Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog: The Delmar Smith Method (U)

Bill Tarrant says that dog trainer extraordinary Delmar Smith, five-time winner of both the National Open and U.S. Open Brittany championships, is the best friend a dog ever had. What can Smith's methods do for your dog, your hunting, your field-trial aspirations? "If you want to train like a pro," says Smith, "you've got to think like a dog." Then, in colorful Oklahoma speech, he explains (and Bill Tarrant reports) exactly how to go about it. Over eighty photos by Tarrant illustrate the fine points. While training horses as a youngster, Smith learned the secrets of what he calls "point of contact, repitition, association." He takes the mystery of how to apply these lessons to dog training and shows how to get outstanding results the humane way - without shouting, stomping, or striking the dog. Even if you live in the suburbs or the city, not ideal places for training a gun dog, you'll be surprised how much of the Delmar Smith method you can use. No, it's not a perfect method, even though it's the best, so Smith passes along advice on problem situations.