Whether you are looking for a book on puppy
training, basic
obedience training, clicker
training, or a book about modifying
unwanted behavior, we have a collection of
great dog books. We read every book before we
decide to sell it, so you can feel confident that
the dog training book you choose will not give you
erroneous, outdated, inhumane, or ineffective
advice. Here is a bit more about the criteria we
use when choosing our dog behavior and training
books.
First, it is really important to us that the
book uses positive reinforcement dog training
methods. Other dog training methods are generally
based on avoidance of punishments, (do this or
you'll get it! / don't do this or you'll get it!
Remember that they used to teach left handed kids
to use their right hand by hitting them with a
ruler - it's the same idea). Yes, this can be
effective, but it's no fun for the trainer or the
student, and sometimes the stress from this type
of training will give a dog even worse behavior
concerns than you started with. Positive
reinforcement methods generally teach by
manipulating the good things in a dogs life, (sit
and you'll get to go on a walk, stop barking and
I'll pet you). Teaching this way helps create and
support a dog-owner relationship that is based on
mutual enjoyment, trust, and respect, and we think
that is the most important thing.
Second, we like a dog training and behavior
book that understands that dogs are dogs. Many
people have an idealized and unrealistic idea that
‘good’ dogs are like Lassie, and that dogs who get
into mischief are ‘bad’. But if left to their own
devices, dogs naturally bark, urinate on stuff,
chew, chasing anything that moves, dig, growl and
bite. It is not helpful for a dog behavior book
to tell you that something is wrong with your dog
if he exhibits these normal dog behaviors; the
real problem is that these behaviors are not
appropriate in a human world. For Other Living
Things believes a good dog behavior book
acknowledges normal dog behavior and teaches you
how to prevent or modify unwanted behaviors using
positive methods. We find that just about
every book that meets those two standards is a
great book. So go ahead and choose your book with
confidence.
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