Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully outdated
Review: This book is written by a master in his field. No less. It is a down-to-earth and step-by-step textbook on training hunting retrievers. I like two things about this book in particular: a. The author recognises the fact that you cannot take your dog for granted. Contrary to many other books on the subject Mr. Wolters acknowledges the failure - the crisis - the dog that challenges you etc.... And he prepares you for it - even tells you when you can expect this to happen. b. The book is outdated in the sense that E-collar-devices - Earpinching-devices and other socalled modern training aids are not mentioned once. What a good thing!
Rating: 
Summary: Too harsh
Review: This book uses a very harsh method of training. During the whole book - he never really teaches the dog what he wants, just expects the dog to do it and the dog gets punished if he does it wrong. It does provide good basic steps for advancing your retrieves. I would not recommend this to people who are first time dog owners or who have little training experience of their own. He also uses a choke collar on a 3 month old puppy. The other good point was his explanation of puppy mental development.
Rating:
Summary: If you have only one book this is it!!!
Review: Training my lab,(my first), was a lot of work. The water dog book made my work a sucess. My dog constantly amazes myself and my friends. By following Mr. Wolters advice I have a great family pet who listens well and turns into a champion in the field or blind. This book is indespensable!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Reading two books is better than reading one
Review: Wolters is very precise on telling and showing one of the ways to train a water dog. He is simply right about starting the training as soon as you bring the pup home and he shows the proper way to achieve success with the pup. Starting the training at 7 weeks is something that other trainers find hard to overcome. Being I use my dogs for both water and upland I also read The Labrador Shooting Dog, by Mike Gould. I find that Gould's training techniques are alot better and make more sense than Wolters. Gould is more precise with training techniques for the retrieve. However, Gould doesn't start the formal training until the dog's approximatley 6 months old. If you want to learn how to properly train a hunting dog then read both Water Dog and The Labrador Shooting Dog. You will learn from both Wolters and Gould how to train a pup starting at 7 weeks old and the proper techniques for training.
| 
