No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way [Paperback]

Barbara Woodhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1984

Barbara Woodhouse, "the lady with the dogs," is already familiar to millions of Americans through the publication of her best-selling book, No Bad Dogs, her frequent appearances on such national television shows as "60 Minutes," "The Tonight Show," "Donahue," "Merv Griffin," "Good Morning America," and the syndication of her enormously popular television series, "Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way."

There are no bad dogs, Barbara Woodhouse believes -- only inexperienced owners. She ought to know: in thirty years she has personally trained 17,000 dogs and their owners in her weekend courses, teaching perfect obedience to basic commands in only six and a half hours.

In this irresistible book, Barbara Woodhouse passes on to the reader the simple, effective techniques as well as the infectious, positive attitude that have enabled her to make the most unruly or nervous dog happily obedient -- sometimes within a few minutes, as astonished television audiences can attest.

No Bad Dogs will leave every dog owner with both the skills and the indispensable attitude of love, firmness, and enthusiasm that gets results -- The Woodhouse Way.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

According to the late Barbara Woodhouse, there are no difficult dogs, only inexperienced owners. In No Bad Dogs she propounds her outspoken beliefs about dog behavior; having trained more than 17,000 dogs and their owners, Woodhouse knows of which she speaks. She isn't shy about condemning bad owners, firmly believing that dogs reflect their masters, habits and all. But this highly regarded book doesn't dwell on the negative; it suggests positive and simple training techniques for any owner and offers hope for all types of dogs, ranging from the chronically phobic to the severely jealous. No Bad Dogs is illustrated throughout with case studies of cured canines.

About the Author

Barbara Woodhouse, "the lady with the dogs," is already familiar to millions of Americans through her appearances on CBS' "60 Minutes" and the U.S. syndication of her enormously popular BBC television series, "Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way." Born in Dublin in 1910 and raised in Oxford, England, Barbara spent three years during the 1930s on a cattle ranch in Argentina where her extraordinary gift with animals enabled her to break in hundreds of wild horses. Married to Dr. Michael Woodhouse on her return to England, where they now live, Barbara has raised three children, run a farm, bred and broken horses, and trained 17,000 dogs on her famous weekend courses which teach perfect obedience to basic commands in only six and a half hours. Her Great Danes, Juno and Junia, made more than 100 film and TV appearances, and her own films, records, television series and books have earned her international popularity.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (October 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671541854
• ISBN-13: 978-0671541859
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title tells the story, March 4, 2001

By 

Walk Softly "Walk Softly" (Roseburg, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way (Paperback)

This isn't a step-by-step training book. It's an attempt at human adjustment. The author provides clear examples of how people's lack of canine understanding often causes "bad dogs." For example, if you have a neurotic, nervous dog, you shouldn't sympathize with it and coddle it (which only exacerbates the nervousness); you should take control and provide clear leadership, thus building the dog's confidence. Many times the owner's sympathy is the greatest hindrance to proper training, for a dog needs a leader. If you aren't it, the dog will run you.

Woodhouse provides solutions for all sorts of problem behavior such as soiling, jealousy, fighting, barking, and schizophrenia. And she teaches the proper use, and style, of choke chain by which to get the dog's attention without harming it. She provides examples of how she was able, with firmness, encouragement and praise, to create drastic changes within hours in problem dogs brought to her for training. The greatest hindrance to change was the owners themselves seeing their beloved pets manhandled. She also discusses how dogs, being quite telepathic, would often display the phobias and fears of their owners. For example, a woman who hates men may have a dog who hates men, or someone who is an erratic driver may create a dog that hates being in the car.

I quite enjoyed the book and read it in a couple of hours. I came away understanding the "mind" of a dog better, and with that understanding the necessity for firm leadership and a few tips and tricks for getting results.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IT WORKED FOR ME!, May 14, 2000

By 

Bill Butler "Bill Butler" (Tarzana, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way (Paperback)

A friend of ours got incarcerated for drunk driving. This lasted for six months. She had a dog named Maddie who was to be put in a doggie's home. I took the dog. Maddie was a German Shepard mix and a whole lot sweeter than human beings! Everybody loved her. But when I walked her, she would chase after other dogs. And she would howl terribly at them. I got this book at a yard sale. What Woodhouse said in it frightened me a great deal. A CHOKE CHAIN! YELLING AT THE DOG! It was a riculous book. But Woodhouse assured the reader that a choke chain would not hurt the dog or even cause ANY pain (if you did it right). And she also said that the yelling was necessary. I didn't want to yell at Maddie. I don't like people who hit their dogs, not counting their children. But I had to do something. Every 30 min. walk and bathroom session and Maddie would go crazy at some neighbor's fence that had a dog in the yard. Pretty soon, I would avoid certain parts of the

neighborhood in North Hollywood. I bought the choke chain, reluctantly put it on Maddie, and followed Woodhouse's orders. I also used her "voice" technique. When Maddie would go after another dog, I was to yell real loud, "BAD DOG! REAL BAD BAD DOG! " (this once scared a policeman out of his pants! ) Using Woodhouse's advice, the choke chain caused no pain! I examined Maddie's eyes to see if there were any pain as I used it. Nothing at all. She didn't mind it a bit. But you will have to use it as Woodhouse states. Like a flick of the wrist. The next part was rougher. Screaming at Maddie when she would go after other dogs even with the choke chain on. I was also instructed to pet and praise her when she would pass a dog who was barking or just sitting quietly. This took about 20 days. And every now and then, she would have "relapses". But after one month, she was a real sight. And never went after other dogs. Then came a bad part of Woodhouse's books. Excessive petting. Yes, according to Woodhouse, you can pet your dog. And snuggle them. I would scratch Maddie's belly 400 times at once! But Woodhouse implied that this was habit-forming. And so I did cut down (not by very much, maybe 50%), and Maddie seemed much less restless! And she sure loved her belly rubbed! So this book really helped me! I had to give Maddie back when the owner got out. It was rough. But I did it. Maddie was over 4 years-old when I took her. It was the right thing to do. I don't want to think about it. BUY THIS BOOK! BUY THIS BOOK! BUY THIS BOOK!

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good basic dog training book., August 18, 2003

By 

G. Powell (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way (Paperback)

If you've never trained a dog, start here. Barabara's philosphy is that most dog problems are "owner" problems. That dogs key into what their owners are thinking. That said, Barbara uses corrective training techniques with a choke chain. The current thinking is that you need to also use "reward" based training.

Some trainers use only one of the other. I claim you need to tailor it to the particular dog. Some dogs couldn't care less how much you yank them around by the neck, others will quit behaving after they've had enough treats. Anyway reward based training requires lots of variations in the reward, sometimes its a game of frisbee.

With corrective training you need to assert yourself as the head of the pack. Seems to work well with some dogs, especially those more alpha pack dogs. But all dogs require lots of rewards to be well adjusted. And as you can see from the cover photo Barbara does reward her dogs.