Considered outdated? By whom? Just because the book is old does not mean it is no longer an effective training tool. The reason Wolter's book and methods have stood the test of time is the very reason I do not hesitate to recommend it to anyone with a retriever to train. Training methods come and go, the strong ones, such as Water Dog, remain at the forefront. I am not intending to slight Doc E's opinion, I just feel that Water Dog is a highly effective training tool. It is not necessarily the be all, end all on retriever training, but is a very useful, insightful tool. Just my 2cents worth!

YLM