Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 107
 Paul Loeb is a brilliant dog trainer. January 20, 2006
Patricia Stone (New York, New York)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
My 5 pound, 3 year old toy poodle has a great personality. My only major problem with her was that she wouldn't come when called. I bought Paul Loeb's book and followed his advice. I used his magic touch technique with a rolled up sock. Katie, my dog, looked surprised and came right to me. I did it one more time - problem solved! Katie hated dog food. "It's not fit for human consumption so why should I eat it?" she seemed to say. Now she eats a well balanced diet of protein, vegetables, fruit and grains and loves it. Since she eats what I eat, I'm eating better because of her. Her weight is stable and she is a happier, healthier, safer, and better trained dog thanks to Paul Loeb. Whether you've owned dogs all your life like I have or you are a new dog owner, I highly recommend "Smarter,,,"
This is an excellent book. Ignore the negative review, they are ridiculour December 3, 2005
Robert D. Glover Jr. (Linden, NJ USA)
4 out of 11 found this review helpful
I personally know of a case where Paul Loeb gave advice that turned a dangerous dog that was on the verge of having to be put down, into a model dog that was so well behaved that the dog literally, and this is serious, made friends with celebrities including Martha Stewart and Peter Jennings. Obviously I am referring to incidents in Central Park, NYC.
It is absurd and utterly unhelpful for the negative reviews that I have read here, to be obsessive about writing style and ignore the great, great wisdom which Paul Loeb Imparts.
That negative reviewers here would have the crassness to "diss" Paul Loeb's utterly groundbreaking and seminal
ideas about dog training, merely because they don't like that in
his first chapter he attempts to build his credibility by extolling his own virtues, is a low blow and not worthy of even being allowed to appear here with real, serious reveals of Paul Loeb's work.
There are dangerous dogs in this world, I know for a fact. Dogs who physically hurt people. I know of such a case, and I know for an observable fact that Paul Loeb was able to turn that dog into a well behaved, completely dependable, trustworthy dog that would never, ever hurt anyone and who was happy and healthy and who had a very good dog's live.
Shame on the amateurs who cast stones at Paul Loeb because of minor blemishes in his writing style.
I urge everyone to buy Paul Loeb's books. He has dedicated his life to dogs and he knows what he is writing about. Just because he is not Ernest Hemingway is no reason to criticize his remarkable wisdom when it comes to dogs.
You CAN teach an old dog new tricks! October 29, 2005
Linda Deyoung
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Mr. Loeb's book altered my training methods five years ago, and continues to help me...and shelter dogs...today. Quickest, quietest, most humane methods I've found in a lifetime of loving and training dogs.
One fine summer Augustday in 2000--right after reading Mr. Loeb's book---I started an experiment. I stopped watching my 11-year-old dog, Spunky, listlessly nibbling at her dry, dead-on-the-shelf cardboard she'd been eating, watched her avariciously gobbling up all kinds of (balanced) people food meals. Boy, was she happy---just like me when eat fresh food instead of grapenuts every day (and grapenuts probably taste better than dry dog food, eh). Her coat and skin became shinier, and we no longer needed flea products and repellents, and had no more hot spots (and saved a bit of money too on products and vet visits).
Although Spunky already was bonded to me, I used the magic touch with her and it deescalated her extreme aggression with other dogs, which was a problem since I had adopted her 10 years before that. In fact, I used Mr. Loeb's training ways with a shelter border collie that a professional trainer was trying, not very successfully, to rehabilitate. Mr. Loeb's practical, quite humane throwing technique also helped me rehabilitate another shelter dog who was scheduled for euthanizing two years ago.
When each shelter dog responded so quickly, calmly, and trustingly to me when I used the throwing technique, it kind of breaks my heart: I am deeply touched by, and appreciative of, their considerable efforts to change, and to please. I feel so grateful to each dog who gives that to me. And it teaches me: because Hey, if a dog can change so quickly, why can't we humans do the same to change OUR bad habits, eh!
After Spunky passed on to Heaven, I adopted a Sheltie/Aussie mix who came to me after a police raid: a cruelty case. She was so terrified and undomesticated. Mr. Loeb's method, again, helped this little girl to see me as her "rock" and relax, play, and enjoy life, and enchant many people along the way.
I recently adopted a little Sheltie. Some Sheltie and Collie fanciers have told me that incessant barking is a breed-specific trait, and you can't do much about it. I have met several Collies/Shelties whose vocal cords were cut. They leap up and open their mouths and expel air, but nothing comes out. When I first considered adopting this little girl, I heard her yapping shrilly in the background, and was told she was "mouthy" (chatterbox). I felt unsure of myself. Surely, if these Sheltie and Collie breeders said so, how could I succeed? So I phoned my mentor, Paul Loeb, and asked him: Has his method trained these supposedly incurable motormouths to put a lid on it, or not? He told me the method works with Shelties, and if I liked her, go get her, and train her the way I learned from him. That's all I needed to hear.
I adopted this darling little girl last Saturday. By Monday when I left for work, she had learned that I do not LIKE barking, and she learned it with a minimum of vocal reprimand and tossing of a sock or two. She also stopped frantically scrabbling her front paws and claws on peoples' bodies (it was her way of saying "Look at me!" but it also tore clothes, scratched, and slopped dirt so I wanted her to stop that) simply by using Mr. Loeb's way of raising one knee and slowly stepping forward, and I usually mutter, "Cut that out," or something. She also stopped her nervous whining. She is much calmer and happy and playful, and seems to be enjoying her "real" food very much. I will let you know how far we go as I only have had her one week, and I am thinking she will make a wonderful therapy dog so we'll be working towards that.
Once again, though, Mr. Loeb's methods allowed me to gently and VERY quickly train a dog in the major important things (with lasting effect, I might add) during a weekend before I had to go to work.
I respect the readers who wrote negative reviews, yet can't help feeling they have missed something, or perhaps did not enact the throwing technique properly; the setting and timing for initial practice of this humane throwingis important, body and vocal language must be timed quite specifically. I read the procedure over and over, and went over it in my mind before I ever did it with my dog, and I have had 100% success in the modest number of animals I have used it with.
We all need to be careful not to allow fear or "old ways" to keep us from progressing. At the time I was given Mr. Loeb's book, I also was studying natural horsemanship. I have trained my own dogs, and the neighbors' dogs all my life, and been with horses. I am always receptive and ready to try something more humane that can bring me closer to one of God's animals, and keep them safer in my care. Mr. Loeb's method does this for me.
And an added bonus: this is no dry textbook; the helpful information and methods are presented in a writing style with anecdotes and are witty and highly amusing!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Linda DeYoung
Wayne, NJ
October 29, 2005
This book was a Real Lifesaver! October 20, 2005
Jessica (New York, NY)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I read Mr. Loeb's book over the summer and I have since changed my dogs diet according to the book's recommendation. My Golden lost 10 lbs in just two months! She is 7 yrs old and I was really concerned that her weight was going to make her age faster. I am so greatful I took a leap of faith and followed the advice in this book! I love the author's philosophy- he really helps you get into the dogs mind so that you can change their behavior very quickly because the techniques make good sense to the dog! Although some of the ideas may seem odd at first- I noticed my dog responded almost instantly. I never realized how important it is that we train our dogs in a way that THEY comprehend! We are all so caught up in what makes sense to another human, and Mr. Loeb really takes us past that to see how silly our ideas are in relation to the dogs thought process. I laughed out loud from his commentary. Ten thumbs up- If you have a dog and are looking for an effective and easy style of training- THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
 An interesting idea--but a misguided author. October 18, 2005
A. Anderson (California)
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
I was eager to read this book, long believing that dogs are much more complex than some give them credit for. I was, however, sorely disappointed.
It's not that I didn't try to enjoy the read--I just couldn't get past some of the blatantly misguided information. Loeb suggests, for instance, that we should use human products on our dogs because they've been tested, while most animal products have not. He goes on to say that we should only use human shampoo and toothpaste. I love my future pup, but I would never give him either. Human toothpaste usually contains fluoride, which vets have long known is poisonous to dogs. Human shampoo? Most dog coats, or skins really, are much more sensitive to certain ingredients than us humans. Using human-formulated shampoo would only put your pooch at risk for dry skin and rashes.
As another reviewer noted, you can grasp a dog's attention by throwing an item toward him. It also works for people, children, birds, monkeys, and, I'm nearly certain, cockroaches. There's nothing devine or spiritual about the dog's response--it's instinctual. I'm sure Loeb would give me a second glance if I hit him with a copy of his own book--but is it really the best way to connect with him? (I'm starting to think it is.)
One more note, I've learned throughout my lifetime, particularly during the college years, that a professor, or anyone for that matter, that spends the entire first lecture pounding his credentials, he/she has something to prove not only to his/her students, but to him/herself as well. Every chapter of this book begins with story after story of Loeb's successes, boasting about how miraculous his work truly is. If your ideas are sound, your work should stand for itself. A quip about your experience here and there gives you credability, but paragraph after boastful paragraph is exhausting.
If you'd like to read a book about human-dog connections, I recommend any of Jon Katz's books. If you want a training guide, pick up "Katz on Dogs." If you do insist on reading this book, be sure to supplement the drabble with hard, long-standing information from any number of repitable sources. (I'd recommend anything from the AKC). To rely solely upon Loeb's methods could be tragic for your little canine friend.
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