Puppies for Dummies [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Sarah Hodgson (Author) "A puppy is a puppy is a puppy." A less true statement was never spoken..." (more)
Key Phrases: confrontational play, chin lead, puppy phases, Teaching Lead, American Kennel Club, Bitter Apple (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Arguably, there is no animal in the world that can offer you the amount of unconditional devotion as a dog. The period of puppyhood can be the toughest and most delightful era in your dog’s life. Each puppy, as it grows into doghood, faces – and sees – the world in different and unique ways. Some puppies thrive on human interaction; others prefer an independent lifestyle. Some love the general mayhem that small children create; others find the commotion less thrilling. Your puppy will grow up to be your friend, keeper, and voice.

Puppies For Dummies is for anyone interested in exploring this momentous era in a dog’s life. Whether you already have a puppy curled at your feet (or chewing at your shoelaces), or if you’re still in the thinking-about-it stage, this clearly written and easy-to-understand guide will help you to

Choose the perfect puppy

Raise a well-mannered, happy puppy

Housetrain your puppy quickly and effectively

Provide proper puppy care and nutrition

Keep peace between kids and puppies

Find out how to create a lasting relationship between your puppy and you. Explore different training methods to fit your puppy’s needs. Puppies For Dummies also covers the following topics and more:

Finding a puppy that fits your lifestyle

Where to get your puppy

Shopping for puppy supplies

The five stages of development

Teaching your pup some control and manners

Ensuring the fitness and health of your puppy

Fun games and tricks

Having a puppy and experiencing it grow up to be full-grown dog is an amazing journey that will never be forgotten. With a focus on behavior and relationship, this book will show you everything you need to know about your puppy so that it will grow up to be a healthy, playful, and well-mannered dog.

From the Back Cover
"A must-read for the soon-to-be puppy owner." Stephen J. Musso, Sr. V.P., Chief of Operations, ASPCA "A non-intimidating book that walks you through … raising a puppy" Stephen J. Musso, Sr. V.P., Chief of Operations, ASPCA

Create a lasting relationship between you and your puppy!

A book you will love — and every puppy will need! From housetraining to proper puppy socialization, it's all here in this fun and friendly guide to the toughest and most delightful era in your dog's life — puppyhood. With a focus on behavior and relationship, Sarah Hodgson helps your puppy grow up to be a healthy, playful, well-mannered dog.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; illustrated edition edition (June 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764552554
• ISBN-13: 978-0764552557
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #252,761 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You can do better, October 12, 2000

By A Customer

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.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible book -- not enough detail and too superficial, May 26, 2006

By	Mahlers2nd "Mommy of Many Interests" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Useless!, January 16, 2003

By	SBL (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

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.