While it is obvious that the author loves his Labs, this book isn’t very useful for the average joe looking for training techniques. He spends more time talking about the dogs traits and his love for the dogs, telling stories (getting side-tracked) than specifics. If you already have one or more good training books, this one might supplement your knowledge on a deeper level, but that’s about it. I do believe that the author is an excellent dog trainer, he has a great reputation, but this book won’t make you like him. It’s more of a novel, with a little training thrown in, than the manual I was expecting. If you are looking for a novel type book, you’ll be satisfied, if you are looking for a manual, like me, you’ll be disappointed and have to order another book.
Rating: 2 / 5

The minute I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down. I love the way Mike shows you on how to let your dog be an actual hunting dog and not just a dog for field trials. By reading his book you can tell Mike has an extreme love for dogs. I highly reccomend this book!

Rating: 5 / 5

Mike has a philosophy for sure. How well that fits the average American hunter living in suburbia is questionable. I enjoyed the book – do not get me wrong. The parts on force training I find very curious. Mike, just what are you accomplishing for the average hunter here with force training? You say the gains out-weigh the loss. Is that really applicable to Suburban Joe? I think probably not. And does having a retriever run wild on a grouse hunter of northern Great Lakes make sense? Definitely not. Mike talks as though all of us live in a country of open draws where we can figure exactly where a flushing grouse will fly. Mike, come hunt with me a day on the shores of Lake Superior and then tell me it was A-OK that the dog flushed everything so that we heard it but never saw it.

Overall – a good read.
Rating: 3 / 5

I have got the chance to meet the author myself as for my uncle helped Mike train his dogs and guided bird hunts in Northern Idaho and Colorado. I have got to read all of Mikes books and they are outstanding and can be seen in his view of life and nature. I have worked with a few of Mikes pups and own one today, Spring. All of these dogs are outstanding in attitude and loving passion. Mikes views on training are very humane and done in a loving manner. Mike has profected the use of love to train. I will never train any other way or buy anyone elses pups.
Rating: 5 / 5

This is by far the best training manual for sporting dogs on the market today. The author not only takes you there but shows you step by step how it is done. If you follow his instructions and do not end up with the best shooting companion and friend….well you had better just give up bird hunting as you just are not suited for it
Rating: 5 / 5

Great for cold hands and gloves. The button is raised so that you can squeeze it by making a fist, so that clumsy gloves are ok. No exposed plastic means that it’s ok outdoors in winter. It’s muffled, but my dog hears much better than I do, so he does respond to it from a distance.
Rating: 5 / 5

I got this set of 5 clickers so that I would haveonein every room in my 3-room apartment! Oh, I keep one in my pocket as well!

These clickers are the best because they are small and are not as harsh as larger ones. The larger ones are so loud that they scare my little 9-pound poodle, Dante. I know because I bought 3 of them at PetCo. So, if you ever need to buy a clicker, go for subtle over volume and a high-pitched sound as well. Too harsh for me and can scare your dog as well.

That being said, these little clickers (they are smaller than any others I have ever seen) are perfect in pitch as well as volume. I wasted a few dollars on the others and I hope that my own learning experience will help you to make a good decision the first time rather than the second or the third!

I begin training Dante with the clicker for any new behavior. Also, I have been able to reduce my use of the clicker with oral commands along with consistent body signals with my hand(s) or the position of my body relative to Dante. He’s both fast as well as observant!

So, good luck . . .
Rating: 5 / 5

These clickers are very quiet. They’re barely loud enough to use indoors but pretty much out of the question outside or from a distance. The only purpose I could see these serving is for working with a fearful, noise-sensitive dog. The StarMark clicker worked better for me.
Rating: 2 / 5

Good, loud clicking noise gets dog’s attention. And with bright colors they can be found easily when they are used around the house.
Rating: 5 / 5

I like these clickers especially inside the house as they are a little quieter than some. (I also own a Starmark clicker which is too loud inside) I purchased the 5 pack and chose the quietest one for use inside. Along with it being quieter, outside it is still loud enough unless there is a lot of background noise such as high wind or a stadium competition, but it would have to be fairly noisy since a trained dog is anticipating the click command. You really don’t need a super loud clicker under most training routines. If your dog isn’t responding to the click, you may need to reevaluate your training rountine or the dogs current abilities. But clickers are cheap and I own several to give me the right sound level for each circumstance. These clickers are reliable, easy to click, and click everytime, they feel good in the hand too. They do everything that is written in the mfg’s descrption and do it well. Oh and they are super cheap too, a great buy!!!!
Rating: 5 / 5