Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 23
 short but sweet February 4, 2008
Patrick Carlin (Fort Myers, FL United States)
The Canine Good Citizen approaches dog training from the perspective that a person would like their dog to be able to pass the Canine Good Citizen Test. It takes you through the training and techniques necessary for a dog to pass this test which also provides a foundation for a well trained dog in general. It's short, simple, and one of the best dog training books around. All the basics are covered here and it's an excellent book for someone who doesn't want to be overwhelmed with too much information.
 Helpful January 19, 2008
Robin Hood
Good resource. Offers practical tips as well as things every dog owner should know about how their dog responds and communicates. I've had dogs all my life and I still learned very helpful information on dog training and to train your dog without confusing him/her or sending mixed messages.
Best book I've read on teaching manners to the family dog June 21, 2007
R. Rice (TX USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This little volume is pure gold. Some may criticize this book as not being advanced enough, or not containing new information - they are missing the point. Ultimately this is a book about educating people about how to help their dogs learn good people manners.
While the context is preparing for the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen test, really this book is for any dog owner. If you have a family dog that needs a little help in learning good people manners, this is the book for you. If you are already involved in competitive dog sports, such as obedience trials or have experience in dog training, this book has not really been written for you.
The Canine Good Citizen test involves 10 individual tests, all of which allow the dog to show that she well mannered in everyday situations. For example two of the tests include the dog must sit politely while being petted by a stranger, and walk politely on leash through a crowd.
Whether you ever test your dog or not, teaching these skills to your dog will result in a dog that is well behaved, a joy to be around. Isn't that what everyone really wants for their family dog?
For me, the best parts of the book are those that coach you on how to work with your dog, how to understand the dog's psychology - how dogs learn. This has been invaluable to me. Early in the book, the authors introduce the idea that dogs are, of course, pack animals. Our human family becomes their pack, and someone has to be the leader of the pack. For everyone's sake, the leader of the pack must be one of the people - not the dog. The Volhards help you understand how to be the pack leader. This is not hard to do and certainly does not require you to be unkind to your dog. Our dog has learned these lessons well enough that she even cheerfully takes commands from our 3 1/2 year old son.
There is plenty of good advice here about preparing for the actual CGC test and what to expect. If passing the CGC test is your goal, the easiest approach is to enroll yourself and your dog in a hands on obedience class and use this book as the companion text book you almost won't get otherwise.
For those without ready access to obedience classes, this book does provide guidance on how to train your dog by yourself. Having been through several obedience classes with our dog, I believe that if you followed the Volhards' advice carefully - and actually practiced the skills as they suggest - you really could train your dog on your own using this book.
I have set myself a challenge - to have our family dog (a 2 year old shelter rescue Australian Shepherd mix) take and pass the CGC test at the local dog show in about a month. As the local dog show is VERY large, this will be an extremely distracting environment and a real challenge for our dog. I am convinced that when our dog takes the test she will pass. This book has helped me understand how to get her ready and how to help her be pretty much the perfect family dog.
In the year-and-a-half since the kids wore me down and convinced me we really "needed" a dog, I have bought several dog books and skimmed many more at bookstores and libraries. This is the one book I would enthusiastically recommend for any dog owner in the early stages of teaching good manners to their dog, even if they never plan on having their dog take the Canine Good Citizen test.
Great stuff, and highly recommended.
Update - our dog has now taken, and passed the Canine Good Citizen test. I am still convinced that the Volhard's book is great stuff. Their advice equipped me to teach our dog to be a well mannered member of the family. Following their advice, she aced the test.
Easy read, straight-forward, good images = good book! July 31, 2006
Emily E. Brown (Northern CA, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I just received this book a few days ago, but sat down and skimmed it cover to cover. I realized a few things that we were doing with our 4 month old GSD puppy that we should change. The book was easy to understand. The drawings/images help demonstrate proper techniques. There is a great 8-week training schedule to help get any dog trained and manageable. The book also goes over the elements of how a dog is tested for the Canine Good Citizen test and ways to approach the 10 different elements to prepare him/her for the examination. Additionally, it lets you know what you can or cannot do during the test - such as constant verbal contact with the dog being acceptible and no use of food for motivation. I'm excited to start this training and hopefully get our girl her CGC certification.
What every dog should read! June 12, 2006
S. Grundfest (New York)
This is an excellent primer for teaching your dog good manners and was very helpful when I began teaching my dog, Coco, to be a pet assisted therapy dog.
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