The Loved Dog: The Playful, Nonaggressive Way to Teach Your Dog Good Behavior [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Tamar Geller (Author), Andrea Cagan (Author), Renee Raudman (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 2007

More than fifteen years ago, Tamar Geller began hercareer as a dog trainer by observing a scientific studyof wolves in the wild. She realized that thesocialization and parenting techniques they used toraise their cubs were rooted in bonding,communication, and play-not in aggression,dominance, or punishment. If people used thesetechniques when training their dogs, she realized,there would be no need for prong collars, chokechains, or any kind of physical or verbal aggression.She realized we can make it "fun" for our dogs tolisten to us and behave as we want them to.Tamar went on to train the dogs of many celebrities,including Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Courteney Cox-Arquette, Nicollette Sheridan, Owen Wilson, theOsbournes, and others. Her nonaggressive methodsare so revolutionary that the Humane Society of theUnited States approached her to be a consultant, andshe now teaches animal behavior at PepperdineUniversity.In The Loved Dog, Tamar shows anyone how tochildproof a dog, teach him vocabulary, use treats theright way, play "tug of war" to build trust, make it funfor him to come when called, teach him not to jump onpeople, and much more-using only playful bondingand positive reinforcement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Loved Dog method is nothing short of a revolution. Tamar Geller shows us a pathway beyond punishment, and reminds us that understanding and respect are the key words in dog training in the twenty-first century. Now these common-sense and humane principles are set out clearly in a single, accessible volume."

-- Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO, The Humane Society of the United States --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Tamar Geller, a former Israeli intelligence officer, owns and operates The Loved Dog, southern California's first cage-free boarding and day care center. Currently, she works in partnership with the Humane Society, teaches animal behavior at Pepperdine University, works with rescue organizations, conducts free classes for shelter and rescue dogs in Los Angeles, and sponsors "Passionate Pups" with Covenant House to bring together homeless youths and homeless dogs. She lives in Los Angeles. Andrea Cagan is a freelance writer who has worked with many bestselling authors, including Diana Ross, Lynda Obst, and Grace Slick. She has collaborated on seven New York Times bestselling books, four of which reached number one. Renee Raudman is a multi-award-winning audiobook narrator. She has earned a number of AudioFile Earphones Awards, including for The Last Secret by Mary McGarry Morris and Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien, as well as a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award for Joe Schreiber's Chasing the Dead. She has also performed on film, TV, radio, and stage, including the recurring roles of Jordon on ABC's One Life To Live, Phyllis on NBC's Passions, and guest-starring roles on prime-time TV. She has been heard in cartoons (The Simpsons, Billy & Mandy), videogames, and on the E! channel. Her narration of Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper was selected by Library Journal as one of the best audiobooks of 2009, and her reading of Marthe Jocelyn's Would You was selected by the ALA as one of the best young adult audiobooks of 2009.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged edition (May 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400104394
• ISBN-13: 978-1400104390
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #969,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A light treatment of familiar material, May 12, 2007

By 

citywulf (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loved Dog (Hardcover)

The first 50 pages of the book speak more about Tamar than about dogs, which has caused some to question whether this is a training book or an autobiography. However, the rest of the book is training. The bio part is light reading, but it doesn't add much to understanding her training philosophy. She talks about learning from watching wolves in the Israeli desert, but doesn't describe those observations in any detail (and what she does mention later suggests she has only a rudimentary understanding of wolf behavior). She talks about her parents' infidelity, which adds nothing to the book. It is short and harmless, however.

Her training section is also fairly lightweight, with short discussions of familiar positive training techniques. I have read dozens of training books, and this one feels like the author took different parts of many books, distilled them down, and put them in her own. Nothing is new, and nothing is discussed in any depth. The barking chapter, for example, only offers one technique. It simply doesn't add anything new to the positive training literature.

A beginner can glean some basics from this book. The methods are positive (though the author is a bit more balanced in that she does use verbal corrections - however, as in much of the book, she doesn't go into any detail describing them; she also mentions the importance of leadership). There is some silliness in here (she praises a dog by saying the behavior over and over in a happy voice - "sit sit sit sit sit" - how does this help the dog? You want your dog to respond to the word "sit" by sitting. Doesn't saying "sit" several times while the dog is actually sitting just confuse the issue? She also perpetuates the "eat something before you feed your dog" myth - unless you're eating from the same carcass, it really isn't important! You are the one providing the food, that's what really matters). But it is harmless silliness, and may lead newbies to other positive training books that have more detail (I highly recommend Outwitting Dogs: Revolutionary Techniques For Dog Training That Work!; [[ASIN:0793805481 Parenting Your Dog; It's Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet; and everybody should read The Other End of the Leash).

53 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, retain, and understand both "how to" and "why.", April 26, 2007

By 

A. P. Nessel "Quality not Quantity" (Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loved Dog (Hardcover)

The book is a narrative about the author's life experiences that led her to become a dog advocate and trainer, and it is full of little stories and great examples that become an innuendo to how to teach a dog certain behaviors. Because of this unusual format for a training book, you not only remain interested, but also gain good understanding of why dogs behave the way they do. After having read this 200 page book, I was amazed how much I remembered. I was able to implement many tips without having to refer back to the book. Finally, it's worth mentioning that the book is very humorous and makes you laugh heartily.

51 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good method, but not revolutionary......., April 30, 2007

By 

Seattle Dog Lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loved Dog (Hardcover)

I just wanted to say that I like and endorse using play and positive training methods and techniques for dog training as described in Tamar's book. And I think she is a wonderful person doing good work. However, I don't think there's anything new or revolutionary in this book that hasn't already been written in the last 10 years. Nor do I find it detailed or descriptive enough to really give readers a true understanding of dogs and why they do the things they do. There's brief moments and discussions about it, but it never goes deep enough to give the reader a real answer to why their dogs behave the way they do. Also, I find it disconcerting that she is so critical of other dog trainers, as if they are all abusive. I definitely agree that what she has witnessed in her years from some dog trainers was definitely abusive behavior. However, I believe that she was so affected by these events that it took her to the extreme opposite end of the training spectrum, thereby not providing the most balanced point of view.

I think that following the path of least resistance in dog training, and using as much positive reinforcement as you can are wonderful and things I definitely endorse highly. I just don't think that this book goes in depth enough to provide any information that's really new. So if you are looking for more of an introduction to dog training and would like to know about Tamar's story and how she became who she is today, then this would be a good book for you. But if you are looking for more in depth information that goes beyond a quick overview of basic training ideas, then look elsewhere, as this book really is more of an autobiography than a real dog training book.