Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 120
 Worst Book Ever Written on Dog Training January 19, 2007
Raymond J. Shipley (La Verne, CA)
7 out of 18 found this review helpful
I purchased this book in the early seventies to train my dog. It was the worst of the worst. Finally got involved in In-Home-Dog Training and it saved the relationship between me and my dog. I also had the opportunity to go and visit Mr. Koehler at his training site. All I have to say is that I'm very sorry to hear that his book is being re-printed. His methods are very harsh and no dog deserves such treatment.
 The bible of dog training January 17, 2007
Gayle Cooley
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
This method has stood the test of time and consistently produces happy, confident, dependable working dogs when the method is used properly.
I have used this method on tough dogs, on soft dogs, and all measure of dogs inbetween, and it has worked famously with every single one.
It's a misnomer that this method is no longer used for compettition dogs. ALL of my competition dogs were trained this way, and I know countless other serious obedience competitors who also rely exclusively on this method.
If you are serious about having a well trained and happy, confident working dog, skip all the "trendy" training methods, and stick with the one that has worked for 50 years.
Harsh! December 26, 2006
J. McCroskey (Chicago, IL)
7 out of 16 found this review helpful
I read this book years ago and bought it again when I recently brought my new puppy home. I found this book to be very harsh, loaded with sarcasm, and the author nasty toward other methods of dog training. Furthermore, the author has you running out and spending a lot of money on "tools" that are unnecessary. After reading it, I threw it away. It wasn't even worth keeping on my library shelves. My dog was trained "Dog Whisperer" style (check out Cesar Milan's book!) and she's a very well trained puppy at 8 months, which just goes to show there's more than one way of doing things and you don't have to be harsh to be effective. I'm a teacher and I've found that it's not just people who grow and learn best with praise and encouragement, it works for dogs too. Skip Koehler, rent the Dog Whisperer video series, buy Cesar Milan's book, and ENJOY your dog! Training doesn't have to be harsh, just consistent.
 Things have gone too far... November 10, 2006
dog res q r (Long Island, New York)
We have gone too far. If you were to smack the hand of your precocious 5 year old just before she stuck the metal hanger in the electrical outlet, she could, if she knew the law, call 911 and report a case of child abuse. I suspect that most municipalities would ignore the call after the parent demonstrated to the responding constable that there was, in fact, no abuse going on, but who knows. In a time when an establishment can be sued for serving hot coffee that's "too hot" you can never tell.
Enter the Koehler Method.
The book uses "corrections" and not rewards. Very non-PC. That's it in a nut shell. Food versus corrections. Honestly, they both work for "most" dogs and I use both in training. And I would even go so far as to say that if it's just tricks and games that you are interested in, than go with food and forget this book. BUT if your dog pulls you down the street, if you hear yourself saying, "Fido, come... come... come... come... come... or Fido down... down... down..." then please consider the Koehler method. It could save your dog's life. (I'm assuming you won't be saying "Fido" if that's not your dog's name, but you get the idea.)
The mistake people make when they criticize any dog obedience program that uses corrections is confusing obedience with training. Obedience IS NOT training. I would never use nor would I advocate using any corrective measure on a dog that didn't know how to perform a given command. Imagine your 8 year old is learning the times table. You ask her what's 4 times 4. She says 12. You slap her in the face. Horrible. What kind of a parent are you? No, what you do is patiently go over them, using whatever works so that she learns the times table. Now change the game. She's 16 and just flunked her history test, because she didn't study. (Yes, she's smart, has had good grades and chose to play war games across the internet with her friends until 2 am instead of studying). What do you do, withhold a piece of cheese? No, you ground her. No TV, no malls, no weekend. (Assuming you are a good and caring parent.)
That's what obedience is all about. Obedience is teaching the dog to perform an action (or to stop performing an action) on command, and NOT when the dog chooses to.
First, you teach your dog an action. You do this patiently, in short lessons. You can use food, petting, favorite toys, whatever you want during the training phase. You want to make sure that the dog really knows what you are asking them to do (or not do).
But after you are sure they understand the command that you are asking them to perform, they need to be corrected when they don't do what they are asked to do. In fact, they actually learn to perform the action on command by not doing what they are asked to do and receiving a correction. Praise is important. Studies show that dogs don't' do things for praise. But you are going to praise your dog after the correction and AFTER they have done what they are supposed to do to eliminate any feelings of fear. And make the praise loud and clear when they've done what you ask. If your dog's ears are flat against her head and her tail is down, she is not happy. When I am working with a dog, after a correction, my intent is to get that tail wagging and her ears up (which of course is impossible for beagles, but again, you get the idea)
There is the mistaken belief that you're "hurting" the dog. Annoying the dog yes, but a properly performed correction doesn't hurt as much as it gets the dog's attention. Some dogs have problems with their esophagus, e.g. Pomeranians, so corrections with these dogs have to be done very carefully, but for the majority of dogs, their necks are quite muscular. In fact, it is the muscles of the neck that a dog uses to kill it's prey by forcefully whipping it back and forth and ultimately breaking it's prey's neck or spine.
I mentioned "properly performed" corrections. Anything done poorly produces poor results. The Koehler Method is simply a collection of descriptions of technical actions that have been used on thousands of dogs. It is these descriptions that are the entire purpose for reading the book.
Ask any K9 officer how his dog was trained. Food is not a reliable obedience technique. Period. Especially for recall (the official name for "come.").
Why do I mention this to people who just have pets? The entire reason, the ONLY reason to buy this book is to protect your dog. If you live in the city or the suburbs and your dog can wander out into traffic, then you need the dog to be obedient.
On the other hand, if you live on a hundred acre farm, your dogs are smarter then most (and won't run in front of your tractor as your tilling the fields or mowing the lawn and you really just want your dog to learn how to do back flips, play dead, or bring your slippers, this book won't be for you.
One more thing. There are techniques Koehler suggests for "misbehaving" dogs that I won't use. I am sure they will work, but I choose not to do them. I can live with some mischief. (My dogs love moving my hand when I am typing - I pet them, tell them to stop and of course, they don't.)
And while I am at it, let me be clear about "most." Most methods work on most dogs and that goes for the Koehler method, as well. But there are certain dogs that it won't work on. You probably won't have one of those, but if your dog is people aggressive, even slightly, or your dog is fearful, you need a professional. For those dogs, you need an animal behaviorist. Check out http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/CAAB_directory.html
This is pretty much the only obedience book you'll ever need. And I unabashedly recommend it even in this current environment of political correctness. So read all about learning how to teach your dog how to walk peacefully on a lead, the "automatic sit" (which appears amazing to people), turns to the left and right, stay, down, and the long down. Skip the chapter on the throw chain and pick up on the "light line" which introduces recalls and commands from a distance.
If your dog does all of these on command, she will be happy and you will be happy...and you can even get a diploma from the AKC when "Fido" passes the Good Canine Citizen test. http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/program.cfm
Save the cheese for you.
All other books pale in comparison. September 24, 2006
Henry Lamb (hlamb88937@aol.com) (Miami, Fl)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I first read Koehler in 1979. I didn't get where he was coming from at first. Then on one page about how to use the leash and choke collar, "I got it." From that point on I found myself able to train and control my dog without pain. I recently used it on my papillon. Within several weeks he would come from any distance when called, and walk on heal without a leash.
I have read some people say that his techniques are cruel. What is cruel is that I read stacks of dog training books only to come back to Koehler's basic chapter on getting the dogs attention. What is cruel is having a dog hit by a car because he won't return when called. Read any book you want, just make sure to come back to this one...all else seems to be fluff.
|
