Covers various aspects of gundog training from choosing a suitable puppy to beating and picking up on a shoot. This book examines how to choose the right dog, praise and punishment, puppy training and character-building, basic procedures in the early days, and following a scent trail. It is suitable for gundog owners and trainers.

This book is about gundogs, those ever-willing companions of both sportsmen and discerning dog owners. Gundogs is not a manual covering training, grooming, nutrition and dog care; it is very much a celebration of the gundog's contribution to the sporting and companion dog scene, an examination of their past, their performance and their prospects in an increasingly urban society. Painstakingly researched, it covers the well-known recognized breeds and the more obscure ones from overseas, some quite unknown to the British public.David Hancock's earlier books have been highly praised, as have his many articles in sporting magazine in the last thirty years. When reviewing one of his previous books, the revered writer on sporting dogs, the late Brian Plummer, described it as a 'masterpiece'. Reviewing his Sporting Terriers, Dogs in Canada magazine stated that it 'has the quality of a classic'. A reviewer of his last book, Sighthounds, stated that 'Hancock's work provokes thinking in the reader the way a good discussion stimulates and refreshes our minds.' A Canadian reviewer of another of his books gave the view that David Hancock is 'perhaps the most important living writer about dogs.' A comprehensive survey of the gundog's origins, its role and its future, Gundogs is essential reading for all those with an interest in these loyal dogs, especially gundog and country sport enthusiasts. Meticiously researched and packed with information it covers the well-known recognized breeds as well as more obscure ones. Superbly illustrated with 360 colour and black & white photographs. David Hancock has studied dogs for over half a century and is a past winner of the Dog Writers Association of America.

"Traditional gundog training is based on compulsion and rooted in a picture of the dogy's nature as similar to a wolf with much emphasis on dominance and sub ordinance. Milner turns that theory upside down citing research which finds that wolf packs operate in cooperative family groups with minimal factors of dominance. Dogs, Milner believes, learn much faster with a cooperative training model. Milner has chucked compulsion and embraced reward as the primary training tool. He gives the reader a simple, reasonable easy-to-perform training model. His extensive practical experience leads him to condense gundog training down to a few critical behaviors. Milner gives the reader clear concise instructions producing those behaviors to develop an excellent gundog who excels also as a family dog. This is a book on how to manage the strong instincts of retrievers and influence them to work for you and with you to produce a valuable companion that enhances your outdoors experience, be it hunting ducks, or fishing for trout, or hiking in the back country."--Page [4] cover.

A guide to training a dog for any type of shooting by following a series of basic lessons which form a "learning chain".

Do you have a gun dog and want to have a great time working with your dog and perhaps enter a field trial? Do you want to find a training method where your dog has just as much fun as you do? Do you want to learn how to combine reward based training and field trial training? If so, this is the book for you. Retrieving for All Occasions is an accessible and inspiring book about how you can use the reward based training philosophy in your gun dog training. The book describes an approach to gun dog training that will challenge you to try something new – if you have the desire and will to do so. This book includes over 100 exercises to train a talented spaniel or retriever. The exercises are for introductory field trial classes for spaniels and retrievers, but this book is also useful for those who have pointers or setters and want to train them for gun dog work.

This fantastic and comprehensive handbook on gun dogs contains chapters on everything from breeding and selection to breaking, training, and beyond. Interspersed with photographs and useful information, "Gun Dogs" constitutes a must-have for all owners and breeders of hunting dogs, and it would make for a fantastic addition to collections of related literature. Contents include: "The Gun Dog's Kennel", "The Gun Dog and its Food", "The Selection, Examination and Trail of a Gun Dog prior to Purchase", "Gun-Dog Breeding", "Jobbing or Hiring Dogs", "Breeding and Breaking Gun Dogs for Pleasure and Profit", "The Flat-Coated Retriever", "The Labrador Retriever", "The Golden Retriever", etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in a modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on gun dogs.

Written by a practicing professional. Covers breeds, choice of puppy, all phases of training, water work, shooting days, field trials.