Chrissy and I have decided to take the plunge into the spaniel world this year, and if the breeding took, we will be the proud owners of a field-bred English Cocker by this fall. With anything new, my obsessive tendencies have a tendency to take over, and getting a new type of dog has been no different. I have been buying spaniel training books like they are going out of style. I’ve particularly been interested in the British methods of training and have a number of books by Mr. Erlandson and another trainer, Joe Irving.

The methods described in the book, at their very root, will be nothing new; however, the entire training process is a bit different than what we typically follow in this country. I have read three books by these authors and have one more to go and thus far I would highly recommend taking a look at the methods described in them. I won’t be building a rabbit pen (utilized a lot apparently by pros across the pond) any time soon; however, I can tell you my training plan will be derived from the methods I have taken from these texts and from the wonderful breeders of these fantastic little dogs in this country.

While not vastly different from many of the current methods in this country, in regards to breaking the training down into logical steps, it is vastly different in how they get there. Of particular interest is their open distain for the electronic collar. I will be the first to admit that I have openly advocated that the electronic collar is a great piece of equipment when used correctly, particularly when handling at extreme distances or in emergency situations. I don’t see myself ever not having a collar on the setters while hunting, mainly for the very rare emergency and the gentle training reminder. Each dog I have owned I have progressively relied less on the collar, a fact I think illustrates a growing knowledge of dog training that we experience as we learn more from each dog that we own. After spending a fair amount of time with some spaniel folks this spring, my plan is to go collar free with the new pup…though don’t hold me to that. I have spent a lot of time around the retriever and pointing dog games and after attending a spaniel field trial I was in awe of the attentiveness and level of intelligence displayed by these dogs.

I’ll keep you posted on whether the new-to-me methods are a success.

Do you have a book you'd like to recommend to others? Send your suggestions to gundogdoc@gundogdoc.com.