-
- Species
- Whitetails
- Rut Reporters
- Deer Camp
- Big Game
- Small Game
- Birds
- Special Methods
- Bow Hunting
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Species
- Bass
- Trout
- More Freshwater
- Saltwater
- Special Methods
- Fly Fishing
- Hook Shots
Presented by
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Health & Fitness
- F&S Adventurer
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
-
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- 2nd Amendment
- SHOT Show
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
Who's Your Dog Training Hero?
Recent Comments
- Box Call on Can You Put a Price Tag on Hunting With Your Gun Dog? (2)
- Box Call on Bear Attack Leads Florida Woman to Stolen Champion Hound (5)
- Trapper John on Learn How Traps Work: It Could Save Your Dog's Life (40)
- shotgunlou on Dog is Only Cure for 13-Year-Old with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (8)
- 1uglymutha on Bear Attack Leads Florida Woman to Stolen Champion Hound (5)
Categories
- Big Game Hunting (2)
- Bird Hunting (333)
- Deer Hunting (4)
- Fishing (3)
- Fishing Gear (1)
- Fly Fishing (1)
- Gear (10)
- Guns (1)
- Hunting (322)
- Hunting Gear (10)
- Shotguns (1)
- Small Game (9)
Recent Posts
- Bear Attack Leads Florida Woman to Stolen Champion Hound
- Can You Put a Price Tag on Hunting With Your Gun Dog?
- Dog is Only Cure for 13-Year-Old with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
- Learn How Traps Work: It Could Save Your Dog's Life
- National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic: A Hunting Expo Worth Attending
- End-of-Season Reflections: Looking Back and Ahead
- Oldest Dog in the World Dies at 26...er...24...25?
- Blank Headstones Call For Good Dog Quotes...Obviously
- Ten-Month-Old Basset Hound Eats $4,500 Wedding Ring
- Dog Survives Avalanche That Killed His Owner in Montana
Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
Syndicate
Man's Best Friend
in your Inbox
October 02, 2009
Who's Your Dog Training Hero?
By David DiBenedetto
When I hit the dog-training wall… When I’m sure that I’ve ruined pup… I always find myself looking for guidance and support from talented amateurs and pros. Close to home I rely on my older brother and a handful of established pros like Pam Kadlec of Just Ducky Kennels. I bounce my problems off these folks, and they give me honest appraisals and solutions.
And during those times when I can’t sleep because I’m worried about how my dog’s progressing (this ever happen to you?), I often head to my library and reach for a dog book. I have them all, and then some. Of course, there’s Richard Wolter’s classic Water Dog and James Lamb Free’s Training Your Retriever. But I most often turn to Bill Tarrant’s Hey, Pup Fetch It Up. (Sadly, all three of these men have passed away.)
I never met Tarrant. (My time as a full-time staffer at Field & Stream did not overlap with his illustrious tenure as the F&S Gun Dog columnist.) But I’d give just about anything to spend a day with the man. Tarrant knew dogs…not just pointers or retrievers, but all dogs. Hell, he once raised litter of coyotes to see what a wild dog could teach us about training. But beyond that, he ventured out-of-gun-dog bounds to learn from sheep dog trainers and his counterparts across the big pond. He was happy to learn from those who did it differently, especially the great Delmar Smith. And he always placed the dog first. Nothing happened in the Bill Tarrant world until a dog was secure in its new home.
I often wonder what Pritchard would be like if she was under the hands of Tarrant. But I do my best to channel his wisdom. Who do you turn to when the gun dog road seems impassable? Do you have a local trainer that helps you out? A favorite uncle? Or is there a dog trainer, like Tarrant or Wolters—who has long since passed to the duck blind in the sky—who you seek inspiration from?
ADVERTISEMENT
Today on Field & Stream
Loading...
Visit Our Sister Sites at Bonnier Corporation
| Enthusiast | Kiteboarding | QUAD | SKI | Skiing | Scuba Diving | Sport Diver | TransWorld Ride BMX | TransWorld Business | TransWorld Motocross | TransWorld SKATEboarding, | TransWorld SNOWboarding | TransWorld SURF | WakeBoarding | WaterSki | Warren Miller Entertainment | WindSurfing |
|---|---|
| Travel | Caribbean Travel & Life | Destination Weddings & Honeymoon | Islands | Meeting Traveler | Resorts & Great Hotels |
| Lifestyle & Shelter | Florida Travel & Life | Garden Design | Home Ft. Lauderdale | Home Miami |
| Luxury | SNOW | Spa |
| Marine | Boating Life | Cruising World | Fly Fishing in Salt Waters | Power Cruising | Marlin | Motor Boating | Sailing World | Salt Water Sportsman | Sport Fishing | Yachting | NewBoats.com | UsedBoats.com | YachtBroker.com |
| Outdoor | Field & Stream | Outdoor Life | SHOT Business |
| Parenting | Babytalk | Parenting |
| Science | Popular Science | Science Illustrated |
| Saveur | Saveur |
| Working Mother Media | Working Mother |
| Entertainment / Events | World Entertainment Services | World Sports & Marketing |
Fieldandstream.com is part of the Field & Stream Network, a division of Bonnier Corporation.
Copyright © 2012 Bonnier Corp. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Comments (13)
I have had the world's best dog trainer on and off for years as I have had many dogs. He is known as The Miami Dog Whisperer and I think he is truly gifted. His website is www.theharvardofdogtraining.com
when things go wrong i look to delmar smith... and anyone else who will listen.
Problem Gun Dogs-How to Identify and Correct Their Faults-Bill Tarrant great stuff.I use a lot of bird training methods out of chapter 13.When the spaniel is coursing to the left I toss a pigeon into cover to the right.If the dog traps the bird on the flush he retrieves it to hand.I also use wing clips and the blank gun with the retrieve to help build the flush.Using this method will keep your gun dog hunting close enough for ruffed grouse and timber doodle.He always checks in with the head turn to see were I am at half way through his figure 8 wile coursing.
WOLTER, RIP.
A perfectly trained dog is that dog with only those problems you will put up with.If the dog has a problem you cant stand-then that,my friends,is a problem.Witch to say,most every gun dog has-to some degree-one problem or another.You cant throw dog problems up through a tree and be done with them-like the guy who had a problem he couldnt solve so he decided to forget it.No Dog problems must be solved. Bill Tarrant
kelmitch- That's the truth. -D
Delmar Smith without a doubt.
Absolutely it's Bill Tarrant, but not necessarily for the reason you'd think.
Bill Tarrant was one of the finest writers to ever grace the pages of F&S and I have copies of every book he ever published, but I think Tarrant's greater talent wasn't so much his own training prowess, but in the way he presented the ideas of other dog trainers. He was the perfect vehicle to articulate their visions and ideas in a way that was both very instructional and beautifully lyric.
That, and just how he wrote what he did. He wrote about gun dog training in a completely different style and a completely different voice than everyone else out there.
I never read a Bill Tarrant column in which I didn't learn something about dogs, dog training, hunting, people, life, writing, whatever.
My dog training hero is Jean Donaldson, author of The Culture Clash (among other titles) and the director of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers. She instructs budding dog trainers in how learning theory concepts work and how to apply them effectively when training dogs. No matter what task one is teaching a dog to perform, learning theory is what is drives the training whether one knows it or not. Everything works better when one actually puts the laws of learning to work!
Tarrant and Delmar Smith. Reading Tarrant is one of the main reasons I ended up hunting quail, just because I fell in love with how he wrote about gun dogs, especially bird dogs. You would read an article by him about training them, then a piece from Hill about hunting them. It was a slam dunk.
Oh, I forgot Wolters. I think "Gun Dog" (or the appropriate Water Dog, etc.) should be standard issue with a field dog. You just have to understand it was written in a different time, as it comes off as more "master/servant" than is my taste with my dogs. None the less, there is a plethora of knowledge to be gleened.
I was born and raised in the mountains of NC, but have lived in UK for around 15 or so years. The breeds that bird hunters use here are Spaniels, both English and Cocker (I have a cocker)Labs, and a few GSP's. My dog is now 15 months old, and my hero has to be RORY MAJOR, not only is he amazing with dogs, but he is great a training the person who owns the dog. I had never owned a Spaniel, much less a Cocker Spaniel, but Rory has been amazing and very supportive for me, as this year I have been working the Cocker Spaniels in driven Partridge days, and he has done very well. The two biggest pieces of advice Rory gave me was, "Remember you are the leader of the pack, and don't show your dog to much to quick, and keep it simple." Well that is 3.But who cares, Rory Major is my Dog Training Hero every time!
Regards,
Bryan Nelson
www.Sportingagent.com
The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. No hunting advice, but great dog psychology all around. He has indirectly helped me solve many of my dog's problems. There's a local fellow I've been in contact with by the name of Carl Ruffalo. He's won a bunch of big field trials with his Lab and he's in the dog training hall of fame. He's a busy guy so I haven't met him yet, but I'm looking forward to finding out what he has to teach me.
Post a Comment
I have had the world's best dog trainer on and off for years as I have had many dogs. He is known as The Miami Dog Whisperer and I think he is truly gifted. His website is www.theharvardofdogtraining.com
The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. No hunting advice, but great dog psychology all around. He has indirectly helped me solve many of my dog's problems. There's a local fellow I've been in contact with by the name of Carl Ruffalo. He's won a bunch of big field trials with his Lab and he's in the dog training hall of fame. He's a busy guy so I haven't met him yet, but I'm looking forward to finding out what he has to teach me.
when things go wrong i look to delmar smith... and anyone else who will listen.
Problem Gun Dogs-How to Identify and Correct Their Faults-Bill Tarrant great stuff.I use a lot of bird training methods out of chapter 13.When the spaniel is coursing to the left I toss a pigeon into cover to the right.If the dog traps the bird on the flush he retrieves it to hand.I also use wing clips and the blank gun with the retrieve to help build the flush.Using this method will keep your gun dog hunting close enough for ruffed grouse and timber doodle.He always checks in with the head turn to see were I am at half way through his figure 8 wile coursing.
WOLTER, RIP.
A perfectly trained dog is that dog with only those problems you will put up with.If the dog has a problem you cant stand-then that,my friends,is a problem.Witch to say,most every gun dog has-to some degree-one problem or another.You cant throw dog problems up through a tree and be done with them-like the guy who had a problem he couldnt solve so he decided to forget it.No Dog problems must be solved. Bill Tarrant
kelmitch- That's the truth. -D
Delmar Smith without a doubt.
Absolutely it's Bill Tarrant, but not necessarily for the reason you'd think.
Bill Tarrant was one of the finest writers to ever grace the pages of F&S and I have copies of every book he ever published, but I think Tarrant's greater talent wasn't so much his own training prowess, but in the way he presented the ideas of other dog trainers. He was the perfect vehicle to articulate their visions and ideas in a way that was both very instructional and beautifully lyric.
That, and just how he wrote what he did. He wrote about gun dog training in a completely different style and a completely different voice than everyone else out there.
I never read a Bill Tarrant column in which I didn't learn something about dogs, dog training, hunting, people, life, writing, whatever.
Tarrant and Delmar Smith. Reading Tarrant is one of the main reasons I ended up hunting quail, just because I fell in love with how he wrote about gun dogs, especially bird dogs. You would read an article by him about training them, then a piece from Hill about hunting them. It was a slam dunk.
Oh, I forgot Wolters. I think "Gun Dog" (or the appropriate Water Dog, etc.) should be standard issue with a field dog. You just have to understand it was written in a different time, as it comes off as more "master/servant" than is my taste with my dogs. None the less, there is a plethora of knowledge to be gleened.
My dog training hero is Jean Donaldson, author of The Culture Clash (among other titles) and the director of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers. She instructs budding dog trainers in how learning theory concepts work and how to apply them effectively when training dogs. No matter what task one is teaching a dog to perform, learning theory is what is drives the training whether one knows it or not. Everything works better when one actually puts the laws of learning to work!
I was born and raised in the mountains of NC, but have lived in UK for around 15 or so years. The breeds that bird hunters use here are Spaniels, both English and Cocker (I have a cocker)Labs, and a few GSP's. My dog is now 15 months old, and my hero has to be RORY MAJOR, not only is he amazing with dogs, but he is great a training the person who owns the dog. I had never owned a Spaniel, much less a Cocker Spaniel, but Rory has been amazing and very supportive for me, as this year I have been working the Cocker Spaniels in driven Partridge days, and he has done very well. The two biggest pieces of advice Rory gave me was, "Remember you are the leader of the pack, and don't show your dog to much to quick, and keep it simple." Well that is 3.But who cares, Rory Major is my Dog Training Hero every time!
Regards,
Bryan Nelson
www.Sportingagent.com
Post a Comment