SMARTER THAN YOU THINK: A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO TEACHING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR DOG IN JUST A FEW HOURS [Hardcover]

Paul Loeb (Author), Suzanne Hlavacek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997

Imagine a dog who listens to you, comes to you, follows you, and looks to you for guidance. Imagine a dog who adapts to your lifestyle-- quickly, successfully and without time-consuming practice. This ideal relationship is possible with the techniques of veteran trainer Paul Loeb, whose groundbreaking theories and humane, holistic teaching style will help you learn to teach, care for and understand your dog... in just a few hours!

Paul Loeb's lifelong passion for animals-- and his desire to communicate with them-- has brought him four decades of leadership in the field of animal behavior. His philosophy is revolutionary but simple: your dog can learn more-- and more quickly-- if information is delivered properly. Now you can reach a new level of communication with your dog, and get visible results in approximately three hours. Paul Loeb's techniques are geared to respect your dog's ability to learn complex behaviors. Not only will you find step-by-step methods to teach housebreaking, paper training, and the basic commands, but you'll also discover:

Why one-word commands, including "No", are ineffective

Why gimmicks like water pistols or pennies in a can don't really work

Why food rewards and choke chains are not good training tools

Why "crating" is unnecessary and can jeopardize your dog's life in an emergency

Why teaching your dog to come to you is essential-- and teaching your dog to sit is not

How to adapt your dog's behavior to your lifestyle-- whether you need your dog to walk without a leash, ride politely in a car, sit near the dinner table without begging, never jump up, remain on your property... or do just about anything else you can imagine!

This complete guide also tackles problem behaviors like barking, bolting out the door, aggression and biting. And Paul Loeb reveals an alternative to commercial dog-food diets that can enhance your pet's behavior and health.

Now you can have the well-behaved dog you've always wanted-- and your dog will have an owner who understands his or her language. With "Smarter Than You Think", you and your dog can share the special bond of true understanding.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As the subtitle states, animal behaviorist and dog trainer Loeb (The Complete Book of Dog Training, Pocket, 1991) claims to offer "a revolutionary approach to teaching and understanding your dog in just a few hours." Although he does present excellent training techniques, these are intermingled with numerous anecdotes of improperly trained dogs, his oft-repeated puffery about training 25,000 dogs over 40 years, and frequent criticisms of veterinarians, other trainers, and "experts." Loeb's criticisms of dry dog food and dog food manufacturers are unwarranted, and his recommendation of "people food" for dogs could be harmful if the pet companion does not balance the nutrients properly. If everyone with a dog read only the training advice and ignored the incorrect nutritional and medical comments, Loeb's work could be a useful, but that is not likely. As such, this is not recommended.?A. Louis Shor, DVM, Veterinary Consultant, Mt. Laurel, N.J.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This anecdotal book provides a new system for educating dogs and teaches readers how to train their dogs by understanding the psychology behind why the author's methods work. Stressing common sense and rejecting the use of one-word commands are two of the major approaches of this system. The third technique involves the "Magic Touch," the ability to always reach a dog by tossing something at her (to which she should respond by coming to the thrower). Loeb discusses these tactics and demonstrates how to apply them to basic lessons, such as housebreaking dogs and teaching them to sit, as well as to behavior problems and bad habits. The chapter on canine diet and nutrition is well thought out, but the reader may want to check the information with a veterinarian before changing a pet's rations. Despite occasional cutesy language ("boy dog"), the author's valuable training ideas will round out the library's dog-training collection. Nancy Bent

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Atria (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671001728
• ISBN-13: 978-0671001728
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,054,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Loeb

The Wall Street Journal compared Paul Loeb's work with animals to the work of B.F.Skinner:
"Loeb illustrates practical approaches to physical needs as a means to psychological (read "behavioral") cures, he is to the canine world what B.F. Skinner, the noted Harvard psychologist who devoted himself to the techniques of shaping behavior, was to the study of man."
The Chicago Tribune noted that Loeb has been identified as an animal psychiatrist, animal psychic, or animal trainer. Whatever you call him, he's a success in a wide range of activities involving animals.
"His credits include more than 600 TV commercials, ranging from pet foods to men's underwear."
Loeb was for several years the Director of Education of animal behavior for the ASPCA in NYC, and held a behavioral clinic at NYC's Animal Medical Center, the largest small animal hospital in the world. His most popular classes were group therapy sessions with radical confrontation for aggressive dogs. Never before or since has anyone taken groups of aggressive dogs with their owners and successfully solved these problems, and solved them quickly.
Dr. Wm. Kay DVM, former Director of The Animal Medical Center, and Dr. Martin De Angelis DVM, Director of Village Animal Clinic and a leading authority on orthopedic surgery, have acknowledged Loeb's work, calling him a "pioneer in the field" and one of the "premier animal trainers in the world today." Dr. Kay and Dr. De Angelis endorsed Smarter Than You Think and The Heart Of The Matter referring to them as the "champions of training books" and Loeb as an "internationally acclaimed expert" in this area.
When National Geographic produced an Educational Series on animal behavior they featured Loeb as the expert on dogs and cats. This was a special honor since he was in the company of such renowned names as Konrad Lorenz and Jane Goodall. Loeb's, You Can Train Your Cat, was translated into many languages and is still widely referenced today by cat owners and experts, as was his next book, Cathletics.
Early on he realized the need for a holistic approach when working with animals including diet and nutrition. The wrong diet can be detrimental not only to a dog's health but also to his behavior and learning ability. Gaines, a division of General Foods, used Loeb as a consultant in the early development of their Cycle dog food. In addition to Nutrition And Your Dog, his work regarding diet, nutrition and proper exercise, has been written up in the Wall Street Journal, Esquire Magazine, Glamour, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, Family Circle, The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, New York Post, New York Daily News, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
His easygoing style and ability to make the complex simple with humor and understanding made his column for Parent's magazine, during the early eighties, an outstanding success. The series, which ran for three years, dealt with such topics as: When a Child Fears Animals; Communicating With Your Pet; Can My Pet Perform Like Those Animals on TV; Teaching Your Pet to Accept Your New Baby; How to Pet Train Your Child; Traveling With Your Pet and other subjects, in a direct, common sense approach.
Loeb made frequent appearances on national and local radio and television shows from Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in the early seventies, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, CBS Early Show, among others, including a recent challenge on NBC's Dateline.
Although the seeds of Loeb's new techniques are evident in his large body of work, he has refined and simplified this technology. What has taken him over fifty years to develop is now available to you, the reader. Your dog, or cat, can learn all that's necessary for success in a few hours. Loeb's philosophy is quite simple. Animals have the ability to learn more and learn faster, if what they really need to know is delivered in a way they can fully understand. They are smarter than you think.
Loeb's latest books, (with co-author Suzanne Hlavacek) Smarter Than You Think and Heart of The Matter have set a new standard in the understanding and the shaping of behavior in both dogs and cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Concerning Magic Touch, February 4, 2002

By 

Joan Ross (Amenia, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smarter Than You Think: A Revolutionary Approach to Teaching and Understanding Your Dog in Just a Few Hours (Paperback)

Being a brand new dog owner I tried to read and research as much as I could about puppies and small dogs ( my dog is a Papillion ). I also enrolled her in obedience school when she was 3 months old. Most instuctors I found out use food as a reward and later praise to teach dogs.
My puppy would never come 100%.

When I first got her I tried the magic touch and threw a soft slipper at her. She looked at me quite hurt and hubby and I thought we may "damage" her cheerful, energetic nature papillions
are known for.

As obedience lessons continued she still didn't come 100%. So one day before lessons I got so frustrated I decided to try the magic touch again.

I called her, she didn't come and continued playing with her stuffed dog toy. I threw a 3 inch roll of bandage tape at her which smacked her in the side. From that moment she was a changed dog. She looked at me in disbelief ( I didn't physically hurt her- just her pride ) and came immediately. Since that moment she looks at me in a different light. She respects me, always comes now and still is the same cheerful energic dog.

Another topic I was interested in is diet since small dogs have skin problems.. I tried the supermarket brands and Vet recommended dry foods plus natural expensive dry food and yet my dog seemed to scratch despite no fleas.

So I decided to use a natural brand of "canned food" which worked out well. The book adviced canned over dry plus people food supplements at times. My dog hardly scrathes now.

So I recommend the book and despite many negative reviews I read about Mr Loeb's knowledge, writing abilities and character
the information in the book helped me and my dog.!!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a Dog Training Book That Makes Sense, June 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Smarter Than You Think: A Revolutionary Approach to Teaching and Understanding Your Dog in Just a Few Hours (Paperback)

This book finally puts into words the thoughts I have always had about dog training. Having recently raised a Standard Poodle puppy for a seeing eye dog organization, I can relate to the different puppy raising issues Mr. Loeb addresses. Although I was limited to training the dog according to the organization's rules, I can look back and see where the dog "outsmarted" me or learned an undesired behavior simply because he was confused. On the positive side, the puppy was able to learn many complex commands, such as finding a specific toy in a different room, simply because I spoke to him like he understood, which is something Loeb encourages. I think that many people underestimate a dog's intelligence and have behavior problems because they don't learn to think like a dog does. I incorporated many "think like a dog" solutions when working with the puppy, just as Loeb suggests. Or, maybe even more importantly, when training a puppy, think like the puppy's mother would.

The one idea from the book that I think is very important is that if you don't teach your dog, he will fill up the void with his own thoughts and behaviors. It is not cruel to teach your dog what he can and cannot do, it simply gives him a sense of security and freedom within his environment. I suggest that everyone who has a dog take a look at Loeb's ideas. As far as the nutritional part of the book, I think everyone should think for himself. In Europe, dogs and cats live longer because they get real food, not diseased parts of other animals that end up in commercial dog food. My mantra is that if you wouldn't feed it to your child, don't feed it to your dog. I don't know that a dog should have human sweets, but I can't see anything wrong with treating a dog with "real" food, such as fruit, vegetable, grains, and protein.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Did You People Even Read It or just Assume?, July 8, 2004

By 

"capnmacky" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SMARTER THAN YOU THINK: A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO TEACHING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR DOG IN JUST A FEW HOURS (Hardcover)

Reading through the reviews, here is the best way I can describe it.

Yes he is Cocky (why wouldn't he be he is very successful with his method)
Yes he says throw things
However he NEVER SAYS HURT YOUR DOG. If throwing a pair of socks, or a rolled up washcloth taped in the middle (as I used) ruins your relationship with your dog, I would suggest you have a bigger issues to overcome. Within 10 minutes, I had my 5 month old Boxer coming to me 100% inside the house, and withing days 100% outside. He mentions swatting your dog, NOT BEATING as many of you suggest. He makes it clear, your dog relies on you for EVERYTHING it needs. If you are providing it you will have little trouble getting your dog to act as you choose, if you are not, then your dog will show you in its own way that you are lacking. Everyone I have shared this with has been amazed with the results.