Uncle Matty's Ultimate Guide to Dog Training: The Woof Papers (Hardcover)

~ Mordecai Siegal (Author), Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you and your dog are fans of Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis's PBS series, Woof! It's a Dog's Life, then you'll both love his latest book, Uncle Matty's Ultimate Guide to Dog Training. Margolis--Good Morning America's resident pet expert and founder of the National Institute of Dog Training in Los Angeles--pairs up with author and Dog Writers Association of America president Mordecai Siegal on this highly readable and informative training guide, written to "magnify the enjoyable and useful dog training information viewed in every segment of Uncle Matty's television series." In addition to the basic commands "no," "OK," "sit," "heel," "stay," "down," and "come when called," Margolis discusses the task of housebreaking, determining your dog's temperament--"one of the most important steps to take before training"--and bonding with your dog, which creates "a relationship with him based on the friendship, love, caring, and trust that make living with a dog so incredible." Also offered is helpful advice on behavioral problems--both owner and dog related--as well as a look at standard training tools, including the leash and the collar. Presented with warmth, intelligence, and Margolis's trademark wit, this truly unique guide puts the "fun" in training fundamentals! --Stefanie Hargreaves

From Library Journal

For this official companion to the PBS series, expert trainer "Uncle Matty" is joined by Siegal, president of the Dog Writers Association of America.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684845563
• ISBN-13: 978-0684845562
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,303,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for understanding how to teach your dog manners., November 17, 1998

By	[e-mail] "amronbear" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This is an excellent book for the average person to understand about teaching their pet household manners so the dog is much more enjoyable for the family. Matthew Margolis has such understanding of the differences between dog personalities and how they need to be handled in teaching technique. He uses praise rather than submission - therefore the dog responds because he 'wants to please his master'. He makes the statement that it is the owners that are usually at fault for bad behavior in our animals as they don't understand how to take charge. There is no such thing as an untrainable dog!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good info but awkwardly written anecdotes, October 27, 1999

By	SueMcG (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

As a fan of 'Uncle Matty's" delightful television program, I was disappointed by this book. While the information about dog personalities and training techniques was good, the little anecdotes used to frame the information, which are touted as what makes it special, were very silly and unnatural. Uncle Matty and his collaborators need to get a better dialog writer.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent info, but very poorly written, June 18, 2005

By	Debbie the Book Devourer "dletour7" (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This book appears to have been written to mimic Uncle Matty's TV show (which I've never seen). This means lots of "cute" dialogue between Uncle Matty and the dog owners he's trying to help. They even write in "stage directions," that is, what's happening at the time.

And the instructions Uncle Matty gives us for the basic commands -- sit, stay, down, come, etc. -- are so complicated and convoluted, I'm not sure anyone could follow them! "Here's how you hold the leash; here's how you do your feet; don't say the dog's name; say the dog's name..." For crying out loud!

After I spent a couple days slugging through this book, I read "Good Dog: Positive Dog Training Techniques" by Deborah Wolfe in a couple hours. Her philosophy differs a bit from Uncle Matty -- no high falsetto, but lots of praise nonetheless, for example -- but the basics are there: punish only if the dog understands and is caught in the act; follow it up with praise; state commands only once... Her book was much more business-like and straightforward.

If you like Uncle Matty and want to read his cute-lame repartee wtih his guests, go ahead and read this book. But if you just want to get down to the business of actually training your dog, look elsewhere.