I work at a private Humane Society as an adoption adviser and occasionally pick up books to recommend to people. There are better ones out there than this one.
It has a lot of good things in it but plenty for the first time owner to avoid.
There was a lot of "old school" thinking in here.
I would caution people too (like the book) about dogs you get at shelters. The over crowded ones can be hard to go through and the people who work there can't spend as much time with each dog to know them all well. But there are ALOT of good ones out there that know their dogs!And a lot of good dogs at the over crowded ones. I always recommend an adult dog over a puppy. ESPECIALLY if you are short on time! This book should not recommend a young (8weeks-6months)puppy.
I didn't like the training techniques.
Too "hands on". You shouldn't have to force a dog with your hands to get it to do something. It's all about communication.
For instance her sit training. You should not have to push its butt down. Otherwise the dog may learn that the signal to sit is when you touch its butt. Also this is not a good technique to use with new or shy dogs.
We had a dog at our shelter who would sit at the slightest touch of its rear. It was sad because we couldn't teach it to connect sitting with the word "sit". It would only sit if you touched its back end. Poor thing.
Also I wouldn't recommend spraying your dog with flea spray or using flea collars. They are not effective or safe. If that's what we used at our shelter we would have flea problems.
Again there are some good things but I wouldn't use this as your only resource.
It's not clear where or if this author has had any formal training in dog behavior. I don't think she has.
There is one book I recommend for all owners new and old.
"The Other End of the Leash"
This is written by a dog professional.
She also has A LOT of experience.
She has a very good insight on dog and people relationships.
Also check out these organizations for helpful free advice:
Dog Star Daily (website) has 2 free books by Dr. Ian Dunbar,
the ASPCA (has a website),
Dumb Friends League (a small shelter -not mine- that has a website),
and the Humane Society of the United States (also has a website).
Again not a book I would recommend for the average owner.
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