American Water Spaniel: A Complete and Reliable Handbook (Complete and Reliable Handbook)

Rating:
Summary: Mainly a picture book
Review: There is very little written about this breed (and most of it is out of print). There is a nice summary of the breed history and rather general advice about raising and training your dog. The subjects covered are a good introduction to training but would need to be supplemented from other sources. The illustrations are outstandingly good and give an excellent view of the wideranging abilities of this "great All American dog". It is an excellent book for the person who wants an American water spaniel as a pet or who wants to know what the breed looks like. I could not wholeheartedly recommend it for a person who wants a hunting dog. As far as field ability and training of an American water spaniel are concerned, I would suggest James Spencer's book Training the Flushing Spaniel the American Way which contains a most informative chapter about the special characteristics of this breed and excellent advice on field training.

Rating:
Summary: Great pictures, some simple advice.
Review: This is a great book for anyone who is interested in the AWS. Although it only briefly skims advanced training or care information, it has a wide number of examples of the breed represented in it's numerous pictures. I highly recommend this book and I only gave it less then five stars because of the last chapter of the book which is an advertisment for dog dental toys.

Rating:
Summary: Little that is specific to the American Water Spaniel
Review: We found this book much too generic for anyone seriously considering the advantages/disadvantages of this breed compared to another hunting breed of dog. The pictures provided a clear look at the dog's appearance, but most of the text (training, care etc.) could have been written about almost any dog.