TRAINING THE RETRIEVER: A MANUAL. By J.A. Kersley.

(1970) 1980's reprint. 8vo (155 x 234mm). Pp207,ads. B/w photographs, illustrations by James Croft. Laminated boards.

Frequently recommended by my customers as a straightforward and very useful guide to training labrador retrievers to the gun. "The amateur who undertakes the training of a dog must be an enthusiast. ...This is a book written by an amateur for amateurs, although I hope my professional friends may get a little quiet amusement out of it. It is written while the difficulties of training are fresh in my mind - the professional has often forgotten the difficulties that troubled him in the early days. It sometimes wanders from the strict path of training - but after all this is how training should go - and I have tried to introduce a little humour. Whether I have written about a serious subject in a light manner or a light subject in a serious manner, I leave to the reader to decide." A detailed and wholly realistic book. Chapters include: Know your dog; On scent and scenting; On choosing a puppy, its housing and management; The first year; The training ground, the rabbit pen; On crime and punishment and the correction of faults; Handling; Training; Obstacles and how you hope to surmount them; Advanced handling; Advanced training; The errors of an amateur; The first and second seasons; On judges and judging; Of guns, stewards and professional trainers; Working tests and field trials; The final bounce. Appendices include: Excerpts from Registration and Field Trial Rules; Rules for Retriever Trials; Excerpts from the Standard Recommendations of the Retriever Advisory Committee.