Teaching a pointing dog puppy

Though I have been training my own and a few other animals for years, I have recently started clicker training. I am new to this and learning, but I'm always surprised at how many of my fellow trainers consider these methods unsuitable for birddogs. It is true that birds are more exciting to field bred dogs than treats but the puppy basics should be so much easier to teach right? So, I am helping to train a young puppy for house dog AND bird dog life. Traditionally, bird dog trainers don't reccomend starting any "serious" training until a dog is older, but this is due to the methods used. Sometimes to harsh for young dogs. Ther all kinds of crazy methods used to get a dog to understand "whoa" and many involve complicated ropes and posts, or even a pulley sytem. Also many of my peers felt that training "sit" was a bad idea as dogs often resort to the fisrt command they know when they are confused or pressured. BUT sit is such a great way for puppies to learn to be still and a nice way to teach them to greet my children gently. So, I am training this new puppy to learn multiple tricks starting with hand signal cues. So far he has learned "sit" "down" "stand" and early "whoa." My next big step to work towards is "whoa" at the door to go in and out, so he doesn't push us out of the way going through the door. We shall see, if I can prove my friends wrong and teach old people new tricks. :)