Description
Price: $20.99 - $7.89
(as of Feb 17, 2025 17:17:08 UTC – Details)
Hunting Success Begins Here!
In Tom Dokken’s Retriever Training, America’s leading trainer helps you channel your hunting dog’s huge ambition so he works for you, the way you want, and does so happily.
After using the time-tested methods in Tom Dokken’s Retriever Training, you’ll have a reliable retriever that:
• Obeys commands on- and off-leash
• Retrieves birds to hand
• Remains steady to shot
• Quarters and flushes upland game
• Finds downed birds
• Takes hand signals
Publisher : F+W Media; 41401st edition (July 14, 2009)
Language : English
Paperback : 256 pages
ISBN-10 : 089689858X
ISBN-13 : 978-0896898585
Item Weight : 1.32 pounds
Dimensions : 5.97 x 0.67 x 9.01 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book informative and useful for training bird dogs. It provides clear descriptions of different strategies and steps, making it easy to understand for beginners. The book covers everything from picking up your puppy to advanced training. Readers appreciate the nice color pictures that help explain and guide them. The pacing is described as strong and high-quality, broken out by age so you can focus on that area.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
KC –
Excellent training book, covers all aspects
Tom Dokken covers all aspects of training retrievers in a complete, concise, and clear manner. I think Tom excels at explaining the methods, reasons, and potential problems for each training stage. I’m getting a Springer Spaniel pup in a couple months, and I plan on using most of Tom’s methods. I won’t cover all the waterfowl training because I mostly upland hunt for pheasant, grouse, and partridge. I’m also not going to initially force-fetch train because the other related Springers that I’ve already hunted with have typically been soft mouthed and very natural retrievers. If hard-mouth or retrieving issues do develop later, I will have to go back and do that though.Even if you don’t plan to hunt your dog, if you’ve ever seen a dog well-trained on the Place command, I think you’d agree it is absolutely one of the most useful all-around commands to teach your dog. Tom really covers this well. Although I plan to send my pup back to the breeder/trainer for several weeks prior to it’s first hunting season a year from now, I should be able to already have my pup well-schooled in basic obedience, place command, and retrieving prior to that so I can maximize that training time. I’d also recommend getting Tom’s training videos so you can see his methods in actual practice. I’m still working through those videos myself.
Wendy Jordan –
Easy to read, Great resource
Iâm an experience trainer, new to field work, and found this to be easy to read and valuable even to someone with experience.
Michael –
Easy to follow steps
Iâve had several labs before, but always had trainers work with them.I will start by saying we currently have 2 dogs. (1) boxer and (1) Boston terrier so I know I will have to work extra hard with my pup Duke.He came home 12/29 and I began working with him on coming by his name, feeding in his crate, and having him sleep in there.He has only had 2 accidents, learned his name, follows me on command of âDukeâ and today we start working on âcomeâ.He also got an early start to loud noises with all of the holiday fireworks. We paced him by clanking pots and pans during feeding. On NYE we had a play session with his favorite toy, and he showed 0 signs of anxiety during the showers of fireworks.I know it wonât be sunshine and rainbows with every lesson, but I am confident this book will give me the steps to make Duke the best dog possible.
Ryan Fair –
Great compliment to the book
I am reading the book but occasionally need a visual. This movie does that well. I feel like there could be a little more content and that it could go into more depth but overall it is a great training video. I have used these techniques on my lab puppy since he was 7 weeks old and we are very pleased. It is fascinating how much more well behaved my puppy is compared to other puppies his age that are not using this or any other training.
Eric –
Amazing step by step obedience
My 12wk old lab puppy is already head and shoulders above 95% of dogs i encounter in terms of obedience and command response and it is all due to this book. I have yet to progress her into the true gun dog chapters but im sure the results will be the same. If you have a lab and even just want to do some basic training and get insights into the building blocks/process for properly progressing your dog through proven training protocols, buy the book. Dokken knows what he is doing.
JD –
Good Explanation and Philosophy of Training
Full Disclosure: I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend who had success training his lab for waterfowl and upland hunting. I’m still waiting on my pup so I haven’t put it to full use yet.However, I think that it explains things really well. Reading through it a number of times before starting training has given me confidence for when the training starts. It seems like high quality with nice pictures in it as well (although I’m not sure that all the pictures necessarily help with the training).I’ll update the review if I have any issues when the training begins. The companion video (Gun Dog Puppy Training Retrievers) is good for seeing how things are done but not necessary or a replacement for the book.
Evan –
Necessity
This is a great book written by THE expert when it comes to training and hunting with retrievers. Gives solid descriptions of the different strategies, breaks it down into steps, and includes helpful pictures. Only problem I have with the book is I wish the order of some of the advice would be reevaluated. There are some tips and pointers from chapter 4 and 5 that I think should have been brought up early. This is a very minor inconvenience when weighed against the benefits of the book as a whole. So, my recommmnedation would be to just read through the first 5 or so chapters as soon as possible, and preferrably before you have purchased your dog or any equipment or supplies for your dog.
JPBlackBelt –
Best book on Retriever Training, period.
I can’t say enough about this book.I own and have read a number of books on bird-dog training. And yet this is the one I keep going back to reference.I have a lab that I wanted to train for both waterfowl AND upland birds (knowing, that I would likely be using her more for upland birds than waterfowl.) This book does a phenomenal job of training simultaneously for both jobs.Candidly, I had my dog out in the field after completing just a few chapters worth of training drills. And although my friends RAVE about my dog, I haven’t even finished all the training outlined in the book! (Yes, I’ve finished reading it, but not training my dog through everything…. I have a ridiculously busy schedule.)Whenever I have friends that want their Labs to do what mine does, I get them this book.
JamesW –
Grandson loves it.
Meckerer –
Nicht mein erstes Abrichtebuch (habe zig davon) – nicht mein erster Jagdhund. Soweit.Der Dokken ist geeignet für Retrieverbesitzer, die einen frühreifen Retrievertyp wie zB Labrador besitzen oder erwerben wollen. ME für spätreife Retrievertypen oder Hunde ohne will-to-please wenig geeignet. Die Ausführungen “funktionieren”, wenn man weis, was man macht. Für Anfänger nur bedingt empfehlenswert – ein Hund ist kein technisches Gerät und jeder ist anders, wie auch jeder Hundeführer.Zu beachten ist auch, dass die hier zur Lösung spezieller Teilproprobleme verwendete Elektroimpulsgeräte in Deutschland zT aufgrund – wohl – aktueller Rechtsprechung nicht angewandt werden dürfen. Bei “weicheren” Artgenossen kann man dann auf legale Vibrationsgeräte ausweichen.==>> insgesamt ein lesenswertes und gut strukturiertes Abrichtebuch. Ich halte es vor allem wegen seiner Konsequenz und seiner ausgezeichneten Struktur für empfehlenswert. Es ist eine Anleitung zum erfolgreichen Führen von Jagdhunden ohne Gewalt – aber mit der notwendigen Konsequenz, die für Hund und Führer unabdingbar für Vertrauen, Zuneigung und Erfolg ist.
Greeno –
Out of date techniques
Janae –
I believe this book is easy to understand and interesting to read! Very simple and well put examples with plenty of photos! It exceeded my expectations
Rocky Mountain Leather –
Like the book . Every thing is there , what u need to know to train your dog , I am training my 3 month old pointer, its working good for me