Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training (The Complete Idiot's Guide) | 
|  | | | Title: | Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training (The Complete Idiot's Guide) | | Author: | Pamela Dennison | | Publisher: | Alpha | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 04 March, 2003 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0028644638 / 9780028644639 | | List Price: | $14.95 | | You Save: | $10.74 | | Amazon Price: | $4.21 (via Amazon marketplace seller) | | | |
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Product Description
This book will be the first to offer readers practical advice on using positive training techniques in every aspect of dog behavior-from basic commands to housetraining and correcting problem behaviors.
There are currently more than 43 million dog owners in the U.S., and more and more of them are giving up on punitive methods of training their dogs.
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Customer Reviews:
• Some Good Info But Overly Opinionated And A Little Lacking 10 April, 2008
I'm rating the book 3 stars because it does have a lot of good information, but also had several things I didn't like about it. I would buy a different book if I were to start over.
The author spends far too long stating and re-stating that only positive reinforcement works and any form of punishment is bad. I already believe that positive reinforcement is a good method, that's why I bought "Positive Dog Training". In addition, she makes several bold claims about psychology that sound nice without any citation or ways to verify the claims.
There is some contradictory examples in the text. She states that there are 3 fundamental rules of dog training: 1) Positively reinforced behavior gets repeated, 2) Ignored behavior goes away (the 3rd is not relevant to my example here). Later in the book, she relates the story of a dog that began chewing her shoes. Her solution? She gave the dog a reward the next time it took a shoe from the closet. According to her own rules, she should have ignored the dog, and certainly not given a reward.
Another omission in this book that I found from other sources was utilizing a dog's natural sense of hierarchy in the training.
There are a lot of pages to go through before the useful content really begins, but the useful content is there. I don't want to sound overly negative in this review, but there were certainly parts of this book that I found lacking.
- Reviewed by customer ID: ASBWH68T4R3SS
• Not Enough Useful Practical Information 05 May, 2008
The author discusses positive training adnosium and yet she glosses over important points and techniques. Potty training is covered in a page and a half, which seems a bit scant to me in a book about dog training. This is not so much a book on how to train your dog but book on the philosophy of positive dog training.
- Reviewed by customer ID: ALPX3MQ4JK9TN
• Wordy But Good Information 31 July, 2006
This book is very wordy with few photos so I worry that adopters won't really read it all but those that do will find a wealth of good information. For adopters that like to read and want know all there is to know about training their dog, I recommend this book. For those adopters who want to see photos of what to do, I recommend Maran's Illustrated Dog Training.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2E1A0X8XNVYM7
• Should Be Called The Herding Dog Training Manual 05 September, 2006
I think positive training methods can be used for all breeds of dogs but I think the author has trouble presenting her book that way. She presents the info as if you own a herding dog and then adds on some quick line about what to do if your dog is resistant. She doesn't acknowledge enough that different breeds truly have different issues. It doesn't mean that you can't overcome these issues, but they are real. I didn't have to do training to prevent my hounds from barking and going crazy at the front door. They just don't do it. I have 3 and none of them has ever done this. My dogs don't nip. However, they will do anything to steal food and they don't want to walk next to me if there is an interesting smell (which apparently is always). These are the issues that are tough for me.
Anyway, if you have a herding dog, I would imagine that this is a great book, but I felt like she didn't do a good job of making the book more general. I called my friend who owns a Sheltie and recommended it to her.
For positive training books, I prefered Clicking with Your Dog by Peggy Tillman. I felt like she presents the info for all dog owners.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2Y6EN3K392OPM
• Psychological Argument Never Gets Down To The Bone 03 January, 2007
While I agree with the author's emphasis on the positive, she is redundant - to the point of defensive - in stating and restating the argument. Being harsh or punishing a pet is bad. I get it. But this tome is very slow to arrive at practical, tactical "I can use this daily" advice. Dennison advocates that any form of negative discipline is counterproductive and to be avoided, often drawing human psychology parallels which, while inviting on the surface deny that Lupus canus and Homo sapien vary beyond the latter having opposable thumbs. Not all dogs share the same issues, and while I emphasize positive reinforcment for good behavior I have found that my vizsla responds to a sharp, unequivocal "NO" (i.e., entering a street; cat litter snack; paw on the table) without surrendering any affection. In due course, using an appropriate balance of reward and correction, she has learned her boundaries.
As another reviewer admits, "I wanted to like this book, but, I didn't" and I don't think you will either. (And I would suggest that you can't aford, let alone carry enough treats to reward as often as the author advocates.) My advice: Look for a book or information on your specific breed (e.g., The Versatile Vizsla is superb for those owning Hungarian Short Haired Pointers); search the Internet; trust your vet and your (and your dog's) instincts.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AJDZ8O1FR39TD
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