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The second video, "In the Beginning," shows puppy rearing from birth to 12 weeks. Scenes of a birthing and the monks' puppy-raising techniques illustrate the importance of early interaction with one's puppy. With some basic training and personality evaluations, the monks prepare their puppies for the future owners. The regimens applied to their own monastic life apply to puppy breeding, too. Each monk has rotating duties, and we follow the daily routine of the kennel and see how their puppy rearing philosophy is applied especially to dogs they won't keep as their own. Basics such as crate and paper training, grooming, and the importance of play are covered in this segment, as well as the importance of cultivating routine, and "benevolent despotism" over your dog. Also noteworthy are citations of useful passages from the monks' books, The Art of Raising a Puppy and How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend, which appear at the bottom of the screen during specific training segments.
The final video in this boxed set, "Obedience," is the most useful for the owner looking for a good basic-training video. Brother Christopher and Brother Paul walk the viewer through heel, sit, stay, prolonged stay, prolonged down, and come. Using the corrective "pop" of the leash and a special training collar, the brothers show the importance of disciplining quickly and never lecturing the dog, but ultimately refocusing the dog's attention on the command, so that obeying training commands becomes a positive experience for the dog. Praise and love from its owner is the dog's ultimate reward for good behavior, and a well-behaved dog is all the better a companion. --Gilia Angell
Video Description
Raising Your Dog With The Monks Of New Skete is a three video series which brings the monks' acclaimed philosophy, insight, and methods of training to home video. The series is a companion to the monks' best-selling books How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend and The Art Of Raising A Puppy. The videos cover all of the essential lessons of canine training and include detailed instruction on puppy development, behavior conditioning, and obedience training. The series contains the one hour special as seen on public television.
