I have greatly appreciated the response to the Grouse Dog Puppy Book. I have received quite a few notes of appreciation and quite few requests saying, “ … but where do we go from here?” So, for a couple of years now, I have been working on “The Grouse Dog Puppy Book, Part 2.” It covers roughly 6 months to 2 years old.
Most of it was written in summer 2014. It is about 1/3rd bigger than book 1, with more words, somewhat bigger print, and some photos.
I have only a few copies in hand, but Dave Fletcher is set up to begin production if necessary.
Until the end of 2015, I am asking the same price, $20 plus $4 S & H. The price will go up to 25 and 4 in 2016. As before, it will be sold on the honor system. Post your address below or contact me by e-mail attached to this post.
Here is the TOC:

Preface 1

Introduction: Inspirations: Connecting With Another Species 4

Chapter 1:
Stuff That Should Have Been In The First Book But Wasn’t 10

Chapter 2: Six months to a Year 16

Chapter 3: Training The Trainer (TTT) 29

Chapter 4 One Year To 1.5 44

Chapter 5: Deer 66

Chapter 6: First Hunts 68

Conclusion: Dogs As Mirrors 70

Bonus: Parting Tips 72

Good Quotes are on the front and back inside covers.
A few excerpts:

Excerpt from the Preface:
“I am hoping that this book is different from any other training book you have read. If not; what would be the point? I am hoping that many readers will appreciate a somewhat different tact than many training books and videos that offer only training methods and techniques. I have dedicated a fairly sizeable part of the book to helping people become good dog trainers not by teaching specific techniques, but by helping trainers to understand how dogs can differ from us in how they think, learn and process the world. The more a trainer understands the dog, the better of a trainer he will be. Techniques and training methods are necessary of course, and there are plenty herein, but I have also tried to explain why the technique works, again, for the benefit of the reader. A full understanding of both technique and the pupil enable the trainer to execute the technique in a better way, or tweak it based on how a dog is responding, much better than someone lacking that deep understanding.”

From The Introduction:
“Jack Harper, in his 1983 book Bird dogs and Field Trials had a whole chapter on ESP. Harper’s language is measured, but writing about one dog he says, “I often thought I could literally wish him around the course. If so, I wished him on many a long and intelligent cast to good objectives and also to known bird haunts. This empathy between us, plus his other natural abilities, enabled him to make a sensational record....”
The common denominator here is “ empathy between us” that Harper describes. That empathy was apparent in all of the cases described. A dog and a handler so in tune that their interaction appears mystical is what good training is all about, or at least should be. A trainer that does not know or understand what the dog is doing or what the dog is telling him, will never achieve that connection. A dog that does not understand what it is being taught, or does not trust the teacher, will never reach out cross the species-separating gap. If a trainer strives to make a dog into a human, the trainer will be disappointed, the dog confused and no connection resulting. Our goal, rather, is a bird dog, fully allowed to reach his fullness as a bird dog, doing what centuries of breeding compel it to do, with a trainer ever attempting to bring out all of the dog’s potential. The trainer of such a dog is looking for a great partner rather than a servant. The dog is working with, rather than for, its human teammate. “
Excerpt 3:
“The larger point here is that your dog is communicating to you as you are training. Even when he does the behavior right, is he calm, confident, and obedient? Or is he confused, not confident and obedient? If he is the latter, a trainer is not sure if the dog has truly learned the lesson because the dog is not sure.
Like the young math student who, when asked “What is 2 squared?” (a 2 with a little 2 next to it) on the quiz, adds the big 2 and the little 2 together to get 4, the answer can be right, but clearly the student does not understand how to square a number, and so has not learned the lesson. If the teacher moves on to the next level, that student clearly will be completely lost. (I know personally because I WAS lost with math for most of my schooling).
With WHOA for example, a dog might be standing, not because he understood the command, but because not moving became a default behavior as in “I have no idea what that sound means, but I am not moving until I figure something else out about what he wants.” If a trainer assumes that the dog complied with the command, he might move to the next step and, like the math student, will be completely lost. So you should be looking at your dog as it goes through the training process, not just to see IF he complies, but HOW he looks, for hints at if it is handling the training well and really understands what is being taught.”
From Chapter 3 “Training The Trainer””
“We have all known people who are described as “Having a way” with dogs. This phrase is stated as if the trainer has a gift, some mystical quality that others do not have and never will. That magical connection between dog and man can only be approached if trainers understand both themselves and the dog they train.
I do not believe that some people are born to train dogs and others are helpless. In my never humble opinion, there is much more to training dogs than is apparent at first blush. There are aspects of training that play out with dogs that are very subtle and which ‘the gifted’ ones have under control, usually without even realizing what they are doing.
This section is a continuing attempt to close the gap between the gifted and the rest of us ‘not so much gifted.’ Of course, most every trainer who ‘has a way’ was once a trainer that made quite a few mistakes and learned from experience. Experience with quite a few dogs is what many pros offer and something that cannot be duplicated in a book.
Nor can every contingency, every problem with every dog be dealt with. It is thus a wise thing to help trainers be better trainers.”
From Chapter 5:
“What is “Green breaking” you ask? It is the early phases of steadying dog up on birds. It is very controlled work under very controlled circumstances. The ‘green’ part of the term refers to the inexperience and youthful age of the dog. I like to do this process at 10 months to 18 months. I tend to do it in the summer when the cover is high and work on wild birds is difficult or early summer when the wild birds are too young to be harassed. Like most all of the training I do, this is an extension of earlier processes. The program I do is intertwined with Yard Training. And I emphasize right up front that this ‘a’ way to do it...not necessarily THE way. It is a way that suits me and hopefully you too.”

Quote 2: “Observation and experience since then have convinced of some of these beneficial effects of putting dog through a program of rote discipline and control with pup at about a year to year and a half old. And I harken back to those trainers of sixty, seventy, hundred years ago who worked without e-collars on dogs allowed to run free for most of their lives with little or no supervision.
The age about 10 months to a year and a half is important. This is not ‘early obedience’ that dogs pick up with no thought at all because they are at a naturally subservient age. This comes at an age when various statements apply such as “the dog is beginning to feel its oats.” It is an age when that young alpha male begins to stand up and bristle with other dominant dogs. It is when the male dogs often begin lifting their legs instead of squatting. It is when a dog in heat begins to attract the attention of a male youngster.
A pup at this age is in a different psychological state than he was six, seven or eleven months previous.”
From The conclusion “Dogs As Mirrors”:
“When a dog has chased a bird, and is eliminated from the competition for this infraction, I have heard their handlers say, “The dog ‘screwed’ me.” But dogs are not capable of such deviousness and personal vengeance. The mirror reverses the image and is actually likely, “I screwed the dog, by not having it ready enough for this event.”
There are many reading this book who do not have high expectations, who set out to do minimum work and do not expect maximum results. There is nothing wrong with that and such people are fine when they look in the canine mirror.
Nevertheless, here is a toast to those who look at a competent, confident, accomplished, educated dog in the field, a joy to be with and hunt with... and in that canine mirror he or she sees themself in that reflection.

I still see all too few handlers with that magical connection that transcends species: A human and dog hunting as one unit. I hope to see more such magic and I hope that both you and I are among are the wizards.”