After training both trial retrievers and Brittanys; and having equal success with both; I pondered on the radical differences in training techniques.  Having come to the conclusion that pointing dog training concepts have remained more or less status quo for a very long time; I decided that I needed to take a fresh look at it.  It made absolutely no sense to me that it should take so long to get a dog to point, back, retrieve and remain steady to wing and shot as is customarily accepted.  By all accounts, these four actions amount to what is considered to be the finished, or gentlemen’s shooting dog.  In truth; very few dogs ever get to this level.  We’ve all seen the outdoor television shows with dogs breaking on shot, chasing at the flush, meandering around birds and mouthing them with the handler endlessly cooing: c’mon, pick it up- that-a boy- good boy- and every other imaginable plea.  That few pointing dogs actually get to the truly finished level and that so many trial retrievers advance to a level of incredible complexity is baffling to me.  Why is this so?  Don’t blame the poor dog.  One can only access that methods for training pointing dogs have not advanced much whereas they have been radically advanced in the retriever world.  The later out of sheer necessity to remain viable in today’s hugely competitive one hundred plus dog all age retriever stakes.  I am not proposing that pointing dogs should be trained like retrievers.  Neither am I suggesting that one breed is any better than the other.  Remember, I train both and love pointing dogs as much as anyone.  In fact; I‘ve chosen to specialize in pointers; not retrievers.  So obviously, that says something about my commitment to them.  What I’m talking about is utilizing proven retriever training techniques, (with some adjustments) applied to pointing dogs.  A dog is a dog is a dog.  They don’t know what breed they are.  Only that they take great joy in being what they are.  How we communicate with them is less about their intelligence and more about our own.  Puppies have no preconceived notions.  They are not rigid thinking, nor do they have egos to project.  I have a simple adage that I try to adhere to.  “To be a good dog trainer you have to be humble.”  Meaning; you have to ask questions and seek help when you need it.  Nothing; absolutely nothing I do in dog training is something I thought of.  They’re all things that someone has taken the time to show me.  This is the beauty of training.  It isn’t static.  It should always be evolving.  Always flowing.  On that note, I have worked on a program which really targets developing birdiness, force retrieving and advanced E-collar conditioning.  I’m not stuck in the same mode of thought that things have to be done in such and such way just because that’s how they’ve always been done.  For the pup that is being started with the intention of going all the way through to becoming a truly finished dog: whether it be strictly for the joy of hunting, or for testing; the program I‘ve developed is an environment that your dog will thrive in.