Good Dog!: Positive Dog Training Techniques

Ms. Wolfe seems to have a deep insight into the ways of dogs and what they'll respond to. Her advice is clearly written and illustrated, with no unnecessary nonsense in between (as opposed to the Uncle Matty book I recently read -- see my review on that). I've read several books on dog training recently (we had to put our dear old [and almost-perfectly behaved] dog down two months ago, and, yes, today we got a puppy, so I felt I needed a refresher), and I've noticed all have slightly different philosophies: never say no; say no a lot; use treats; don't use treats... But they all emphasize some basic premises: don't say the command more than once, use the dog's name with the command only when it involves motion (heel and come), correct a dog only if he understands the command, be prepared to enforce a command every time you give it... So I figure you should take those basic commonalities, and the rest doesn't matter as much. Most of the things Ms. Wolfe advises I can accept. I have to disagree with her on one point: using isolation in the kennel as a means of correcting bad behavior. The kennel shouldn't be associated with punishment in any way. Although she compares it with sending a kid to his room -- and a kid's room is not an unpleasant place -- I think it might make the dog not like his kennel after a while. Of course, this is me on the first day of a new puppy. My tune might change later... In any case, this is a really good book with good, solid advice, presented clearly and succinctly. Maybe I'll report back when we've trained our own Wonder Dog.

I wanted to be well prepared to add a dog to our family so I purchased and read a great many books on dogs and dog training. This book is enjoyable, practical and it really appealed to me with it's philosophy on dog training.

This book taught me how to communicate with my dog, and teach him things in ways that built confidence, trust and loyalty. Easy to understand and illustrated.

we have a lab. she likes to eat. anything. but particularly dog shit. nothing worked. not tabasco sauce. not vinegar. not rotting milk. deborah's book was a last resort. goldie is now not only off doggie doo, but she is off her leash and listening, not jumping on grandpa and not sniffing grandma. she still thinks she's quite marlene dietrich type and rolls eyes at the boys, but she was spayed so we indulge her her fantasies ­ as long as she doesn't cross the street to make them a reality. deborah uses common sense, lots of praise, lots of energy and lots of love to teach her lessons on the page. we've met her in real life, too and like i said earlier, she had to be a dog in a previous life, so amazing and intuitive is her understanding of them