“I’ve known Gerry for a decades and indeed he introduced me to my first Woodcock hunt in northern Ontario. What an eye opener that was for a guy from the wide open spaces.
Spaniels have been in my family for three generations and I have been Handling, Gunning and Judging Spaniel Field trials for nearly 30 years. Wholeheartedly agreeing with the sentiment Gerry shares in his manual; “You should always bear in mind that there is always more than one solution to a problem and to keep an open mind.”
It was a pleasure to read the open minded sentiment in Gerry’s manual. It has been a few years since I have directly trained a puppy and wanted to obtain another perspective and boy did I get one.
Practical solutions to typical issues you will run into with your puppy. A good overview of the basics of field trials for your Springer.
Practical warnings on what you may encounter if you “do too much” of some things.
What a great heads up or warning for new trainers. There were simple suggestions and hints imbedded in this manual and several were things I have not considered doing before: “pinching the cheeks” on delivery to assist the dog releasing a dummy. Another simple trick, “placing the starters pistol close to the ground to muffle” the report. Simple, but effective. Planting suggestions, reminders to attend to the dog. “Keep him hungry!” “Don’t be afraid to return to an earlier drill” All so simple and so true.
Arguably the most counter intuitive part in the proper training of a good Spaniel is the Steadying process. Gerry shares a positive method of getting the job done by breaking down the process. What Gerry calls the “Flushing Drill” is a simple creative method of developing a base for doing a successful job.
Don’t hesitate to get this manual if you are training your Springer or any Spaniel for that matter. It’s worth the money and worth the read, even if you have been training for a long time. Get a new perspective. “