How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: A Training Manual for Dog Owners (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "It may strike the reader as odd to find a book associating monks and dogs..." (more)
Key Phrases: sound conditioning, physical praise, automatic sit, New Skete, New York, American Champion (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Monks of New Skete share their invaluable training techniques and philosophy in their bestselling book, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend. First and foremost, the Monks--who themselves breed and raise German shepherds in Upstate New York--emphasize that "understanding is the key to communication, compassion, and communion" with your dog. Outlined in seven highly readable and informative chapters, the training principles offer a better knowledge of your pet's psyche and personality--ultimately deepening the bond between human and animal. Striving to educate and sensitize new and potential owners to dog kind, the book explores different breeds and temperaments, and assesses the best places from which to obtain a dog. Thanks to a succession of neatly ordered chapters and subsections on everything from crates and leash training to dog treats and massage, training is made accessible and even fun. The Monks lay particular emphasis on the importance of training with "spirit, humor, and most of all, physical and verbal praise!" Whether you're a new owner or an old-timer, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend is one of the best training guides available, written with compassion, empathy, and humor. --Naomi Gesinger

From Publishers Weekly

The Monks of New Skete have been raising and training dogs for over 30 years at their Cambridge, New York, monastery, and this volume-updated from the 1978 version-offers solid insights on dog training, behavior, grooming, feeding and a host of other topics. Whether discussing country, city or suburban dogs, the monks dispense good advice on humane care, such as admonishing owners to avoid "canine incarceration," i.e., leaving a dog confined alone for long periods of time. While the book does contain many useful, tried-and-true techniques for obedience-stay, heel, down-stay, recall and the like-its unique value lies in the monks' insights and thoughts about the human-canine bond. Concepts such as discipline and praise are more than merely a means to an end, the monks maintain: they are extensions of a caring attitude and real communication with a canine companion. Without devolving into New Age psychobabble, the monks make philosophical and spiritual observations that no dog lover could resist, and which just might make a convert of the uninitiated. 87 b&w photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 202 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown; 1 edition (October 30, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316604917
• ISBN-13: 978-0316604918
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (163 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #160,077 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good resource for the new dog owner, June 21, 2006

By	A reader (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition) (Hardcover)

"How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend" is an excellent reference book for the first time dog owner and trainer. As well as the normal chapters on how to choose, socialise, feed, groom and train a puppy, the Monks cover topics as varied as how to read a puppy's pedigree, how to massage your dog, and how your dog's living environment will impact upon his training needs.

Unlike many training manuals, the Monks of New Skete strike a nice balance between "dominance" based training methods and formal training. The Monks stress the importance of earning your dog's trust and respect and the importance of being a strong pack leader for your dog; they also recognise the need for formal training, and spend several chapters explaining how this is best accomplished. Most training books are heavily biased towards one or other method, so it is nice to read a book which realises that both are ingredients in successful dog training.

The training methods discussed are fairly traditional, with the Monks either luring or gently moulding the dog into shape, then praising. However they also advocate classically conditioning a positive reinforcer (keys jingling), which can then be used at strategic times to help a dog relax; and they do discuss and recommend clicker methods for "sensitive" dogs.

Contrary to some reviews posted below, the Monks of New Skete do in fact advocate using plenty of positive reinforcement in their training. Confusion on this issue probably stems from the fact that the Monks do not advocate constantly using food treats while training. However, food treats are not the only positive reinforcement method available to a trainer. As the Monks point out "Food treats are an extremely effective motivator to help dogs learn...however, they are not meant to replace sincere verbal and physical praise." The Monks advocate that puppies are regularly praised, petted and played with during training. Punishment only ever comes after a dog has been shown an exercise multiple times and fully understands what is required of it, and far from being harsh or abusive, is normally limited to stern eye contact or a verbal growl. Scruff shakes and chin cuffs are reserved for the worst transgressions. The Monks take care to emphasise that any punishment used should be immediate, fair and consistent.

There are certainly gaps in this book. The "Problem Solving" section is rudimentary at best (for example, the section on interdog aggression only recommends limiting the dog's opportunity to mark territory, desexing him and muzzling him!). Readers with a problem dog would be well advised to get some more indepth resources regarding their dog's particular problem. The obedience exercises covered are quite limited, covering only the sit, down, stay, heel and recall. Owners wishing to teach their dogs more advanced exercises will need to seek additional resources. It is also disappointing that the Monks only discuss one method of teaching each exercise. With the plethora of options available today to teach even something as simple as a sit - for example, shaping, luring, capturing - it is a pity the Monks did not discuss several options for training each behaviour.

Despite such flaws, "How to be your Dog's Best Friend" is one of the three training books I generally recommend to new dog owners (the other two are "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell and "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson). These three books complement each other very well. "The Other End of the Leash" is a great primer on canine-human communication, whereas "The Culture Clash" is an excellent manual on operant conditioning-based positive training. "How to Be your Dog's Best Friend" both fills in important gaps left by the other two books, and puts the case for kind and fair "traditional" style training.

135 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend, January 16, 2000

By	Mr. T.W. Hughes (Thailand) - See all my reviews

I have had German Shepherds all my life, but that is not why I recommend this wonderful book from The Monks of New Skete. This is a fabulous book about dogs and having a great one--it's not by accident! Over the years I have given this book to many friends who were getting puppies.

The Monks are quite insightfull. Their techniquies and more importantly their approach to dogs is the best. If you want more than just a dog--you want a companion (man's best friend), then follow their advice and you will have just that.

If I were to buy only 1 book on selecting, training, having a dog companion, this would certainly be that book!

158 of 177 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best of all dog books after two decades in print., September 18, 1999

By A Customer

My wife and I first used this book in 1980 with our first German Shepherd, a beautiful, gentle and easy to train dog despite strong alpha characteristics. We've given away many copies because it is about so much more than training. The monks have worked with each of our German Shepherds but their approach works with other breeds. Yes, there is a section on physical discipline but there is also a stern caution. This book deserves to read as a whole. We've read it and re-read it over the years, most recently on the death last week at 14 of a great, sensitive and intelligent old girl who was a loyal companion every day of her life. We used the monks excellent puppy book with our other dog, an aging male GSD, and soon it will be time for it again as another companion enters our home. Monks? Dogs? Religion? Don't worry about it. There's nothing to offend anyone. New Skete takes its religious life very seriously, but they are not intrusive. On the other hand, if you drink beer but won't drink the best beer in Belgium because Trappist monks brew it, then you probably won't buy this book and don't deserve a great dog anyway.