+ is on the high side for a dog training book that isn’t self sufficient.

Only just starting my journey with gun dogs but not working dogs. Informative and easy to follow.

Would defiantly recommend, very nice book with great easy to understand visuals.

Excellent book and value for money, we’ll presented and illustrated highly recommened read -buy one really will enjoy it. Bye…..