Customer Reviews

Outwitting Dogs: Revolutionary Techniques For Dog Training That Work!

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the growing library of truly *positive* training books, this one is at the front of the class. This book is clearly written for the every-person who wants a well-mannered dog in their life without having to go to college first to understand the instructions. I LOVE training theory, but that's my personal quirk, and not everybody has the time to remind themselves of the difference between negative punishment and negative reinforcement, or variable reinforcement versus interval...etc. etc. while their dog is chewing the sofa or barking her head off at the neighbors. Outwitting Dogs is written in straight-forward, simple but not simplistic language that is easy and pleasant to read.

Not only that, but it is organized *perfectly.* View the Table of Contents - you'll see a book organized not by commands, but by behaviors. Not, teach your dog to sit/down/stay/heel because that's what show dogs need to know, but teach your dog to sit in _this_ context because it helps you get _this_ result. We teach dogs because we want to get (or to get rid of!) certain behaviors. This book is organized with those oh-so-important behaviors in mind.

The authors aren't stuck in a "one best way" mindset, either. They realize that not all methods work for all dogs, and give sound and proven alternatives that fit into your daily life. They don't expect you to be able to invite 20 friends over for a "puppy party." They tell you how, in day-to-day life, you can socialize, manage, and teach your dog the things s/he needs to know to succeed in a human world. Bravo!

I love that this book offers a completely positive training method. However, some of the training ideas seem like they would take a very long time to teach, and I don't know how "rock-solid" your dog would be afterward. I like that the author advocates teaching exercises in such a way that your dog cannot fail (for example, don't try making your dog SIT outside until he has done it 90% perfect in the house without distractions). I don't like that it does not offer many suggestions on what to do if you do happen to say "SIT" and your dog completely ignores you. And I truthfully didn't think it had very many effective ways to change "bad" behaviors. It would be great for your average dog without many bad habits who is willing to please and endlessly interested in treats.
The book was easy to read, but I actually got very annoyed with some of the long "funny" descriptions. A bit too much padding for me; get to the point.

However, if you are an experienced dog owner then forget it. This entire book merely expounds on the obvious and common sense solutions that we all know and have already tried. I was hoping for some new insights to common problems but no such luck.

Make your dog your best friend and he will do what you want. That is the basic premise of the book. The theory is reward focused, using treats, gentle pats, etc., to condition the dog to behave.

I have a "rescue dog" that was abused. He doesn't much like being touched. So far, he would rather go exploring that to mind me. The author suggests I am just not trying enough - possibly true. This book gave me a couple ideas, but hasn't been much help.

This great value book is best suited for the first time dog owner, or for the individual looking to make the change from "force-based training" to proven "positive-based training" methods. Terry Ryan has divided this book nicely so its easy to go back and refresh yourself on a specific problem area (such as housetraiing , barking, etc.) as well.

While I have to agree with other reviewers, in that if you are an intermediate or experienced dog trainer, you probably aren't going to find anything new here, I think this is a fabulous book for people who are new to dog training. The techniques are time-tested, and while I was familiar with many of them, I still enjoyed how the material was presented (very easy to read) and appreciated the book as a "refresher" and reminder on different approaches to try. I help teach beginning obedience and beginning agility classes, and have used some of these techniques to help people just starting out their training journey with their dog. One of the things I really liked about this book was the author's making a distinction between what is required for formal obedience and what is required to just have a well-mannered dog (the "heel" versus the "let's go" for example). I checked out this book from my library, but it's one I would not only buy for myself, but also would give to other dog owners as a gift.

I have purchased several dog books to help me better understand and train my two young dogs. This book is the most comprehensive and effective. It gives solutions to common problems like barking, pulling on a leash and housetraining. I also recommend "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell. These are the two best dog books I have found so far, and I have spend a year looking!

This book is great. We just adopted a rescued puppy mill dog from our local Humane Society and she has a lot of 'issues' we had never experienced before. This book has a lot a great tips I had not thought of before and would be helpful for those with especially 'challenging' new additions :)
~andrea

This book helped me understand more on dog's behavior and personality through lots of good examples and theories, those are very useful for dog owners. The techniques and the positive reward method on training described in this book are reasonable and effective. But I think other than using the techniques on training my 5 months old overactive miniature pinscher, I also need lots of patient and time on him.

I highly recommend this book and will keep it for reference.

This book has some great points on how to view things in your dogs point of view. Some of the stuff in the beginning is common knowledge but it does have some great advice that I find myself going back to and referencing often. I would recommend this book to dog owners that are having trouble with certain behavioral issues.