Customer Reviews

Family Dog: Revolutionary Rapid Training Method... Dog Health & Care

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

We got a golden retriever puppy 6 years ago. My neighbor (whose dogs are beautifully trained) recommended this book, which I immediately bought and used. Many people comment on how well-behaved my dog is, and it is because I followed this book to the letter. I have been asked what training I took Ellie to, and have replied "She's home-schooled!" I have loaned out my copy many times and am happy to see it is updated, although the original was fine. I would highly recommend it for anyone getting a puppy or a new dog.

I used the author's "Water Dog" to train my lab 12 years ago and will use the same techniques now with my new puppy. The focus of this book is most certainly NOT to "whip the dog into shape" but rather to produce a civilized member of the family. Wolters was not Dr. Spock, but to suggest that he was a bad trainer, "lazy and undisciplined" is to do him a gross injustice. I saw the man and his dogs in action: he clearly loved them, and they loved him. Wolters urges his readers to praise their puppy at every opportunity. Only when they deliberately misbehave, and then only when they are of an age (2)to know they are misbehaving, does he suggest a swat on the bottom. In today's politically correct society, that surely amounts to beastiality, but dogs don't read The New York Times or enroll in PETA, so you're safe. As an aside, using Wolters' books as training guides I ended up with a wonderful, obedient dog whom I never had to hit, not once, in 12 years. I (and my dog) owe Wolters a debt of gratitude.

This book was recommended to us by the breeder we bought our lab from and it turned out to be one of the best books we have read on dog training. Wolters does a great job of spelling out week by week and situation by situation what to do. It is also great because it tells how to incorporate your child into the training - and not many labs like to listen to children. It was great. Our dogs are so well behaved because we followed the routine set in this book.
Some are turned off because he does talk of physical punishment -but it really isn't neccessary if you follow the steps from the beginning. If you don't agree with that part, don't do it like we didn't. But the rest of the book is defenitely well worth it.

17 years ago we used Mr. Wolters' Family Dog & Water Dog methods to train our black Lab with great success. We've recommended his books to many others who have in turn done the same. Now as we plan to bring a new puppy into the family for our 15 yr. old son, Wolters' books will be required reading, once again. Of course, we will need to purchase new copies as our original editions have long since gone. Very few things in life don't need improving on--we count Mr. Wolters' books among them!

We have used the entire Wolters series (Family Dog, Gun Dog, Water Dog, etc.) to train our labrador. We recommend this book to ANYONE with any type of dog but especially for labs!

Like other readers, I used this book when training my first Chessie 12 years ago. It was simple and quick and I have rarely had a problem with my dog (it is a Chessie after all and Wolters even warns about them). Now a new puppy is on the way and hopefully my children can benefit from the guides in the book. In the first edition Wolters had his 10 year old son photograph it and his 5 year old daughter train the lab, so I hope this edition keeps some of that 'famliness'. Incidentally, Wolters has a lot to do with the methods used for training Seeing-eye dogs.

I am sorry that folks see this book as outdated, or feel that if Wolters says 'swat' then you must. But if you want a well behaved dog, that doesn't pull and comes when called and lets go of the retrieved item, then this book will simply aid you to getting your dog to do just that.

I bought this book many years ago. It has clear wording and thought it an extremely helpful guide to training our yellow lab. I knew she would be big and I don't like large dogs with bad manners. She turned out to be very obedient. I loaned it out so many times, I can't keep track. I never got my copy back. I have to get another one, as we are getting a new dog soon. I can't say enough about this book. I recommend it to anyone getting a dog who is serious about training it right.

I have been extremely pleased with the results with my 20 week old Black Lab "Anna Kate" a grand daughter of Galileo (Ducks Unlimited Model T-Shirt Chocolate Lab). I purchased this book in the nick of time when Anna was 9 wks old. I began immediately in following the training principles of Mr. Wolters. I would have not have had the confidence to start disciplining my pup at 12-16wks if I hadn't read the book. Now Anna responds excellently to Sit, Down, Come, Stay, and others such as Shake, High 5, Belly Up and Get Busy. I have never had a dog Stay while I ran away. Anna will even drop down from a dead sprint at the Stay command. Now, the only negative thing I have to do is just say "NO" in a deep voice and she responds immediately.
I have impressed several of my friends and I always talk about this book!!!! Before you buy your next puppy, I strongly recommend purchasing this book!!! You will be glad you did!!!

I have found tremendous joy in training and raising my Lab pup! I have read Water Dog and Family Dog (and watched the Gun Dog Video) and have found all to be excellent training manuals. What is most interesting to me is that really, the trainer is the one doing the most learning... the learning comes natural to the dog. So essentially, the books are teaching YOU how to most effectively work with your companion. Most everyone will ask me when I'll take my pup to school... I tell them that I most likely will not have to because Wolters' books (and many other resources) have taught me that training is simply a matter of devotion to the dog. It does take time and effort but no more than that which is necessary (recommended in this book 10-15 minutes a day, gradually increasing time as the pup grows older) to have a disciplined, happy member of the family. Oh yes, and the training done in this book is by Wolters' 6 year old daughter which illustrates his point in just how elementary the training can be.

We started using this system with our black lab puppy when he was 11 weeks old (older than the 8 week starting point strongly suggested by the book) and got remarkable results. After just one week he started to respond to sit, stay, and come and had dramatically improved when walking on a leash by using their approach and the heel command. We'll definitely stick with the 10 minutes of lessons per day through his 16 week birthday. In fact, we've decided not to go to the local puppy training classes because this is working so well. We definitely endorse their system.