Making Friends: Training Your Dog Positively [Hardcover]

Linda Colflesh (Author), Deb Mickey (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1990

Ideal for the less assertive owner-trainer and the submissive-type dog, this easy-to-use regimen for good dog training emphasizes confidence building and the enhanced dog/owner relationship during training.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Sensitive, user-friendly dog training that works!

A good relationship with a dog is built on realistic expectations. The better you understand your dog's unique personality and natural behavior, the sooner you will establish a rapport based on two-way communication, mutual respect, and trust—and the easier it will be to train your dog successfully.

One of the first positive training books, Making Friends is a highly accessible guide to training your dog effectively and humanely. Respected dog obedience trainer Linda Colflesh shows you how to use positive reinforcement through gentle, easy-to-follow methods that get results while respecting your dog's intelligence and dignity. From housebreaking and teaching everyday commands to grasping the important (but often overlooked) details of dog reaction and interaction, Colflesh outlines a week-by-week training plan that meets your needs and helps you build a strong connection with your furry companion. You'll discover how to:

• Learn to "read" your dog's body language
• Make proper use of collars, leashes, and treats
• Handle puppy behavior problems the positive way
• Keep your dog mentally stimulated and properly exercised
• Join dog clubs and play groups

Highly recommended by satisfied trainers, breeders, and pet owners, Making Friends is a proven, sensible, fun training method that lets you truly be your dog's best friend. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

LINDA COLFLESH has been a dog trainer for over twenty-five years. She owns and runs Making Friends Dog School, a training facility and training and behavior program for both pet owners and competitive obedience handlers. Colflesh is also a popular speaker for dog training seminars throughout the East coast. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House (December 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876056877
• ISBN-13: 978-0876056875
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,736,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best dog training book I have ever read!, November 5, 2003

By 

"troberson11" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Friends: Training Your Dog Positively (Hardcover)

Of all the dog training books I have ever read-- this one is my favorite--
it's the book I recommend most to anyone who is getting a new dog-- It is extremely well written with excellent advice, easy to follow training methods- In her book she not only teaches owners how to train their dog -- but how to understand how your dog thinks and learns, and why dogs do the things they do. I followed her instructions for teaching my puppy to sit, stay, and also house training and it made training my puppy easy and fun for the both of us. On top of all that- the book is full of entertaining stories about people and their dogs (so its fun reading her book). I can't say enough good things about her book. Anyone who has a dog should read it! (by the way: another person on this site wrote a review of linda's book and said it had typical advice about choke train methods- who ever wrote that must be confusing Making Friends with another book- because Linda Colflesh's book argues against choke chain methods of training- so someone should take that review off the site- the person who wrote it didnt read the book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Title, July 17, 2002

By 

"kangarex" (Keokuk, IA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Friends: Training Your Dog Positively (Hardcover)

This seems in general a very sensibly written dog training book. The commands given are pretty standard, and the instructions are clear and logical. My only real gripe is that the title implies positive training, which this is not. This book teaches very traditional training, with leash corrections and other such, not the positive training method espoused by Karen Pryor (Don't Shoot the Dog). The author does place a welcome emphasis on not punishing your dog for what he doesn't yet understand, and on praising and rewarding good behavior, but positive training is a method, not an attitude. Adding more praise to traditional training gives you a kinder gentler traditional training, not positive training.

That said, if you're more comfortable with traditional methods than with click and treat, this is a good book to work from.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for new and inexperienced trainers, March 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Making Friends: Training Your Dog Positively (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent one for new and inexperienced trainers as well as a good review for those with experience in old training techniques. It emphasizes positive training techniques and truly does help one make friends with ones dog. It clearly comes from a trainer and writer whose love of dogs and their ability to fit comfortably into our lives is first and foremost.