Customer Reviews

Childproofing Your Dog: A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Dog for the Children in Your Life

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Kilcommons does new families a great favor with this book. "Child-proofing Your Dog" is a common sense approach to introducing your new child to your dog, preventing problems, and ensuring a long, close relationship. He dispels myths and gives new parents an idea of what to expect both from their dog and from themselves. He identifies often-missed (or exused) signs of dominance in dogs, explaining the natural progression from dominance to aggression if left unchecked. In cases where there is a specific problem involving advanced aggression toward a child he advises going to a professional, as would any responsible dog trainer in print. Kilcommons and Wilson have years of experience and wisdom in dog behavior and training; they've written a trustworthy, important 'preventative manual.'

This is a very good, concise reference that will help your dog or puppy get used to those interactions with short, fast-moving, screaming little people without making him a nervous wreck. Although primarily a book for owners who are prepping their young dog/puppy for future child/dog interactions, if you have an older dog that is not used to children these tips prove very sound advice as well. Also, like any good authors, if you have serious dog/child aggression and dominance they recommend that you get personal professional help. What I really like about this book though is the chapter on "DOGPROOFING YOUR CHILD". So many times it's always the DOGS fault for behaving inappropriately with children. It's nice to know that for once an author is stressing the importance of teaching your child how to behave around dogs. In the end, they also state that perhaps you would be better off without certain breeds of dog if you're going to have children. It's not fair to the dog. Sometimes you have to make that your primary concern. All in all an excellent book. One I would recommend school libraries buy so that children read and learn from it as well.

This book has helped hundreds of my clients understand the psychology behind the child-dog relationship and it has helped them avoid many of the common mistakes people make when dogs and kids mix. Brian and Sarah don't get into a lot of specifics on how to correct established problems, which is actually a good thing. It would take volumes of books to address exactly how each individual breed, temperament and problem should be handled. That perspective is best left to a reputable, thorough and non-violent trainer. Brian and Sarah give you good specific information on how to keep common problems from developing and some great general rules that apply to every breed of dog. None of their instruction is damaging to the child-dog relationship, which is saying a lot compared to many other authors of dog training books. Overall, this book is light, entertaining, non-clinical, and informative. I recommend it to any dog owner that has regular contact with children.

'Good Owners Great Dogs' was one of the best dog training books I have read. When I saw 'Childproofing your Dog' I knew it would be just as good. It is a simple, easy to understand book. Basic common sense as far as children & dogs are concerned. I haven't found any other books available that cover this topic. We are expecting our first child in October and from what the authors have written we seem to be on the right track so far with our dog. A must-read, not only for people with dogs who haven't had children yet, but for people who don't own dogs.

A quick, interesting read, full of pertinent information & tips for anybody whose dog might ever come into contact with a child, AND for anybody whose child might ever come into contact with a dog (see the "Dogproofing Your Child" chapter.)

This book leads you through the process of preparing your existing dog for the arrival of a new baby, and shows how this new stress is likely to bring some holes in your dog's training to the forefront. It also offers helpful advice if you already have children and are thinking of acquiring a family dog. It also has an important chapter called "Dogproofing Your Child" on teaching your child how to behave around animals.

If you already own a dog and have given them any sort of obedience training, most of this book is either irrelevant or redundant to what you probably already know. Mr. Kilcommons essentially gives you tips on how to have a well-behaved dog, then applies those lessons to having children in the house. While these are important lessons, his approach is neither unique nor revolutionary. And this is a teeny tiny book! Barely 80 pages, I read it in less than an hour, skimming much of the early sections (choosing the right dog for you, whether to adopt a puppy or an older dog etc. - chapters completely irrelevant for someone who's trying to train the dog they already HAVE rather than the one they don't own YET.) It wasn't a bad book, but there were very few tips that I will find useful in introducing our dogs to our soon-to-arrive child.

"Childproofing Your Dog" and GreatPets.com are 2 resources I routinely tell my dog training clients about when they have children or are expecting to have children. This clear, easy, and informative book covers many of the issues people think about when they are considering having a dog and children around each other, and raises some issues many haven't even thought of yet. "Childproofing Your Dog" is worth far more than the sticker price.

I found this book to be very helpful and informative. Although I don't have kids of my own my next door neighbours have small children who love my dogs, and occasionally people bring their children to my house. The many training tips in this book have helped me prepare myself and my dogs for situations in which the dogs will interact with kids, and contributed greatly to our peace of mind!

I found this book to be very helpful. I like that they recommend professional trainers for serious problems. These should not be handled alone. My Jack Russell is almost four years old, and my children are 9 months and 3 years. It's not too late to implement the ideas in this book, especially if your dog is somewhat trained (sit, stay).