Customer Reviews

Jelly Bean versus Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

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

 

 

I thank C.W. Meisterfeld for explaining dog behavior to me. I've loved animals my whole life, have had many dogs, even have 2 now BUT I have never, ever been able to understand them enough to train them properly. This book explains why my dogs are sweet and loving but hate other dogs (with a fighting passion). Must mention that when I first purchased this book, I thought it contained training techniques; however, other than a few comments on the last few pages, it is only a book on behavior. I then bought Meisterfeld's book "PHYSOCOLOGICAL DOG TRAINING: Behavior Conditioning with Respect and Trust" and with the information the two books have given me, I've seen beautiful and amazing transformation in both our dogs in just 3 days of training. So I definately reccomend this book BEFORE you ever put the leash on your dog. Knowledge truly is freedom. I'll review his dog training book in eight weeks (after I complete the training course with my dogs). So if you're interested in the final outcome, take a look, see ya in 8!

I took my puppy to obedience class as recommended by my veterinarian because she was said to be aggressive and dominant. After 8 weeks of puppy class our dog Soma was worse than when we started. She was biting more and not listening at all. I started looking on the internet for information about aggressive dogs and what to do. Thankfully I found Dr. Meisterfelds website (...). After I read his book on Psychological dog training I faxed him a letter and explained what we were up against. HE CALLED ME AT MY HOME. He cares that much. He also faxed my fax to a trainer in our area and she contacted me thru email. We have a dog named Kira/Soma now after 6 days of training who is on her way to being the wonderful, affectionate pup that we love. We still have 7 weeks of more training that I am doing at home with her. I am positive that at the end of those weeks we will be even more thankful to Dr. Meisterfeld for all his kindnesses to humans and animals. Please, if you love your children and your pets read this book and visit his website.
If I had not read JELLY BEAN VS DR JEKYL AND MR HYDE I would not have known there was hope for our dog. She was very similar to Doc. Her history and Doc's co-inside with each other. Forced to obey by trainers using the alpha method of being dominant and if the dog doesn't do it he is forced to do it. In his book Dr. Meisterfeld explains how he rehabilitated Doc without using any kind of force. There are several other case histories also. I flew through the book and couldn't wait to read Dog Whisper.
A totally satisfied customer who is going to get the rest of his books.

The man/dog relationship isn't what it was 30 years ago. Because of a different human attitude twards dogs there behavior has changed not because of genetics but because of the way we view there duties. Dogs would serve our needs by helping us on the ranch, farm or hunting they were trained and not permitted to form there own behavior. With-out a master to serve the dog will instinctively take control. That may work with other dogs but not not with with man . Dogs don"t have reasources to cope with the emotional demands of humans. Jelly Bean is a case history of what happens when the man/dog realationship is flawed by lack of training, improper training, and dominate training techniques. Like the cover says it was written for the safety of our children ( find out how many dog bites and deaths from dog bites there were last year) and for the safety of our dogs ( how many dogs were turned over to shelters to euthanatized how many cities have specific breed legislation) Humans have not upheld there part of the man/dog relationship and the dogs suffer. The book points out why there problems with our family pet and a methodology for correcting unwanted behavior.For our safety and the dogs A must read for all trying to understand why fido does'nt love us when we give him so much attention

This book is fabulous. I couldn't stop reading it and it is because of this book that our dog, Buck, is now a happy and disciplined member of our household. The author cites many anecdotes of dogs that were successfully re-programmed, and ones that were beyond training and put people at a safety risk. I'm now reading one of his other books to reinforce his ideas and methodology.

I found this book to be concise and thorough in dealing with dog behavior problems and solutions. A must read for anyone with an aggressive dog who doesn't want to "give up". Mr. Meisterfeld substantiates his theories with case histories which give hope to owners of biters or agressive dogs.

I was disappointed with this book. True, it does have a lot of interesting information and I totally agree with his method of training with respect and trust, not using force or aggression. But I bought the book expecting to find the answer to an aggression problem I'm having with an adopted dog, who IS being trained only with respect and positive methods. Instead, the book is full of examples of dogs with behavioral problems, and if you find one that correlates with a problem you may be experiencing, as you hurriedly turn the pages to find the solution, instead you read "the dog was brought to me and I retrained him...and now he's a happy faithful friend." No where did I find any information about Mr. Meisterfeld's training program. He admonishes dog owners for causing their dog's behavioral problems by catering to the dog and treating it like a human, not giving it territorial and psychological boundaries, not giving it a job, but again no specifics are given. Just what is his definition of these boundaries? Dog stays outside? Dog is restricted to one room in the house? And psychological boundaries - dog's every move and waking moment are dictated by the owner? What constitutes a job? Are daily obedience lessons enough? I am not new to the breed that I have and my previous dog was obedience titled so I'm quite familiar with training. This new dog was put on the "nothing in life is free" program from the day I got him and it has been very effective in establishing me as his master and setting behavioral boundaries for him. However, an aggression problem is new to me. I was hoping to find the answer in this book but instead am no closer to a solution than before.

I came across this book about five years ago, and finally, after having read so much literature on dogs, this was something that made sense, that was palatable, and that dispelled prevalent and dangerous beleif systems about how dogs need be physically forced, intimidated, and abused in the name of dog training, and the tragic consequences as a result.
This book reveals so much about the true unique, and willing nature of dogs, and includes a tremendous amount regarding dog psychology, and the impact we as owners have on their behavior.
Thank you Dr. Meisterfeld, for your wisdom, your intuitive depth, and insight, and your unwavering respect for dogs.
Man's Best Friend has a true friend indeed. His name is Dr. Meisterfeld.

Thanks

Alexandra Weynerowski
Victoria, BC

Dr. Meisterfeld is amazing with dogs. I thought after having dogs for 48 of my 49 years I could fix any problems. Not so! I had 2 large dogs, male and female, and the male almost killed the female twice. I bought this book trying to find an answer for the problems, and learned that my male didn't seem to have a "will to serve", verses his very strong "will to power". I than called Dr. Meisterfeld (phone no. in back of book) and made an appointment for him to evaluate my dogs. I live 500 miles south of Petaluma and am not rich, but knew I needed an experts consultation. It turned out we made many mistakes in training with both dogs, but the male really had no interest in serving humans. He is in a placement facility and will make a wonderful business guard dog or only dog with no children. The female's behavior is now so good, it's amazing. I feel we owe this peace in our family to Dr. Meisterfeld and his books Jelly Bean versus Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and Psychological Dog Training Behavior Conditioning with Respect and Trust. The 1000 miles round trip, the money and the books are definitly worth it for anyone with dog problems. The books are excellent and Dr. Meisterfeld is kind and extremely knowledgeable.

This book saved my dog's life. we got our dog from the pound as a youngster not a puppy. We quickly found out that she was a biter but had no idea what to do about it. All of the "trainers" we called to help suggested we put her down. I found this book in our library and we transformed her from a shy cowering fear bitter into a wonderful outgoing family pet. Just the concept of eye contact alone was more than worth the price of this book. I am not a natural with dogs, I needed the tools this book provided. This is not a book about what most people might consider basic puppy training, but if you want to understand your dog this is a great book. I am buying a second copy for my grand daughter who just got a puppy for Christmas.

This is a book of 'inspirational' stories extolling the virtues and benefits of positive reinforcement in training problem dogs. There is no actual information as to how an owner can do this at home. The author, a dog psychologist by trade, hints that these details may be found in another of his books called "The How and Why of Psychological Dog Training". Amazon doesn't seem to carry that title which makes me wonder if the book may have a new title. Had I known this in advance, I would have spent my $$ dollars on the real training book rather than on this thin story book.