I did find it very helpful as I trained my first dog with it. She was very hyper setter. The one thing I like about it was that it only dealt with pointing (If memory serves) and eliminated the waterfowling aspets. With the Vizula, you want to also try another book as Vizulas can be versitile dogs.

Another book I'm into now is Henry P. Davis's book Training Your Own Bird Dog, copyright goes way back 1948. Everything in this book is out of date thus far except it has an excellent chapter on introducing the gun to your dog.

The whoa and heel command from Long's book is very good and that employs the cardboard roll. My setter learn whoa very well, but I've could have been alittle more strict in heel. She healed but often got ahead of me.

I have a goldie now who is not a real hunter. And training her without a leash is not going to happen as goldies have a mind of their own. She doesn't go to far (too fat) and doesn't have a mean bone in her body. I don't try to train her anymore but she has us very well trained.

Thanks for letting me know. I'm gonna order Long's book and keep it on hand.

in my opinion its never to early to start training. puppies are no different than babies there like little sponges. the more you fool with them the faster they learn, now each dog is different they learn at different speeds.so you have to pay attention to what he is telling you, but just go slow and be easy just keep doing it over and over again until he gets it, dogs learn by repetition, so keep at it. i start all my dogs on the whoa command at 3-4 months of age, in my opinion this is the most important of all the commands, i use a modified barrel technique, i feel its easier on the dogs to learn this way. i also expose my dogs to birds early as well, i have a fly pen and put the puppies in and let them chase away, this helps develop desire. there is just so many things to do, but have fun and just enjoy, but to answer the question i think you should definitely start training now.

Just keep it short and fun for pups, and of course, go easy on them enough to let them be pups some. It also depends on how mature the dog is in the first place. Some mature faster than others, and a slower maturing puppy is no indication, in my opinion, of a bad dog. You know, some 16 year old teenagers seem to really have wisdom beyond their age, but then you can't be too rough on the ones that still have a ways to go in the maturity category...they'll get there. maybe people aren't the best comparison, but you get my drift. As for the W______r dog that you asked about, I'd dawn the old shock collar, not as a fix, but as a reinforcement. Only use it for one problem at a time, like come or breaking off deer. Good luck