by Paul Owens with Norma EckroateSince I am a big fan of The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel—he’s probably the Dr. Phil for dogs—and would even like to be a dog whisperer, I thought I should at least read some literature on the subject. This book was exactly what I was looking for and I didn’t even know it!
Most of us think that a jerk on the collar is a good correction to get the kind of behavior we’re looking for out of our dog. We use forceful no’s liberally and have the best of intentions. I’ve actually been in a dog training class where the teacher told me, “We want him to fail. That’s how he’ll learn.” Owens begs to differ.
Owens teaches a purely compassionate approach to dog training that is highly successful while being completely reasonable. Through his thorough explanations the reader realizes that dog training is not just about getting the right behavior from your dog, dog training is about becoming a better person. How many dog training books have you read that encourage you to do breathing and visualization exercises? This is my first and I can definitely see the merit in it. A calm, centered individual is a natural leader for anybody, including a dog.
The basics of the nonviolent approach are lots of rewards—either as praise, treats or fun activities, consistency, gradual increase in difficulty and ignoring and/or saying something like "oops" when incorrect behavior occurs. This is the first book I’ve read that recommends “the clicker method” where you click a small device every time the correct behavior occurs. It’s a Pavlovian method and it works as a reward. Owens explains it in detail.
The first part of the book explains the basics of dog training including his nonviolent approach, ways to raise your dog to be the best he can be, and how to communicate with your dog most effectively. I read this part in its entirety. The second part explains in detail lessons to teach commands like sit, stay, stand, lie down, etc. This part I skimmed because it was so much to remember I figured I could read it when I wanted to use it. The final part focused on dealing with behavior problems. I skimmed this as well because my dog has stopped eating the walls and digging up the lawn, for the most part.
I would recommend buying this book and not borrowing from the library like I did because it is an excellent reference source and morale booster. However, if you are going to seriously train your dog I would also recommend a class or group who can keep you motivated because training can get weary since it is so repetitive. It’s best to have the book as well as someone to share your successes with.
Length of time to read cover to cover: approximately 6 weeks
General consensus: Extremely useful and easy to read
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