Customer Reviews

How to be the Leader of the Pack...And have Your Dog Love You For It.

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've read several different dog training and behavior books, and Patricia McConnell is one of the best... and one of the funniest. Everything in this pamphlet is good advice, and good things to be reminded of. We have a problem in our household with different "standards" for our dog, so I will leave this book around the house hoping my DH reads it. It is short, so he might, and if he tries some of the suggestions it would solve many problems. Pushy begging, refusals to give back stolen objects, you get the idea -- involving the dog and DH.

So yes, this book is an excellent resource for new dog owners or dog owners that are having problems. It is a short read, so it is good for experienced owners to look at to. I earmarked a few passages to remind myself to work on those things with the dog myself.

However, this is not The Other End of the Leash. There isn't anything new or deeply in depth in this pamphlet, and having read other of McConnell's writing, I was hoping it would have some new insights. So I was a little disappointed.

But the trainer's assistant in me is delighted that there is a brief and clear pamphlet with a lot of good advice in it that I could hand to a student and expect them to read it, understand it, and learn gentle things they can do to improve their relationship with their dog from it. McConnell clearly wrote this because she found that many of her human clients (she is a behavioral consultant and trainer) needed this information, and wouldn't it be nice if she could hand them a pamphlet so they could easily remember what she explained to them. And yes, the information in this pamphlet could certainly help reduce the number of dogs visiting the behaviorist or the humane society. So, brava on that score.

Patricia is an excellent animal behaviorist and I recommend all her books. This one is the best one yet.

Trisha is not a dog trainer--she is an animal behaviorist, this is what makes all the difference! Think of an animal behaviorist as a "root-cause" analyzer of behavior. Training only helps to train the pet to do a certain action but it does not get at the root cause of the response or behavior (like inadvertantly rewarding the behavior, you would be amazed at how many of us do this).

One of my dogs has had dog training with Dogs Best Friend and they have the kindest and most dog-friendly ways of teaching!! Patricia's dog training classes teaches us that 99.9% of dog training consists of training the human, not the dog. Patricia teachs us how although we may be animals, the messages we send to our best friends are much different. For example, we may smile at our dog or attempt to hug it, but in dog language that is an act of aggression! In this book she tries to teach us how to behave more like dogs, and less like people (however crazy that sounds). One thing I remember from Dogs Best Friend training was a trainer whom had a family pet as a child who only responded to "sit, sit, sit, sit." It would not answer to just the command "sit." Patricia teaches us the value of the 1-word command, and the usage of positive, rewards-based training. This book is more than just a training book it provides valuable insight into the way dogs think. You will be amazed at how much your pet can learn when you start speaking their language! This book teaches us to think about how we are behaving in front of our dogs, and how important it is to "Be the leader of the pack, A benevolent leader," as she would say.

Any dog lover is at a loss without this book. For more on Trisha, those of you whom can tune in to Wisconsin Public Radio, Saturdays Trisha hosts a program called "Calling all Pets" which answers pet related problems. I do believe you can view past shows on WPR's website.

Best of luck in the care of your dog, and remember--your behavior can mean the difference between having a good pet and having a great pet!

I guess I should have paid more attention to the number of pages contained in this book. When I received it, I was glad I'd paid so little for it. Unfortunately I didn't learn anything new about my 'pack' from this book having been through various courses of beginning and advanced training with both my dogs.

That said, this is a great book for kids as it is short and to the point and I don't think it's too complicated. Same goes for an adult who is getting their first dog, or not necessarily their 'first' dog, but the first one they get once they leave their parents house.

The recommendations in this book are all tried and true and have worked for me and it's a very good start to getting your dog to know who the big dog is at your house.

This pamphlet is a wonderful introduction into developing a the leader relationship with your family's canine companion. It introduces the concept of NILIF "Nothing In Life is Free", a positive training method used to place humans in the alpha role of the pack. It is also often used on proven aggressive dogs, but is better to do it right from the start. I would not recommend using the pamphlet as the sole source for training the family dog, but it's an excellent start. A very fast read with easy, understandable language. Highly recommended. Excellent gift for every new dog owning family.

Good, basic, reasonable information that could benefit any dog owner, especially those who are not familiar with the "pack mentality" dogs exhibit by nature.

I didn't learn anything new from this booklet but it covers the basics that a first time dog owner may not know. Its size makes it great to carry around or to pass along to someone who needs it. I found it was easier to give to a friend who's dog rules the house and hopefully it didn't seem too pushy. It seems less offensive if you drop off a simple booklet rather than burying them under a huge book outlining all the things they're doing wrong with a pet. Its great at home too because I can leave this lying around in our living room and certain family members may actually read something this short.

However, the fact that its very brief means it should probably not be the only book read on the topic. Hopefully it will interest them enough to go find out more. I'd call it a portable, quick reference guide.

Patricia McConnell gives simple, concise, detailed instructions for every level of dog ownership, from the totally clueless beginner to the "been there done that" expert. I have a "Difficult Dog" who has fear-aggression issues with large (50+ lbs) black dogs and white dogs. Other color dogs do not arouse him as much (he's curious and will approach them, sometimes with play bows). Smaller dogs are always okay. I'm a petite (4'9") owner. My 70 lb dog (RhodesianRidgeback-Golden Lab mix) is always on leash with a Gentle Leader dog bridle during our walks. We live in cattle, horse, and sheep farm country where dogs may be shot if they chase rancher's stock, and where it is a misdemeanor to allow your dog to chase deer, and where dogs have been "taken away" after they were reported for having killed neighbors' cats and small dogs.. Some of my less responsible neighbors allow their dogs to run loose. My dog and I were attacked by a large black dog and his packmate, a large white dog. These unsupervised dogs knocked me down, with my dog still "attached" to me by his leash which had become entangled in my legs. My dog lost confidence in me as leader/protector after that incident. My dog and I have been to 8 training classes at our local humane society and have had two separate hour-long private consults with dog behaviorists. HOW TO BE THE LEADER OF THE PACK and Patricia McConnell's other booklet, FIESTY FIDO, are always in my dog supplies fanny pack which I take with me everywhere I take my dog. These easy to understand booklets are handy for quick reference for the "Why" and "How To" of basic proactive techniques and behaviors I need to learn and practice in order to live safely and happily with my canine best friend and other people's dogs. These booklets are also great for convincing your spouse and kids to join you in learning how to behave and how your dog should learn to behave as one big happy pack/family. I recommend all books by the the authors Patricia McConnell, Stanley Coren and Trish King for their intelligent, easy to read, common sense guides to understanding and training yourself (and your dog) to be your canine best friends' best friend. You still need to go to classes with your dog, of course. So take HOW TO BE THE LEADER OF THE PACK to your classes and keep yourself and your dog on track while practicing what you learn in class.

I foster dogs for a local dog rescue organization, and had a foster dog that was extremely shy and was difficult to adopt out. He put a lot of adopters off by being so frightened of new people. I ordered this book, and recommended it to a potential adopter. Because Ms. McConnell paints a "worst case scenario" picture, the adopter was pleasantly surprised at the dog's good nature after adoption and had prepared herself greatly by reading this book. I now recommend Patricia's book to any potential owner that hasn't owned dogs before, or is interested in adopting a more challenging dog.

As one of the earlier reviewers stated, Patricia McConnell teaches the humans to teach their dogs . And she does it well. All her books are excellent: clear and very direct.
I will always refer to her wealth of knowledge to solve behavior problems!
Years ago, I attended training classes sponsored by a major national dog organization where the teachers recommended inhumane corrections for dog's bad behaviors. I am sorry, my poor puppy, for the hurt I inflicted then.
MANY people end up teaching their dog that they are inconsistent / angry people -- rather than teaching them to respect their masters.

Patricia McConnell's books teach how to be a leader to the dog in your life without using intimidation. Finally, a dog book that makes sense! I've read several of hers, including this one, and they are the best of all the dog training manuals out there. I wish I had saved myself a lot of money and found her books first. If you have these, you don't need the others.