My Smart Puppy: Fun, Effective, and Easy Puppy Training (Book & 60min DVD) (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: puppy leaps, puppy person, good puppy, Having Trouble, Guided Down, Space Games (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Raising a happy, well-adjusted puppy is much like raising a child--owners have to listen to what their puppy's behavior is trying to tell them. And it's far simpler than people think. With the intuitive and step-by-step methods included in this invaluable book from experts Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, including tips on how to deal with every kind of personality, puppies can be trained quickly and painlessly. With humor, time-tested advice, and an arsenal of tricks, MY SMART PUPPY teaches new dog owners everything they need to know to raise a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog.

About the Author

BRIAN KILCOMMONS and SARAH WILSON live in New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Har/DVD edition (October 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044657886X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446578868
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,281 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential guide for training a dog of any age, October 10, 2006

By	Melissa Fischer (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As with all of Brian and Sarah's books, My Smart Puppy is a delight to read. Easy to follow, personable, and full of helpful suggestions, this book is both motivating and encouraging. While reading it, I kept wanting to stop and do the various exercises with my dogs. Packed with information, this is an easy-to-apply, practical, and FUN book on dog training. The stories about Pip, the authors' puppy, are engaging, and the many photos illustrate the principles and training games beautifully. The space games are a new and much needed addition to the world of dog training, as they teach owners of both puppies and adult dogs how to communicate easily, effectively, and clearly with their dogs in an enjoyable and non-confrontational manner. Through them, a strong, positive relationship is established as the foundation of all training, so that your dog learns built in habits of trust, respect, and obedience. I highly recommend this book for anyone with a puppy or dog of any age. It will help you and your dog understand each other better and have a lifetime of fun together.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant work!, October 30, 2006

By	Rachel J. (NYC) - See all my reviews

Hi! I got the My Smart Puppy book on Friday and read the whole thing by Saturday! Hudson and I have already played all the Level I games. He is perfect at some already (since we've already been training), but we will continue to improve at others.

What I want to say is that it is, hands down, the most wonderful book on training I have read since I decided to get a dog pal. I read Good Owners, Great Dogs and Metrodog too, and I loved them both, but there is something about the tone of MSP that beats all.

The whole thought of looking at training as a series of "games" is awesome. And, you know what? The best thing was the included DVD. I had read about half the book, and then watched the DVD. I realized that while I consider myself an effusive person (especially with Hudson), I really could stand to be a lot more joyful and playful with Hudson during training. I was being very businesslike about it. I really needed to see Sarah and Brian's attitude with the dogs to understand what they mean about showing enthusiasm. My relationship with Hudson improved THAT DAY! I have been trying to mimic the tone in the DVD, and we are both enjoying our time together so much more. Hudson is suddenly so much more responsive, and now I realize that treats aren't even necessary anymore for the behaviors he already knows.

Hudson and I are having a GREAT time. I'm amazed at how responsive he is when I step into his space or block him with my body. I couldn't believe it would work, but it does. We are already close to having him sit every time I stand in front of him!

Oh, and the words "Smart Puppy" really help too. When you say "What a Smart Puppy!!!" to your dog, you can't help sounding happy and believing it!

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book***, January 19, 2007

By	Sandra Moore (AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My Smart Puppy is one of those books you want to tell everyone about. The training exercises are short and simple (and fun!), and the training is done in stages (levels). Each exercise is prefaced with a Goal, then how to get there in beautifully explained detail. The details of each exercise are not long and drawn out, because they don't have to be. There are 2 to 4 steps in each exercise. The concept of dog training in this book is a common sense approach and works toward the overall desired results, which is a puppy who learns to behave well and a bond that is formed between you and your puppy. It comes with a DVD that shows exactly how to do some of the exercises (very cute to see puppies learning new things for the first time). A puppy loves to learn and these exercises give it that opportunity, and the mental stimulation all puppies and dogs need, as well as learning that you are his gentle and fair leader.

These exercises are for foundational training beyond just the sit and down and walk. There's the "Leave it", "Mine", "Space", and many many more. There's also a chapter on Understanding Training. The book gives you an understanding of how puppies think and learn.

The book also deals with behaviorial problems (that we all encounter with our pups) and not only references the exercise that needs to be done for a certain behavior, but the page number as well. I can't say enough about the well written style of this great book and the effectiveness of the exercises. If people would do these simple training exercises with their puppies, there would be a lot less dogs with behavior problems in the shelters. I don't see any reason why these exercises can't be done with adult dogs also, who are in need of basic foundational training that they never got as puppies.