How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong: A Road Map for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs [Paperback]

Pamela S. Dennison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2005

How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong will help anyone with a dog that has aggressive tendencies, whether it is a young dog that shows aggression when you remove the food bowl, a dog-aggressive dog that you are afraid to walk in the park, or a dog that is aggressive towards family and friends. Readers will gain an understanding of the causes of aggression and the various ways of dealing with it. Finally, they will learn a step by step program of rehabilitation that has been used successfully on hundreds of dogs, large and small, in all breeds.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Pam Dennison's naturalness and blue-collar training approach tackles the signature symptoms of canine aggressiveness head-on. Written with a crisp, seamless approach, this briskly-paced manual gives you the tools with which to douse the fires of frustration on a combustible relationship lacking trust and control. The lessons you can take from "How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong" can potentially save a dog's life and leave you feeling mighty proud. Does pet ownership get any better than that? (Ranny Green,Seattle Times)

About the Author

Pam Dennison is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training and Bringing Light to Shadow: A Dog Trainer's Diary. Pam also has two videos available, Camp R>E>W>A>R>D> for Aggressive Dogs, and Positive Solutions for Standard Behavorial Problems. Pam is a member of Association of Pet Dog Trainers, the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors and Dog Writers Association of America and is a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant with International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.

Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Alpine Blue Ribbon Books (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577790758
• ISBN-13: 978-1577790754
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #237,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

NEW!!!! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training now has an ONLINE class! So no matter where you live, you can now train with me! www.idiotsguidepositivedogtraining.com


I started out my writing career by accident. I adopted Shadow and for some unknown reason, decided to keep a diary on his acclimation into my household. After working with Ted Turner (not Jane Fonda's ex), he mentioned that I should turn that diary into a series of articles. And voila! Bringing Light to Shadow was born! It took me over a year to find a publisher for it though, but in the meantime, my agent found me another opportunity to write a book for the Complete Idiot's Guide series - and then came The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training. And the rest as they say, is history. Five books, four DVDs and 35+ articles later, I am still writing and in fact, would really love to delve into fiction, except I have no clue how to go about it.

Of course, I am still training dogs and helping people to help their dogs and create positive relationships. I speak across the country and across the ocean as well on many different topics - from positive training in general, to working with aggressive dogs, to free shaping, to Rally obedience and competition obedience. I went to Australia last year and spoke at the APDT conference - once I got over my fear of flying, I was thrilled to be there. I have some seminars coming up soon - in Chicago, IL, Richmond, VA and of course here at home.

I have a 7,000 sf facility in the wilds of New Jersey - yes there really are wilds in New Jersey and keep busy with my business and my own dogs. Shadow is still here - he is now 10 years old and doing great! He continues to surprise me with how "normal" he is. It used to take him months to warm up to new people and now, it only takes seconds. After earning his CGC (Canine Good Citizen certificate ) back in 2001, he has gone on to earn his CD (Companion Dog title), NA and NAJ, has a few legs of Open (agility), his ARCHEX and Level 3 titles in Rally obedience, (and he has been in the Top 20 for National Ranking for 3 years) his TSW (Team Swim certificate for Canine Water Sports) and is now working toward his certification for tracking. He could get it now if I were a better handler.

My other dogs at present are Emma and Beau - both rescued Border collies. I compete with them in most sports and are very successful. They have also been on stage and screen - Emma was in an Olympic Paint commercial, Beau was in a Mack Truck print ad and Beau and I were both in the movie "I am Legend!" Don't hurry out to buy it on my account - we are only in for 6 seconds (I counted) in the very last scene.

My complete listing of books:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training, 2nd edition, Alpha Pearson
Bringing Light to Shadow; A Dog Trainer's Diary, Dogwise
How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong; A Roadmap for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs, Alpine Publications
Civilizing the City Dog (a supplement to the above title), Alpine Publications
Click Your Way to Rally Obedience, Alpine Publications

My DVDs:
Positve Solutions for Standard Behavior Problems, Barkleigh Productions
Camp R.E.W.A.R.D. for aggressive and reactive dogs, Barkleigh Productions
The 2 above were seminars that were taped
The Magic of Shaping; Explore the Possibilities, Tawzer Dog Videos
Training the Whistle Recall, Positive Motivation Dog Training
The Magic of Shaping; Explore the Possibilities

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall, A Pretty Decent Book on Canine Agression., March 14, 2006

By 

Dennis in Michigan (Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong: A Road Map for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs (Paperback)

For reference, I would suggest the reader check out my other two reviews I have written to date about books on canine agression, for "Grrr!!!" by Margolis and "Agression in Dogs" by Brenda Aloff. This book is intermediate between the two -- definitely more useful than "Grrr!!!," which is esentially just a primer on basic obedience, and a much easier read than the very complex book by Brenda Aloff.

My one complaint about this book is that I feel most of the exercises and training regimens are primarily geared toward dog-on-dog agression. While they might be universally adaptable to treating all types of agression, I would have liked to have seen more about dealing with other types. But, having said that, this book is not particularly expensive, and if it gives the reader even a little insight or a few tips which they can use on their own dog, it would be well worth the cost of the book. While I don't forsee using the book on a daily basis until the spine is ruined and the pages fall out, it's not the type of book which is going into the box for the local library's fundraiser used book sale, either. I guess I would advise the undecided buyer to get a copy and glean what they can from it.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great exercises for retraining, April 13, 2006

By 

E. bunten "dog lover" (illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong: A Road Map for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs (Paperback)

Having read a number of books on the subject, this is one that I have found both useful and user-friendly. (For my taste, some of the other books on the subject were too heavy on theoretical talk, others fell short of useable training exercises.)

I would recommend this book in combination with 2 others for a comprehensive but concise library: Pam Dennison "Bringing Light to Shadow: A Dog Trainer's Diary," and Turid Rugaas, "Calming Signals."

These 3 work synergistically to help trainers as well as dog owners understand their dogs and develop a sensible approach to managing and rehabilitating their dogs.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Guide to Dog Survival, March 30, 2007

By 

Donna E. Bambury (Middleton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong: A Road Map for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs (Paperback)

This is a no nonsense concise guide for training and rehabilitating an agressive dog and also their owner. Pam Dennison gives precise step by step positive training techniques that will create a lasting bond between human and dog. It is a must read for the agressive dog owner, but is also common sense training for any dog owner. Her use of positive reinforcement of good behavior rather than punishment for bad will make many dogs' lives happier. Her suggestion to keep a daily log of training is a great tool and she supplies a template. I've already seen great results using her techniques with both my dogs. This is a must read for all dog lovers, easy to read, and full of valuable information and insight.