Training Homer has been very rewarding for both me and him. We have a very tight bond and work together like a team. Having a dog training “SYSTEM”: has made the training much more fun and productive.
The combination of 4 videos and 1 book by Joseph Middleton is the system I use. Richard Wolters book’s are no doubt some of the best ever published on hunting dog training, but lacked a real system.
The DVD’s produced by Joe take all the proven methods developed by Richard Wolters and created a very easy to follow gun dog training system. I feel I would have had a much harder time training Homer if I had used only the books.
The books had sort of a scatter gun approach, the DVD’s are laid out with a definite plan and gun dog training system. Each lesson builds on the last and gives suggestions as to when you’re ready for the next step.
I have a bunch of other training videos that seem to focus on one particular thing and don’t lay out a plan. So far I have never viewed a single video that I could call “Complete”.
This is the reason Homer’s breeder and I both HIGHLY recommend a SET. With the DVD set I recommend you WILL get maximum results working only 15 minutes a day with your dog. The only other video set I’ve ever seen that gives an actual system is the Mike Lardy DVD’s. Mike’s DVD’s are excellent as well, but focus mainly on field trial dogs
Mike’s system is for a far more precise dog, but requires a much larger time commitment. The Wolters DVD set will require far less time and was developed for the hunter. I really only spent 15-20 minutes a day with Homer and he is completely capable of passing a Master Hunt Test. Would he win a Field Trial Competition? Probably not, but he is more than capable of any retrieve he will face hunting.
I wanted a hunting dog that was capable of retrieving a bird he never saw fall. The Wolters DVD’s have given me that and the joy of training Homer myself. I started training Homer when he was 10 weeks old and he was performing like a pro before his first birthday.
Joe Dynarski
