Training Your Retriever

Mr. Free's book is for those who want a HUNTING dog. If you're looking for a book to train Fido to do cute tricks for your friends like retrieve the paper go elsewhere. He trained dogs for field trials and intended them to be 1-owner dogs. I plan to train my next dog to be a more serious hunter than prior dogs I've owned. Even if you want a family dog that you can take in the field without being embarassed in front of your hunting buddies you can get several great methods from this book. Mr. Free stresses the importance of getting a good pup from exceptional pedigree to save yourself a lot of heartache down the road. I plan on using about 90% of what he recommends in this book. I own about six different retriever training books and this is by far the best. BTW if you plan on training anything other than a labrador retriever you may be put off by his obvious prejudice for this breed.

I first read this book when I was a teenager in the late 1960s. Now I am giving it to my father in-law as a Father's Day gift.One of the other reviewers said that this was an outdated book about training a field trials dog. I don't know how dogs have been updated in recent years, but I do know that field trials are the graduate schools of dog training. It is true that this isn't the book for you if you have a wild or stupid dog. Mr. Free believed that some dogs just were not worth trying to train. You give the bad dog to someone who would love it and care for it (did this happen to you?); then you get a dog with potential. That said, this is the finest animal training book I have ever read. Don't get lost in the field trials stuff; try to concentrate on Mr. Free's principles. I think you could train anything based on Mr. Free principles. Oh, and most importantly - it's a good read.

If you're even just thinking about owning a retreiver, you need to read this book--and more importantly follow the author's advice. My father and I have trained several labrador retrievers over 30 years in accordance with Mr. Free's philosophy; it works.The book reads well; is not overly complicated in scope--and provides practical strategies and "fixes" for most dog problems. Although oriented primarily to training big water dogs, it's also an excellent reference for training dogs of any breed.You'll probably want to keep this book on your nightstand through your dog's formative years-- and refer to it often.

Originally published in the early 1950's, this book was republished several times as evidence of its valuable content. James Free definitely has strong opinions...he may offend some of the more "90's thinkers"; however, his basis is sound. I would recommended anyone contemplating purchasing a retriever to read this book PRIOR to making their decision. I personally have purchased three copies of this book. The first copy was an early edition passed down through the generations and was lost in a move. The second copy was purchased for lab I had who liked the it so much, she ate it in her attempts to digest all the information she could. The third copy is on its way. Typical quotes include references like: "the only thing worse than a bargin dog is a gift dog." Free acknowledges that all puppies are cute, but recommends dogs properly bred for their hunting and sporting ability -- not cuteness. He's is not a strong supporter of dogs bred strictly for show but has an insurmountable respect for the working dog.

Although geared toward training your dog to be a hunting retreiver, this book is a must use when training your retreiver, and I would venture to say, any dog. When used properly, this book can help you teach your dog skills which will make you and your dog much better companions. My dog once began to run out into the street in front of an oncoming car. Because he was trained to stop on command, he stopped running when I called, and he narrowly escaped death. This book will show you how to teach your dog these basic obedience skills, as well as skills you might not think very useful, but will come in handy later on. For example, it is essential to hunters that their retriever remain still and quiet when in a duck blind. I'll probably never be in a duck-blind, but this skill is useful when you need you dog to go lie down. I highly reccomend this book