Customer Reviews

Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I bought this book after reviewing some of the articles on the [...]website, which offers a preview of some of the key points of the book. I did read many of the reviews here and felt that the negative comments were somewhat over-reactive.

From my perspective, the book not only makes sense about how to raise a puppy, but also about how to raise a child! Why waste time trying to teach kids or dogs what is wrong, until they eventually figure out what is right? That seems really inefficient, now that I know the "lure-reward" technique. This technique lets you use the essential nature of the dog to train it to do what you want it to do: pee, chew, and poop where you want it to, for instance. Walk calmly on leash, for another. The trick is to not fall into the trap of thinking that a few weeks of short and long-term confinement is somehow cruel to the dog. Like children, dogs respond quickly to a consistent routine. It DOES require YOU to be consistent and to have discipline, and I definitely figured out where I was being lazy and too lax, and whenever I went back to the tighter crate schedule, things improved immediately. I realized that I confused a few days of successful potty events with "success" in overall training and went from confinement to total lack of restraint, so I referred to the book again and made some corrections.

Here are a couple of tips that helped make this book so useful for me. First, I had a consultation with a pet dog trainer who knew about (and recommended) Dunbar's technique. This really helped me when addressing the issues that I felt were not explained in the book (more on that later). Secondly, while I took Dunbar's stern advice as the kind of advice someone gives to people who might not pay attention...that is, I didn't take him quite so seriously. So, when he says that your dog needs to meet over 100 people in his first month (or whatever), I took that as the general message: socialize your dog as much as you possibly can. We have a really small house and we aren't hugely social, but I was surprised to find that I could make a list of 100 people pretty easily. They haven't all been over to my house, but I've been out and about and exposed my pup to a lot of different people, and I could see the change in about 2 weeks! And, I realized too that this socialization has to continue through adolescence, the difficult stage (again, think of children). I also found that "training" your dog to be OK when you are not around was particularly practical and helpful. It not only reduced my dog's anxiety, but mine as well, since it gave me a method to work with the dog to gradually introduce him to "alone" time, which will definitely be a part of his life. It also helped me to be aware of where I might be inadvertently feeding into the dog's anxious attitude when I returned home (or got him out of his crate).

The sit, lay down trick is a snap and I even successfully tried it on an adult pitbull that wouldn't lay down for its owner!

What I also found interesting was that the tips I learned in the book and shared with my other dog-owning friends helped them when it came to their adult dogs! I think that the Cesar Milan method can be quite effective, but it is based solely on dominance, and the lure-reward method can work wonderfully too in many situations (such as getting your dog to be calm when going on leash and learning to happily sit when greeting people).

Now, for some things that come to mind that I found lacking in the book. First, I happen to have a toy poodle who is bizarrely un-food motivated, and Dunbar doesn't mention that at all. I did learn from other poodle owners that this breed isn't the most food motivated one. I wish he would cover that situation in the book. So, for instance, Dunbar recommends putting all of the dog's kibble in Kong toys, yet if I put all of Buck's food in his bowl, he *still* wouldn't eat even half of it. So, if the open dish doesn't work, the Kong toy is like locking it away! And, freeze dried liver didn't work for Buck either. Advice: get those beef jerky sticks for dogs. Or try cheese. And strangely: Wheat Thins (even my cat loves them). Small bits of hot dog too. (I use this for the poop reward). Even so, all of these favorite items stuffed into a Kong toy won't work for my dog. Maybe when he gets a little older/bigger and I can try it out again, but for now I'm mystified about turning him into a chew-toy-aholic.

Secondly, I would have appreciated more information on the puppy interaction when you have a really small dog, or a really large dog. I think the problems you encounter as a dog owner do vary when you have a "non-average" sized breed. How do you keep your little dog from being completely frightened of huge dogs (and then later turning into one of those yappy jerks)? How do you keep your rambunctious, lovey Great Dane from bowling over the chihuaha? And, when you do finally take your dog to the dog park, how can you as an owner to a better job of evaluating other dogs as potential problems? Most people don't even bother to socialize their dogs, so how do you evaluate?

Finally, while I initially started asking people to offer a treat to my dog to get him to sit, I quickly learned that most every person will use a different visual method in asking the dog to sit, while only using the word "sit." So, it's really too onerous in my opinion to try to get every person to get the dog to sit, since the lure/reward technique of holding the treat over the head works, but most people don't know the signal! So, my dog dances on its hind legs while people say "sit!" and give it the treat because he's so cute. This pretty much has de-sensitized "sit" as a keyword so I quickly dropped the idea of asking people to make him "sit." What *does* work is asking people to offer the dog a treat, since then they naturally great the dog with a lowered hand, palm up, which is far less threatening to the dog and not a dominance display. I am really not going to burden every human social interaction with an instruction on the sit technique that is required. Later, when the dog learns the word itself, maybe then. I feel that in this respect, Dunbar's advice is a bit impractical.

Overall, I am very glad that I bought this book, and it's been an essential tool in my working with my puppy and understanding the nature of dogs.

I'd recommend this to anyone who has a pup already (get it quickly!) as well as anyone thinking about adding a dog - also, get it quickly- before the dog, since you can. The "Before" part is a small fraction of the book, but valuable. Reading it before getting Fido would help you better understand the particular (and commmonly unknown)challenges training a dog entails, and help you choose a desirable breeder.

Reading the WHOLE book before getting a puppy would really help you prepare to become its owner and trainer.

Some have said the book scared them, or that it was unrealistic...and if making a mistake scares you, don't buy the book. However, if you can recover, and vow to try to do better, and realize your mistakes or inadequacies do impact others (or your pet), but realize and accept that you can still make things up- just with extra work- get this book. Dunbar doesn't try to scare folks, he just points out that mistakes can create bad/wrong impressions (in people or dogs) and these require extra work to correct...(in people or dogs).

He lays out developmental "deadlines" -just as children have sensitive periods so do dogs, and training in certain areas takes "best" during this period.

He provides non-traditional, positive, somewhat demanding methods for training your dog. By "Demanding" I mean he asks you to do thing at the start that are some work for you....in order to have a lower-maintenance dog later. Inviting (many different) people over to meet your dog to socilalize it is a lot of work, but if it means your dog doesn't bite the meter man or the neighbor's child, and does behave more like Lassie than the neighborhood stray, isn't it worth it to try? Your choice, of course. But he does warn you that you have a special opportunity when the dog is young that doesn't really come again. Take advantage of it!

Essential reading in my mind is the chapter on Bite Inhibition. This could save you much anguish if your dog is ever accidentally hurt...and help ensure that your sweet dog won't wound anyone in her anguish. Paying $20 for this one lesson would be worth the cost of the book in my mind.

Teaching appropriate chewing (from day one) is another literally "valuable" chapter. Our dear and well intentioned dog chewed through over $300 of merchandise as a pup. I thought Kongs were too expensive to buy at $8 each. I bought one, but didn't see any results. Little did I know that if used correctly (as the only accessible chewing object)they could have saved me a lot of $ and annoyance.

Dunbar's techniques work. We used a different trainer, and learned much, but I now see some things (besides the chewing)we missed, that I'll try to make up now using his techniques.

If you get easily stressed if things don't go perfectly a puppy might not really be a good idea. Dunbar suggests finding a mostly trained dog at a shelter could be a lot less stress for you. Some things still wouldn't be perfect, and you'd still have to do work, but but you wouldn't have so many fronts to work on in such a short time as one has with a puppy. Overally just remember, Dogs don't know what you want them to do just because you tell them. They don't speak English.
We teach them that they get treats or affection for certain behaviors so they learn to look for those opportunities.

I've read every dog training and behavior book out there since 1982. And I've raised six puppies as my own pets over the years. When I found myself in a bind with a challenging, rambunctious new challenge, I read everything looking for help- CESAR MILAN, GOOD OWNERS/GREAT DOGS by Kilcommons, PERFECT PUPPY Gwen Bailey , MOTHER KNOWS BEST by Carol Lea Benjamin, HOW TO RAISE A PUPPY YOU CAN LIVE WITH, SARAH HODGSON, THE ART OF RAISING A PUPPY, Jan Fennel'S DOG LISTENER, UNCLE MATTY.... you name it. I'd spend hours reading looking for suggestions. Far and away the #1 book that helped me the most and offered me the most practical advice was IAN DUNBAR'S BEFORE & AFTER YOU GET YOUR PUPPY- mostly the 'after' part! The book contains short and sweet, easy to read and apply how to's for raising a well-behaved, well-adjusted puppy. You know the kind that goes potty outside, is quiet through the night, will go into her crate and stay quietly without whining. After all these years, I thought I knew it all. I didn't. When I needed help, IAN DUNBAR provided it. The best advice ever, 1-2-3 housetraining, confinement, rules, restrictions, 'sssshhh', etc.

ONE (1) complaint: my puppy can't get the stuffing out of the Kong - any size - and whines terribly over it in frustration.

Also recommended: MOTHER KNOWS BEST, Carol Lea Benjamin/ THE ART OF RAISING A PUPPY, Monks of New Skete/ NO BAD DOGS Barbara Woodhouse/ TV Show: Cesar Milan's DOG WHISPERER on National Geographic.

I'm usually not that motivated to write a review but in this case I am. I'm glad I read the book however it's about 200 pages and organized and indexed very poorly. It is also extremely wordy and repetitive and found at least one spelling error. It can be condsensed into a 46 page bullet chart!

The advice is good but a lot of it way over the top and it gives you the sense that if you don't follow the advice completely your puppy will be unmanageable inevitably wind up in a shelter where no one will want to adopt it. And frankly some of the advice is really overdoing it. For example, having the puppy parties and making all your guests wash their hands and take off their shoes prior to working with the puppy. While you really decrease your chances of the dog becoming ill that way, it really harps on the need to do it when it could spend more pages addressing the issue of what to do when the puppy doesn't want the chewtoys.

It also tells you to avoid breeders who don't teach the puppy basic commands and sorry to say that most breeders don't do this. Its just not a realistic expectation especially if its a rare breed or there was a waiting list which was the case for my dog.

It doesn't tell you what to do in many common scenarios such as the puppy not eating right and it doesn't discuss whining and crying through the night and that was the information that I found myself needing the most and it wasn't in the book.

I also found that it takes time to get the puppy to want to play with chew toys. Mine was not immediately drawn to them and still doesn't have much interest in them apparently. And again, it does not say what to do in that instance.

When I read that the goal is to have zero accidents I was excited and thought I could do it. But it's really really difficult to get through with zero accidents. Heck my puppy has even gone in his crate twice and came back to find him laying in his mess. Again no backup plan. I take the puppy out 12-15 times a day but that is unrealistic for most people.

And experienced trainers I have talked to advise against the long term confinement potty area because you really dont want the pup going in the house at all and it prolongs the houstraining big time. Not to mention the smell takes hours to get aired out!!!

The book also says to stuff kibble into the chewtoys thus giving the puppy access to food all day. This is a really bad idea in my opinion and everyone else I have talked to because it makes housetraining more difficult and sets the puppy up for not eating at appropriate times.

Despite some of the negative reviews, I'm throwing my hat in as a postive review for this book. Early on in the book, Dr. Dunbar stated that the reason he gave such exact specifications was because he found that if he didn't, pet owners would then not follow his instructions at all. I think what he says are meant to be guidelines, but obviously each dog is different, as is each owner.

Having just finished this book, I now feel equipped with the tools I need to help get my puppy off on the right start. I would give 5 stars, except I agree with some of the other reviews that Dr. Dunbar neglected to include alternatives in the event that some of his techniques don't work. (Like what to do if the puppy eliminates in his crate, etc.). But this book DOES provide a solid foundation of the basics. I'll just look elsewhere for some of the details.

Great book. Now let's see how it all turns out with our puppy!

One of the better books I've read on training. Most of the ideas presented are very good, although the average person will have a difficult time fully adhering to some of his suggestions. There's a little too much "My approach will work every time." My experience is that dogs are a little like people in that they have their own personality, and what works with one will not necessarily work with another. These are really small "complaints" and most of the book provides very practical and good approaches to training your dog.

I don't know what to make of Ian Dunbar. I really don't. On the one hand he's so good-natured, not to mention tireless in his dedication to improving the lives of American dogs by doing everything he can to get rid of punitive and aggressive training methodologies, based on the myth of alpha. Yet there's something more than a little strange about his views on training, or at least his way of presenting them in this book.

Here's what I mean:

"From the first day you get your puppy, the clock is ticking ...there is so much to teach and nearly everything needs to be taught right away."

Don't you think that's a bit much? Doesn't that sound just a little too frantic to you? I wanted to like this book. I really did; I like the man. But I've worked with a lot of dogs and a lot of dog owners, and it would never in a million years occur to me to say that the clock is ticking from day one, or that nearly everything needs to be taught right away. In fact, I caution my clients not rush their puppies into training too early. That's because learning is not just about when all the dog's neurons are in place, it's about when the dog has finished developing emotionally as well, which takes a bit longer. In fact, I'd rather start formal training at nine months at the very earliest.

Yes, puppies need to learn (or continue learning) bite inhibition, they need to be housebroken (though they shouldn't be crated right away as Dunbar suggests--read HOW TO HOUSEBREAK YOUR DOG IN 7 DAYS by Shirlee Kalstone), they need to learn some simple househould "manners", and to have their oral impulses re-directed away from the carpet, furniture, shoes, and electrical cords. But that's hardly everything, is it?

From my experience, nothing is ever quite as urgent, crucial, or critical as Dunbar keeps saying to (or hammering at) the reader. The book is peppered with small sub-sections labeled for their levels of "importance" or "urgency", as if puppy training is taking place at Chicago General's ER, not in someone's happy, safe home environment. And out of 11 chapter titles, I counted 7 with the word "deadline" somewhere in the heading! To me this comes across as a combination of hysteria, paranoia, and ignorance. (And yet the man seems so normal!)

Many of Dunbar's deadlines aren't even deadlines at all. Dog trainers have believed for years that there was a "critical socialization window", and that if your dog misses it, that's it; he'll never be socialized. And it's just not true. The original studies that gave us is this term were done in the mid-50s, when we knew less about how brain cells grow than we do now. Most trainers are now calling this a "sensitive period" because it turns out that it's not that critical, urgent, all-or-nothing, or anything else that Ian Dunbar says it is. Most puppies are extremely flexible and adaptable, whether their owners have met all of Dunbar's deadlines or not. I've personally known many dogs who had limited social contact during this supposed critical period and were not marred by it at all. I don't know why Dunbar has written it this way, but this book is pure scare tactics. (If his agenda is to warn people away from ever owning a dog, he's done an excellent job.)

On the other hand, just when I was ready to dismiss everything Dunbar has to say, I had to come across the following sentence:

"The more dogs bite as puppies, the softer and safer their jaws in adulthood."

Truer words were never spoke. I've never seen this tiny bit of dog wisdom in any other book on training (all but one--NATURAL DOG TRAINING by Kevin Behan).

Still, I think Ian Dunbar needs to ease up and have a little more trust in the goodheartedness of dogs. They're just doggies, Ian, not uncontrollable monsters with time-bombs attached. Relax!

There are some really good exercises here, so I give it two stars.

What is with the negative reviews? I think there is a little self-promoting going here on among others in the "dog training community."
This was the absolute best "dog training book" I have ever found. I didn't just buy and read this book and then comment on what I "thought" of these techniques - I have USED them!
When I got a Labrador, I got this book from the local library (with SEVERAL other not-so-good books) and took a ton of notes. Then I implemented most of these things that Ian said to do with my lab and now she amazes my friends when she obeys my words with out getting "physical". She is a GREAT dog!
Over the weekend I got a beagle for an early birthday present. The first thing I did was buy his book!!!
I got the dog on Saturday evening. It is Wednesday evening and I just let the dog out to pee. He ran to the door and whimpered to be let out. He played for a little while and we did a little training and then he walked into his crate and went to sleep. He also goes in his crate by himself whenever he is tired. He turned 6 weeks old yesterday. He also "sits" & "lays down" using the food lure techniques Ian talks about.
My lab is loving having the little guy around and because of her bite inibition (from Ian's book), they play and she just kinda mouths him with absolutely no pressure. We don't have to worry about a thing. I have never seen a more gentle giant.
I really have to thank this book & Dr. Dunbar for 2 great companions that fit into our family. We don't have to fit our family around them. People comment all the time to me about how hard it must have been to "train" dogs, but I have to confess, it really wasn't that difficult. It just takes patience and consistancy and a lot of peanut butter & dog food filled Kongs!
My Lab is wonderful. She doesn't chew furniture & settles down when I ask her to. She is also an incredible retreiver! I say "Newspaper!" in the morning and she goes and gets it and brings it to me for a bacon flavored dog treat. We have a good deal worked out for both of us.
I hope you will purchase this book & I hope you will use the training techniques. It really does pay off in the long run. When you get frustrated, just take a breather and think about what it will be like when your pup finally gets it!
Have a great time!!

Want to know what having a puppy is really like? Do you know what your puppy needs in terms of crating, chew toys, and most importantly socialization?? Want to housetrain your puppy to minimize "accidents?" Then get this book! Not only does Dr. Dunbar pack his book with lots of practical, helpful and accurate information, but he does it in and easy-to-read format. He explains the importance of socializing your puppy (what socialization is and how to do it -- and what might happen if your dog *doesn't* get that socialization).

As a dog trainer, I wish more of my clients read books like this. Wait a minute, then I'd be out of a job!! It's a great book and I recommend it highly.

Plenty of dog training manuals pepper the market, but Dr. Ian Dunbar's background is as both a vet and an animal behaviorist and writer: the blend of disciplines lends well to Before And After Getting Your Puppy: a guide to positive puppy raising. From the initial considerations in selecting the 'right' dog for a family to the important early lessons a puppy must be taught, Dr. Dunbar's book is loaded with sidebars of information, photos, and a structured plan for everything from socializing the animal to preventing predictable problems at different points of the puppy's growth. If it's only one dog-training 'bible' you're after, make it Dr. Dunbar's Before And After Getting Your Puppy.