Customer Reviews

Puppies For Dummies

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you want a book that lays a guilt trip on you because you feed your puppy anything less than holistic food (that you can nibble on yourself in an emergency!)or because you allow your baby to play satanic tug-of-war or wrestling games, then you might like this book, but I doubt that you'll like your puppy. I'm a new puppy owner, and found much in here frustrating -- she doesn't talk much about crate training, for instance, because it makes her cry to see a dog in a cage, so she suggests you just tie your pup to yourself all day. Do yourself a favor: the information in How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With is far more helpful and complete, and the writing in The Art of Raising a Puppy is far more readable and enlightening. I can't vouch for the other puppy books, but the two books I mentioned are worth your time and money; this one is, well, for dummies.

When I adopted my puppy, this book was recommended to me. I dutifully went out and bought it. As I was reading it, it had many suggestions for what you should do but no tangible examples of implementing those suggestions. For example, they might say "don't hit your puppy with a rolled up newspaper" however they don't necessarily give you a reasonable alternative. I believe this to be more of a function of the editing by the "dummies" staff than a reflection on the author. In what I can only interpret as his own editorial comment on the book, my puppy proceeded to pee on this book -- needless to say, after that we threw it out.

I went back to the bookstore and picked up:

"You and Your Puppy" by James DeBitetto, Sarah Hodgson

Sarah Hodgson is the author of this puppy book but somehow, with the addition of James DeBitetto, there are much more real-world suggestions for how to train your puppy. Many of the passages are word for word the same as the dummies book. However, instead of having just one paragraph about a topic, they expand on it and give you additional detail so that you can translate their "theory" into practice.

In short -- the Puppies for Dummies is not really very good for people who are truly interested in learning a humane and positive way to raise their puppy. It is basically the USA Today of puppy books -- just scratching the surface without providing any meaningful information.

This book was truly useless. I read it and sold it because I knew that I would never want to look at it again. It's very elementary (hence the name, "For Dummies) and many sections are not very helpful when it comes to training. I had many questions after I read this book. Maybe I made the mistakes to read other books before this one which just blew me away so that when I read this book, I wasn't very impressed....In addition to the somewhat inferior content of the dummy book, it also lacked the many black and white photographs that I came to appreciate in the other readings which really drove home the points that these readings made (Pictures are worth a thousand words - when I see a "sit" sequence, that does a lot more for me than being told "pinch this, push there, and pull that). If you are on a budget and want to save money for dog toys, quality dog food etc for your puppy/dog, don't get this book. Spend your $ more wisely by getting Kilcommon's Good owners, great dogs. That book will be your friend and advisor, while this one will just end up on your book shelf, because it doesn't have the info you need on a daily basis to really help you and your dog. Think of yourself more highly and don't get a dummy book.

This book has a lot of information. I had already bought a puppy so the handful of chapters on deciding what type of dog to get, etc were not that useful to me. I was mainly looking for training information. There is training information in the book, but with all the other information it is not 100% convenient to get to. I am better off with the thin book I got from the "puppy kindegarden" class I enrolled in.

I always approach the 'Dummies' series of books with some trepidation since I always expect them to be shallow and short on detail. Although true for some of their computing books, that's not the case here.

By coincidence, I came across this book as we were about to get a puppy ourselves. The most useful part is certainly about housetraining and then the stuff about properly looking after it so that it doesn't get instilled in bad habits.

I'm sure there are many other books on how to look after puppies. This one, I'm sure, is as good as any of them.

Although the more general aspects of this book are good (how to choose a puppy, how and when to start training etc.), I found some of the author's suggestions actually made the training process more difficult, while others were outright questionable. Most of the elements she instructs (sit, down, stay) can be taught in much simpler ways. She spends too much time showing how to force your puppy into position, and any good dog trainer will tell you that puppies learn best and fastest when they figure out what you're asking on their own by luring with food etc. The author often suggests "hugging" as appropriate praise for a dog. While hugging is tolerated by many dogs, it is really considered quite rude in the dog world and isn't the best way to reinforce behavior.
She also relies on a lot of unnecessary equipment, such as the "teaching lead" which she invented and suggests using choke collars for all puppies. She also downplays the importance of other tactics, such as crate training and hand signals.
I started teaching my puppy at home using the methods described in the book and was amazed at how much faster he picked things up once I had been shown a different way of doing things in obedience class.

I recently got Izzy, my very first puppy. I read about 10 books in preparation for her, and this book really helped some it all up and explain so many things. Definately recommend this book to first time pet owners.

I just want to lay out that no one book covers everything. A blend of various resources must be examined when venturing out into puppy-ownership-land. This book is good to acquaint you with the basics: assessing your lifestyle, gearing yourself (and family) up for owning a puppy, doing your homework on the breed, where to buy, what to get for the puppy (and your home)puppy stages, common problems, helpful tactics and solutions to said problems and fun stuff: training, games and commands. This book or the Complete Idiot's Guides are fine for this. I also recommend, like others, The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete.
Then, I recommend getting a breed specific book about training your dog. Breed profile books are helpful as well, but the real difference between each dog is temprement and breed-specific details, that usually rear themselves during the house-training and obedience training.
Also, contacting the American Kennel Club and finding your breed's Club and asking breeders questions is also a good idea. Obviously, this advice is more geared towards purchasing a purebred puppy, but every breed also has Rescue chapters, if that is what you want.
And, as always, ask your friends with dogs (who have taken an active role in puppy-rearing) and ask them questions and compare what you've learned. Visit their vet and ask them questions too.
Once you get your puppy, I would also hang on to the breeder's info because they will continue to be a resource for the life of your dog and beyond.
If this sounds like a lot of work or too much trouble, I would not recommend getting a pet. I do not mean to sound self-righteous, but I think raising a puppy is right up there with parenting, also something to be taken seriously.

I was new to puppies, and didn't have a lot of time to read book after book. I thought the layout and the information in the book was wonderful. She gives several ideas on how to do things--based on your dogs personality not everything works--and tips on how to do it. I admit, that I did not always have my dog on a leash attached to my waist, but keeping your puppy with you is certainly better than having him wreaking havoc on your home while you're cleaning up his last mess! Crate training is great when you're away, asleep, or in the shower, but it is not practical for the day-in and day-out routine. All in all a great book.

i don't know what the reviewer "a reader" was talking about - maybe they have this book confused with something else? there's plenty of information in this book, INCLUDING how to crate train your pup, as well as WHY it is IMPORTANT to crate train your dog. there's no guilt-tripping, just a ton of education and information. everything has a very clearly stated, rational explanation behind training techniques and do's and don'ts.

if you care about the comfort, safety, physical and mental health and well-being of your new pup *as well as yourself, your family, and your friends in relation to your new pup*, then you owe it to yourself and everyone else to EDUCATE yourself on how to raise your puppy. it's not simple or easy, it's work. but it pays off in the end by resulting in a well-adjusted pet who compliments your life and brings joy. if you'd prefer to just yell at your dog half the time (or more) for being "bad" (thanks to your completely confusing him and mis-raising him), if you relish the idea of having a neurotic dog to add more stress to your life by jumping, biting, running after kids, cars, other animals, etc., then please - skip this book. i'm sure you don't need the "guilt trip."