Customer Reviews

Labrador Retrievers For Dummies

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As a Certified Dog trainer, I have read and own many training manuals and reference books. Joel Walton's and Eve Adamson's book is one of my favorites. Labrador Retrievers for Dummies is not just for Lab owners. It is a most wonderfully written *soup to nuts* owning, training and management "bible" for any dog breed owner. I suggest many books to my cients, this being one of the top three.

Written so the average dog owner can clearly understand what owning/caring for and training a dog is all about,not only makes Labrador Retrievers for Dummies an enjoyable read, but makes training your dog EASY, POSITIVE AND SO REWARDING. There is no "behaviorese" to decipher and this book thoroughly enables you to understand how to turn you relationship with your pet into "only a good thing!"

My wife and I read this book before deciding we wanted a lab. It is well organized, follows a nice progression, and is very well written. Above all, Joel and Eve's love of labs shine through. At first I wasn't sure if I could trust a "Dummies" book, but this one at least is excellent. Joel espouses lure and reward training and he sold me on it via this book. If you believe in punishment training you may not enjoy the book quite as much. If you are considering getting a lab or have a puppy we found this book to be a great foundation. After reading this book, we wanted one of Joel's labs.

This is a well-written book that would be a good starting point for new labrador retriever owners who are getting their dogs as family pets and are not familiar with basic training techniques. I'd recommend it for anyone who has never trained a dog before, or for one who is not familiar with the more gentle training methods that have become popular over the last several years (because they work!). It serves that purpose very well, even though some readers might find that their "warm and fuzzy" approach goes a bit far. Suggesting that you give your dog a body massage, for example, may seem a bit much for some ... or a great idea for others.

In fact, probably the biggest strength of this book is that it is a solid pet training resource for all breeds. It could easily remove any mention of labrador retrievers and still hold up well.

Perhaps because one (both?) of the authors is a professional dog trainer, the authors are quick to advocate hiring a professional trainer for your dog. They also suggest that busy working people obtain the services of "dog sitters" to take care of the pup during the day. While this may end up being very good advice in some cases, perhaps a better approach is to not buy a labrador retriever in the first place--unless you have the time and open space to train and maintain that sort of dog. Unless you are in the financial position of being able to employ a nanny for your puppy, having to hire an obedience trainer and/or daytime dog sitter is usually the desperate outcome of making a bad decision in selecting your pet. These dogs need to spend time outdoors and time with people.

This is not the best book to buy if you have any intention of hunting with your dog or training it for field trials. There are a couple of very good books on the market that focus particularly on that sort of training. Check around for those.

Although it is a relatively small gripe, the biggest fault that I found with this book is that the resource lists are not very robust. They seem to have been tossed in by the authors (perhaps to fulfill the "formula" of the publisher) as an afterthought. It gives the impression that the authors imparted their own expertise freely, but only grudgingly tossed in a few scraps of information from other sources.

As a person who has had the distinct pleasure of sharing my house and my life with as many as six Labrador retrievers at a time over the last 20 years (I now have four), I am acutely aware of the wonder and awe associated with getting such a wonderful companion can be. yet, sadly, I am also aware of the profound ignorance many would-be labrador-people are regarding how to select, introduce, and socialize this new member of the family. In that sense, this book , along with a number of others such as Richard Wolper's "Family Dog", can provide the wary would-be initate with all of the essentails on how to successfully transform that cute little puppy into a happy, obdeient, and well-integrated member of the household.

This book does offer one the expert advice one needs regarding the care and nurture of what has now become the single most popular breed in the United States, with information ranging from an impromptu history of Labrador Retrievers to such topics such as adoption options. The book also features a handsome 8-page color insert, and delivers to the prospective owner a wealth of facts and details regarding Labrador Retrievers. It provides essential and vital information regarding nutrition, socialization, and exercise, and offers some sage advice about how to find and select a reputable breeder. In addition, it also touches on aspects of ownerships such as common illnesses and chronic problems associated with the breed. This is a book I can heartily recommend!

This is a wonderful book, and my *only* criticism is that every time I recommend it to a non-labrador-owning, non-dummy it takes a little explaining! This book is a great primer for all puppy owners of all breeds. I also love Joel's book, "Positive Puppy Training Works". As the director of a large dog training program, these are two of my favorite books to recommend to new owners. The management suggestions keep the dog out of trouble while you're busy installing the training. And the training instructions are very down-to-earth and easy-to-follow.

Becky Schultz, Certified Pet Dog Trainer
Minneapolis, MN

My current Sam is the fifth family Labrador Retriever and I want him to be the best.
This book has all the basic dog stuff in an easy to read and use format and enough about just Labs to be very helpful to me. I don't need a pretty color picture book, I take daily pictures of Sam, but the public library also has a wonderful book about Jake a Labrador puppy if someone needs color pictures to be happy. The unique and beautiful temperament of these dogs is a treasure when they are taught to be a companion. Don't just have a dog, train him to be one of the family.

This is a good book that discusses the breed, dog owning in general, first aid, training, etc. however, I kept feeling like most of the information was already in the general "Dogs for Dummies" books. Don't get me wrong, this is a good book, but I think if you need a primer on dogs, get the general one first and invest your "Lab only book" money on some of the more lush, colorful books on the breed.

We bought this book just before we got our first lab and it has proved very useful, and is a good reference to go back to now we have our second lab. It gives you good information (that works!) on training labs, caring for labs, and making your lab part of the family.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to owners of other breeds, but it's definitely worthwhile if you are getting your first lab, or want to learn about labs.

On December 11, 2006 I adopted a 7 week old lab puppy who needed a home. So, as a retired teacher, I needed a guide! Walton's book is practical and well written to help new, or experienced,pet owners. It has practical tips and humorous insights that make it easy to read and full of useful information. Lucky, my lab, is growing happy and healthy and I am not tearing my hair out trying to figure things out on my own.

This book was easy to read. It had a lot of general information about all dogs. It had really good training tips.