I’ve been reading this great dog training book by seasoned bird-man Ben O. Williams. He lives in the heart of upland game hunting heaven in Montana and has logged more days in the field than I can even dream of. He’s also a Brittany dog breeder and famous gun dog trainer. Google has an electronic version of the book online for free – check it out. If your like me you’ll find that it’s a worthy addition to your book collection and swing over to amazon.com and order the real deal. Better yet, you can mail a check to Ben at P.O. Box 628 Livingston, MT 59047 and he’ll send you an autographed copy of “Bird Dog”. He has authored several other great titles about bird hunting and brittany dogs that I can’t wait to check out in the near future. Ben also writes some great articles for the good folks at “The Pointing Journal” if you subscribe to that great magazine.
After reading several Dog Training books I have identified this gem by Bill Tarrant as my very favorite. Besides the priceless knowledge and dog training experience that Bill brings to the subject, his easy writing style was a joy to read. The main thing that rang true with me was his humane methods and the common sense training with an emphasis on having fun with the pup. In a day and age of “train your dog in one night” schemes and speed training videos it’s not hard to get off on the wrong path. Bill Tarrant keeps you well-grounded and teaches you the basics about pack order and the natural instincts of your dog. By building on your dogs natural abilities Bill shows you how to bring a dog along without whips and shock collars.
I am still training my German Shorthair pups and a finished dog seems like a far off dream, but Bill’s methods have gotten me well on my way to a brag quality dog. One of my favorite games to play with my pups is the scent training drills where I drag a small peice of hotdog across the grass and teach the pup to use his nose to find the treat. There are many more great training drills in this bird dog training classic by Bill Tarrant. You can find it at most major bookstores or you can order it online at Amazon.com like I did for $19.95 with FREE shipping.
Having failed once to successfully train a new German Shorthair pup, I knew I needed to do a lot more research before I tried again. As I begin any research project I started online. I spent many hours lurking in the hunting forums and numerous dog training websites and even phone calls to reputable kennels. From all this research I compiled a list of six books that were recommended as required reading. I am sure there are many more great books out there, but this is my starting point.
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