Retrieving for All Occasions: Foundations for Excellence in Gun Dog Training

by Elsa Blomster, Lena Gunnarsson, Jenny Nyberg (Illustrator)

They Challenge the Dog World with Unique Book on Positive Gun Dog Training New Book on Force-Free Gun Dog Training by two Swedish authors. Just now an appealing and accessible book on positive gun dog training has been published. The book focuses both on explaining the exercises in a clear and pedagogical way and on the experience for the reader with nice photographs and colorful layout. The book contains over 100 exercises on how to train an excellent gun dog. - We want to show the world that dog training without physical or verbal corrections is possible, something that previously has been considered almost necessary in gun dog training, says Elsa Blomster, dog instructor and author. Together with her colleague, Lena Gunnarsson, she has written a book on gun dog training using only reward based training Retrieving for All Occasions. - Dog training should be enjoyable for both dog and trainer, and that is what we are describing in our book, says Lena Gunnarsson. Rough training methods on TV gains enormous impact and many ordinary dog owners believe that is the only way to train a dog. The book presents alternatives to these methods. The book is for all dog owners that have a gun dog, for example a Golden Retriever, a Labrador Retriever or a Flat Coated Retriever as well as all the spaniel breeds such as Cocker Spaniel and Springer Spaniel, but also such as Vorstehs and Setters. In the US there are 78 million dogs. Spaniels and retrievers are among the most popular breeds. These breeds were originally bred to help the hunter find and retrieve small game. The breeding has also made them very friendly and eager to learn, thus also making them much appreciated family dogs. The book is primarily for beginners who want to train and compete with their dog and for those who want to activate their dog in a fun way. Elsa Blomster and Lena Gunnarsson are dog instructors in Gothenburg, Sweden, and base all their training on the clicker philosophy. They train and compete with their spaniels and retrievers in obedience, agility, rally obedience, tracking and field trials. Elsa and Lena published the book in Swedish in 2012 and it sold over 1200 copies in its first five months. Now, they ve widened their market by introducing the book to the Englishspeaking market. To find out more about the book, just visit There you ll also find more dog training information. Do you want to know more? Elsa Blomster

Genres: Self Help, 21st Century, Dogs, Nonfiction, Education, Personal Development, New Adult

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2015

Reviews

[Page After Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a wealth of information, Retrieving for all Occasions by Elsa Blomster and Lena Gunnarsson offers everything you need to know in order to effectively train and motivate your dog. Based on reward based training, whether in the form of treats or other motivational good stuff for dogs, this book is the ultimate guide to getting the results you want and the behavior needed from your dog. The book is geared toward owners of gun dogs, or dogs that retrieve, such as the Golden Retriever, the Labrador Retriever or a Flat Coated Retriever, plus all of the spaniel breeds such as Cocker Spaniel and Springer Spaniel, among others. Written in clear and concise language, the book is focused on beginners, both dogs and owners, and offers a compendium of good instruction tailored to work with your special dog. With plenty of great graphics, photos, and step by step instructions, this book is helpful and encouraging when it comes to dog training. There also is a chart on positive/negative reinforcement/punishment that explains this sometimes misunderstood concept that even the most novice dog trainer/owner will grasp. Overall, a thorough book full of information and training tactics that are highly effective and approachable. Highly recommend

[Nose In A Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Retrieving for All Occasions is a fantastic book about specific aspects of dog training using positive reinforcement (reward) methods, based on practical experience with spaniels and retrievers.

The book includes basic and advanced training exercises, theory, a glossary of terms and summaries of each section. The book is based on the basic concept that “dogs learn very quickly and that it’s easy to ‘re-teach’ them if something goes wrong”.

At the beginning of the book the authors challenge the reader to think about what actually constitutes a reward, from a dog’s point of view, and they discuss hierarchies of rewards.

This is an easy to read, enjoyable book with a conversational style of writing, plenty of examples, step-by-step instructions and lots of great photos and helpful illustrations too. The psychology of dog behavior and training is demystified, with all relevant jargon explained.

[Paragraph And A Half · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elsa Blomster and Lena Gunnarsson’s “Retrieving for All Occasions” is a veritable treasure chest of a book, brimming full of dog training expertise, written in a way that doesn’t assume any prior dog training knowledge or experience. An absolute novice would be able to pick up this book and get started immediately. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem in any way condescending to anyone who owns or works with dogs, who is seeking to add to or re-cap on their own strategies.

The authors work purely with a reward-based training system and begin with the basic premise that ‘a reward is anything that your dog is prepared to work for’. They include a range of photos and diagrams to illustrate the points they make and use anecdotes based on their own personal dog training work. An excellent resource. 10 out of 10.

[Kickass Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elsa Blomster and Lena Gunnarsson are dog training instructors in Sweden and here they have compiled an almost inexhaustible manual for training retrievers and spaniels, containing lots of information easily applicable to other dog breeds too. I found this a very engaging book, full of practical solutions for dog owners and handlers. The book is more universal than just being applicable to retriever training, taking into consideration subjects like the importance and significance of play, how dogs learn and nature versus nurture. Blomster and Gunnarsson reflect their philosophy that “training should be fun and enjoyable for both handler and dog” in the accessible way they have presented the information, which is also complemented by beautiful, naturalistic photography.

[Reading Right · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book for someone looking to broaden their horizons and dive into something new, or for those that already have experience with dog training and looking to expand on their knowledge base. The instructions are all clear and easy to follow, and the images included helped me to further grasp what was being conveyed. Further to this the whole training schedule is a treat based one, and as heavy-handed discipline is not something I would be comfortable with I found this perfect for me and my dog.

This is a great book that Blomster and Gunnarsson have created, and I’m really glad that I gave it a go.

[Novel Addiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read full of useful tips I’ve been trying out with my own dog. There is so much more to it than the title itself would lead you to believe. Positive behavioural training really opened my eyes to ways to correct my dogs behaviour, in a way that he can also enjoy. More than this everything Blomster teaches us here is backed up with scientific facts, which means it isn’t just someone else writing a self-help book based on nothing but their opinion and a wish to share. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot already so I’ll go through the book a few times to make sure I get everything out of it I can, but even with what I, and my dog, have learned so far, it’s a winner.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Highly recommend.

Also buy the study guide which gives weekly plans of how to combine exercises to create a training plan

One of the best examples I have seen of these types of books.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's so hard to find any positive reinforcement training books about gun dog training. And this is close, but not exactly what I need for my versatile hunting dog. But there are good exercises sprinkled throughout that I'm going to try.