[.ca] How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: A Training Manual for ... (ISBN 1565113373)

From Amazon.com:
The Monks of New Skete share their invaluable training techniques and philosophy in their bestselling book, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend. First and foremost, the Monks--who themselves breed and raise German shepherds in Upstate New York--emphasize that "understanding is the key to communication, compassion, and communion" with your dog. Outlined in seven highly readable and informative chapters, the training principles offer a better knowledge of your pet's psyche and personality--ultimately deepening the bond between human and animal. Striving to educate and sensitize new and potential owners to dog kind, the book explores different breeds and temperaments, and assesses the best places from which to obtain a dog. Thanks to a succession of neatly ordered chapters and subsections on everything from crates and leash training to dog treats and massage, training is made accessible and even fun. The Monks lay particular emphasis on the importance of training with "spirit, humor, and most of all, physical and verbal praise!" Whether you're a new owner or an old-timer, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend is one of the best training guides available, written with compassion, empathy, and humor. --Naomi Gesinger

This book saved my dog!:
The first day I had my rescue dog he snapped at my 1-year-old daughter. I was contemplating sending him back, but someone suggested this book to help teach him "pack" behavior, i.e. that he is lower in the pack hierarchy than my daughter. It wasn't long before my daughter could safely do anything with him. I was also able to housebreak him, crate train him, and just make him a good dog based on the training techniques. Yes, the discipline techniques can seem a little extreme, but they are by no means inhumane. And they WORK because the dog understands. My dog usually "got it" after one time and stopped the behavior. I have not had to discipline him for anything in several years. Now he understands from just a look, a word or a gesture. This book helped us get to that point. Highly recommended!

I have used this book but...:
I used this book when my now 11 year old German Shepherd was a pup. The methods are effective but I was never comfortable with the Alpha Roll. It's true - you see terror in your dog's eyes, not obedience. With that in mind, she is a beautifully trained dog - gentle, obedient and sweet of nature. HOWEVER, I have a new pup and after reading Ian Dunbar's book 'Before and After Getting Your Puppy', I would simply prefer to deal with her using Dr. Dunbar's methods. Just as theories of child rearing change, so do the methods of training dogs. I commend the Monks for an effective training program for sometimes hard headed dogs, and perhaps some of their techniques can be incorporated into other dog training programs if a dog is particularly resistant. I would recommend Dr. Dunbar's book, whereas I would not recommend the Monks of New Skete book to a potential dog owner. I have grown dogs who have developed a few iffy habits over the years, and with Dr. Dunbar's book, have all but eliminated them with positive, NOT negative reinforcement. Reward is always better than punishment.

Excellent:
I have a very large dog that tried to bite my 7 year old (the youngest in the house) when he he was about 6 months old. At 6 months old he already weighed about 80 pounds and wanted very badly to be Alpha. Before reading this book I would have gotten rid of the dog. However, I decided to try the Alpha Wolf technique and see if he could be broken of this. I did it ONCE and the dog NEVER snapped at my child or any other child again. That was 5 years ago. This technique really does work. Read the book!

Excellent book:
I just finished this book and found it to be a well organized and thorough treatise on the subject. Those who say the book focuses too much on punishment must not have read the latest edition. The monks no longer recommend the alpha roll and "strongly discourage its use to our clients". Rewards are used as the primary means of training. Punishment is only recommended in certain severe situations. If you really want to learn about your dog and your relationship with your dog, buy this book. I loved it.

Dog behavior:
I noticed a lot of people hate this book. I love it. Some things people are missing are so simple. A dog is a dog they communicate differently from people. I've done purely positive training and it just didn't work. It wasn't nearly as effective. I found if you treat the dog the way they have evolved to understand it just works better. But don't take my word for it, you should learn from the best possible teacher for this subject, your dog and his interactions with other dogs and how dominant dogs behave. Wolf behavior is also very helpful and their are many scientific journals that have published articles on the way they interact.