GUNDOGS: THEIR LEARNING CHAIN. By Joe Irving.

# (1983) 1991 reprint of 1989 1st paperback edition. 8vo paperback (137 x 216mm). Pp231. B/w photographs and illustrations.

# "Joe Irving's ...greatly respected handbook on gundogs shows how to train a dog for any type of shooting, by following a series of basic lessons which form a special sequence or learning chain. From buying a puppy to working it in the field, the author describes in detail how to adapt each stage of training to suit individual temperatments and all breeds of gundog - spaniel, labrador, golden retriever, flat-coat, curly-coat, pointer, setter, and even the cross-bred." "I'd recommend the book to anyone interested in training a gundog, whatever the breed." - Derry Argue, Shooting Times. Chapters include: The dog for the job - choice of puppy, purchasing a puppy, diet, kennels or not, house training; Development - preparation for training, chastisement, early days; Basic training - the training ground, sitting at a distance, steadiness to the thrown dummy, dropping to whistle and shot; Introduction to the 'hunters' - the rough-shooter's dog, early rough-shooting days; Advanced retrieving; Cold game - leaving a line, introduction to and retrieving from water, steadiness to game, the check cord, the rabbit pen; Pointers and setters; breeding - sires, brood bitches, the bitch in season, mating, gestation, the whelping box, the bitch in whelp, tails, dew claws, hand rearing; Picking up and beating.