Another good program is by Butch Goodwin called Rertrievers, from the inside ....out.
I am kind of a collector of training material and have many books and programs, the above mentioned program is probably the most comprehensive program I have looked over.
Trainers:
I believe one of the most important qualities in a trainer is their ability to "read" dogs.
One must keep in mind that pro trainers are paid to produce results, a good trainer can read a dogs actions and attitude and judge how much pressure a dog can handle. He/she will adjust the pressure to each dogs ability to handle it. Some dogs can take a lot of pressure and still be excited about getting into the truck to go out to train, others not so much.
Iron fist is OK IF it is used justly. I do not know the trainer about who this was mentioned, so can't say.
Any trainer I would recommend would have dogs in their care that are happy when not in training and are excited to load up to go training, If they are head and tail down down, I would not consider them. Even when working FF, my dogs run out to the garage and are excited to get started. My advantage is that I am not being paid and am not in as big a hurry for results, therefore I can error on the side of caution as to how much pressure I exert per session.
Good luck with your pup.
