Customer Reviews

Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training (The Complete Idiot's Guide)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book and the book called "Good Owners, Great Dogs" by Brian Kilcommons. The Kilcommons book is very good. It is probably the best "traditional" training book there is available. Very thorough and insightful. I've raised a number of dogs in my life - well, let's say they grew up with me - the training part was more the dog training me than me training the dog.

HOWEVER... This 'Idiots guide' on 'Positive Dog Training' is a breakthrough book for me. There are likely others that teach this similar method, but the organization of the book and the practical advice for "real life" won me over. The sheer logic of the book will make you question your earlier 'wisdom' especially when the author successfully identifies the results of some of your earlier training efforts. The "idiots" book is my clear winner. I bought it with skepticism, and now I'm an absolute convert. In one day, with a 9 week old puppy, day two away from mom, using cheese, lots of praise, ignoring her when she wouldn't walk, she was walking steadily beside me - no pulling forward or back. Scents and distractions aside, I was in shock. When I first put the collar and the leash on her, she acted like she was being led to slaughter. Yelping, screaming, doing flips to get away. I ignored the behavior and her, waited until she stopped. When she stopped, I praised her immediately. One more "partial episode" and that behavior stopped. After one day, she responds to my call to "come" almost every single time. In the first day - this is not normal for me...

Anyway, buy three copies of this book, one for you, one for your family, and one for the neighbor that knows all the answers about training a dog.

As the owner of three terriers, I was happy to find a book that endorsed positive training methods. The mere sight of pinch collars make me a little sick, but then again, I am no dog training expert, I am a regular "idiot" who purchased this book for help.

Dennison, I think, does a thorough job of explaining positive training methods and the science behind them. I like her sense of humor, ("I'd rather eat poop than come!") and the way that she breaks down training into manageable tasks. I have seen wonderful results with all three of my terriers after a very brief time.

And just for the record, I'm not sure that all of the people who reviewed this book actually read it. NOWHERE did I find an exercise that involved tying your dog up with a 6 foot leash and approaching him/her to discourage jumping. Dennison openly states that she does not believe in using leashes as a training tool unless you are teaching "come" (which requires a LONG leash and NO tying up) or loose leash walking. Perhaps this person reviewed the wrong book or simply voiced a very misguided opinion.

Secondly, training a dog with positive methods requires WORK and BRAIN POWER. It is much easier to pop a leash, yell or hit. This method is effective because you learn to communicate with your dog in their "language." I agree with the reviewer who stated that practicing positive methods strengthened their relationship with their dog. The same happened with me. So, if you'd like a healthy relationship with your dog that involves "leading" rather than "dominating" check out this book!

Her technique is rooted in proven psychological theories. Not only does this book introduce training that works - it also strengthens your bond with your dog in the process! Instead of fearing what will happen if they do something wrong your dog will WANT to please you! If you enjoyed this book consider subscribing to The Whole Dog Journal or read Pat Miller's books. Your dog will thank you!

Control freaks will hate this book! But pet owners who want a well mannered, well adjusted dog will find this book terrific, easy to follow, and practical.

Science has given us a way to communicate with dogs without causing pain and stress. Learning shouldn't hurt, and Dennison guides the reader step-by-step through positive ways to build a strong working relationship void of force and intimidation.

How well do the techniques Dennison shares work? ... The same operant techniques I used to teach my dogs are outlined in Dennison's book, and they work superbly, quickly, and effectively.

Even better, the dog and human enjoy the learning process together, so learing becomes a dance of joy rather than a war of wills. It's FUN to teach dogs this way, and it works so well for behavior problems, such as barking, jumping up on people, or rushing through the door.

Without having to commit to long, grueling training sessions, Dennison shares how to catch your dog doing it right, set the dog up for success, and to do this in short, fun sessions--such as when a TV commercial comes on, or when you're preparing dinner, or even going to the bathroom!

If still not convinced... read this story on another website "The Story of the Vomiting Comet," an essay on the journey from juvenile delinquincy to National Service Dog of the Year.

Having trained in a more traditional manner most of my life, "crossing over" to the positive reinforcement training methods Dennison presents, ended up saving my dog's life and changing my life forever.

I can't praise it highly enough, and hope readers will join me in finding out just why this type of training is so much fun and so very, very effective.

If you would like to train your dog using positive methods but aren?t quite sure where to start, this is the book for you! If you can?t understand how positive training can possibly be used to create a better behaved and happier dog than traditional methods, this book is for you! Pamela Dennison does an outstanding job of presenting the positive training method in a clear, concise, easy to understand format. It answers the question ?What is positive training and why should I use it??. The book covers all of the essentials, and is a great training manual for those who want to either start fresh with positive methods or start over to effect change. If you are already a student of the positive method school of training, buy a copy and give it to a friend whose canine pal could benefit! Happy Reading!

Positive Dog Training is by far one of the best dog training books out there. I have read numerous books on dog training and none of them compare. It is easy to read and follow and gives you a thorough understanding of dog behavior. It covers all aspects of training from puppyhood to aggression. This book belongs on every dog owners shelf. It will help people build a solid foundation and positive relationship with their dog.

The second half of this book provides you with a wealth of information, all easy to reference for a quick re-read. I rate this 4 stars instead of 5 because the first half of the book is spent hammering into the reader the importance of using positive training instead of traditional punishment methods. If I believed that punishment methods worked, do you think I would have bought the book?

We have a Spinone puppy we used most of the methods and philosophies from this book and it worked wonderfully. I totally agree with the authors assertion that "nos" and corrections will not ultimately give you the behavior you want from your dog. I think this book is so good, every breeder should make it required reading when they sell their pups. I also like the format of the "idiots" books, very easy to follow.

Finally!!!! A book that deals with all the common elements needed to deal with the correct way of raising a puppy. As a breeder, I can only guide my new puppy owners but now I can offer them the best advice in the world and it is in black and white, organized, easy to understand, and most importantly it gets the desired results. If you need a book to help you train, understand your dog/puppy or to correct a problem behavior you need not look any further.Kudos to Ms. Dennison for a job well done.

These "positive training methods" say to NEVER reprimand your dog, even a "No!" or, "Enough!" or a leash tug is BAD, and you are being a abusive. I must disagree, when your mother told you "No!" for doing something inappropriate, did you feel abused? I didn't, a child, just like dog, needs boundaries. And one of the only ways to do that is to effectively discipline without being overbearing.

Though you should always praise your dogs for being good, using treats for EVERYTHING can not only make them fat, but can cause them to expect treats and not respond when you don't have them. The author is also rather opinionated, and feels the need to bash any kind of training method that "restricts" the dog and trains it using force, as if positive training is THE ONLY way to EVER train your dog. Which it isn't.

The author feels the need to explain why positive training is the only way for the first half of the book. The positives to this kind of training could easily be put into a much smaller space.

And what about when a dog is performing a self rewarding behavior? Like chasing the cat. You obviously cat keep the cat penned up all day, and telling the dog "No!" is abusive, and chasing a cat is a very rewarding behavior. Just ignoring it will not make it go away. Same with dumpster diving. Though you should set the dog up for success, you can't be sure 100% of the time the dog can't get into the garbage. And any kind of reprimand or correction for eating trash is deemed "abusive" and therefor wrong. And what about hierarchy? If you simply fawn all over your dogs they will think you belong to them. You should not simply reward a dog for every good deed. The author does not even touch on how to passively dominate your dog(such as eating before the dog, not giving him anything for free, etc.), when this book is simply setting up a dominate dog to feel more dominant over it's human companion. Which can lead to very troublesome issues.

Proffesionally trained dogs that act almost perfect have been taught with both reprimands and rewards. Such as seeing eye dogs, police dogs, and hearing dogs. I have never met a perfectly well trained dog using JUST positive training methods, there have been some sort of reprimand, whether physical or verbal.

Though this book does have some good information, the author is highly opinionated and at some points blatantly wrong. It's a good read, but I'd advise doing more extensive research.