Treats, Play, Love: Make Dog Training Fun for You and Your Best Friend (Paperback)

by Patricia Gail Burnham (Author) "Dog owners are like other people..." (more)
Key Phrases: field champion, coprophagic dog, automatic finish, Betty Lou, Kitty Hawk, American Kennel Club (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Treats, Play, Love is the collected wisdom of Patricia G. Burnham, the author of the highly successful Playtraining Your Dog, which has been in print for more than twenty-five years. Now, after fifty years in the business, she brings to this new book a focus on food training your dog with small treats, while still incorporating fun and games into teaching basic and advanced obedience. Burnham uses no compulsive training or punishment for incorrect or unwanted behaviors (such as barking, biting, urinating inside, or begging), but rather offers rewards for correct behavior, thus reinforcing it.

      Topics covered include:

·         Basic obedience training for puppies (exercises for sit, down, heel, and stay)

·         House manners for older puppies and adult dogs (no whining or barking)

·         Recipes for tasty dog treats that your four-legged friend will do anything for

·         Understanding your dog’s personality

·         Preventing dog bites

·         Dealing with shy or fearful dogs

·         Advice and exercises for training and showing a dog in obedience trials in novice class, open class, and utility class

·         Reflections on the end of your dog’s life

     There are more than 100 photos and line drawings throughout the book to illustrate movements and exercises, and for owners who want to show their dogs, there are detailed descriptions of what they can expect once they enter the ring.

       Although Burnham works almost exclusively with greyhounds (which are notoriously difficult to train), her wisdom and expertise apply to all breeds, and her warmth, sound advice, and personal tone make Treats, Play, Love a joy to use.

About the Author

PATRICIA G. BURNAHM has been breeding, showing, training, and judging greyhounds and obedience dogs for fifty years and has been a regular contributor to numerous periodicals, including the AK C Gazette, Dog World, Dogfancy, CG Magazine, Field Advisory News, Dogs in Review, Dog News, and Off Lead. She is the author of Playtraining Your Dog and lives in Fair Oaks, California.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312378181
• ISBN-13: 978-0312378189
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #346,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updated classic, March 29, 2008

By	Geoffrey Stern (Littleton MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Some twenty years Burnham wrote one of my favorite training books, *Playtraining Your Dog* -- purportedly as a rebuttal to the mordant severity of Koehler, et al. *Treats, Play, Love* is something of a sequel to *Playtraining,* something of an updating -- and equally superb. When my copy arrived from, I sort riffled the pages as I walked from the mailbox into the house, and all of a sudden, I realized I was sitting at the table, still wearing my jacket and scarf, and reading the damn thing. It's that good. This would be an excellent book to give someone who wants to get started in dog sports. There are whole sections worth quoting.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every dog owner should read this book, March 29, 2009

By	Honest Opinion (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

Dogs in the wild spend a majority of their day figuring out how to find food, Patricia Burnham points out. Thus, if a certain behavior produces food, a dog will naturally and happily do it again. If you produce food in response to playing what he thinks is game, he will think you are the greatest thing on earth and pay attention to you despite all sorts of distractions. Aversion training ("If you heel, I won't jerk on this choker collar") may have it's place, but not with my new puppy. It has the potential of creating a dog that does not enjoy working and learning with you.

I have trained dogs with correction in the past, but with a new puppy, I thought I'd at least read some of these "positive training" books. I am a complete convert! "The Power of Positive Training" has some great points as well and some step-by-step instruction. Instead of a clicker, I praise the dog and get the same response.

"Treats, Play, Love" is full of decades of experience, logical explanations for how different training methods work or not, and an historical prospective on training. Burnham also acknowledges when some forms of aversion training are appropriate and for which dogs it works. Pat Miller, in "The Power of Positive Training" seems more morally opposed to punishing dogs. I prefer someone who discussed all options.

If you have a dog, whether you are training for show or just to be a nice pet, whether you've trained a dog before or not, READ THIS BOOK.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic view of positive training, April 18, 2009

By	Isadore Mills (Beaver Dam, WI) - See all my reviews

I have read dozens of dog training/behavior books. This books adds insights the others didn't. The history of positive and demand/punishment training was interesting. I also thought her discussion about a dog's challenge to the owner was also needed and helpful. The book is about the power of positive training, but with a full understanding of demand/punishment training. I highly recommend it.