Customer Reviews:
 Great book for all breeds July 27, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book focuses mainly on very independent or dominant dogs. However, the methods shown can be used with all dogs. The main idea throughout the book is that the biggest reason for a lack of success is a lack of leadership on the owner's part. Dogs who don't respect you as alpha, or leader, will not follow through on commands or behave in an especially polite manner. He thinks he's the boss, so really you ought to be listening to him.
One thing I really liked about this book was that the author used her own bulldogs as examples. I know from experience that bulldogs are sweet, but difficult to train. If she can earn titles on a bulldog using these methods, I have faith it will work for my dog (a Cane Corso).
The first few chapters cover dog behavior, equipment & logistics, becoming alpha of your "pack", body language, rewards, and treats. Chapters 7-13 cover various specific exercises: attention, sit, down, stand, etc. They are all very in depth, discussing why the behavior is useful and how it can be used in the real world. She also goes over exactly how to teach your dog the exercise, the steps to having the end result (ex. basic heeling to competition level heeling), and some common problems you might encounter. The last chapter covers competition and how to get the best performance out of your dog.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was the high reliance on food and bait. She does cover other methods of rewarding and how to develop a reward system, but throughout the book she relies on food extensively for nearly all of the exercises.
Overall this is a great book for all breeds, but especially those who like to push the envelope or take charge. This book is not intended for dealing with aggressive dogs, but it will help immensely if you have a dominant dog.
Worth the money August 12, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The book had a lot of extremly useful information in it. You get a really good understanding on not only the bulldog breed but any smart independant breed. There are numerous tips on how to begin training your dog the basics like sitting, down, stay, heeling and walking on a leash. It's got a lot of good advice on how to overcome some of the alpha dominance problems you tend to have with dominant independant breeds. I wished the book would have had more information on puppy training though. A good part of the book had info you could use on any age dog but it didn't deal with the problems owners have with young pups. The books discusses how independant breeds need positive reinforcement to behave properly. The book just didn't address what to do or how to handle the difficult situations that come up with these dogs on a day to day. All in all it was very worth the money and I'm glad I have it.
Well done attempt to explain training process April 27, 2003
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
Here in the Los Angeles area of California, about 20 twenty trainers get together once a month to discuss training, help one another solve problems and to discuss a book read during the previous month.
One trainer, who specializes in classes and behavior problem solving in large and other independent breeds, such as Mastiffs, said it is the best of the big dog books; easy to read, and has found that her clients do read it and that it speaks to the owners of these dogs.
The particular challenge of dog training books is to describe a physical skill, like dancing, with the added difficulty of a non-human partner. In addition, authors often try to get some basic learning theory across to explain why or how a particular exercise is done and to give some idea of the training from the dog's point of view.
The book successfully meets this challenge for the most part. The writing is clear, and the layout is easy to follow; with "Novice Notes" through out which give personal diary-like observations of the training process. The pictures are good, some of the best I have seen, when showing owners where to place their hands to get the dog into position and, importantly, the effect on the dog when the hands are misplaced. Footwork is succinctly shown with pictures that show the right and wrong positions and how they influence the dog to position itself.
The authors give a variety of approaches, not really coming down in one camp, and they include material not found in other books.
Written in 1998, when many trainers were discovering learning theory, working out how to implement the theory in classes and how to present it to dog owners, the authors advocate the idea of "jack-pot" rewards for a really well done performance, and urge owners, when training, to adopt an intermittent reinforcement schedule. However, the consensus, at least within this group, is to not use intermittent reinforcement schedules (in other words: reward every time) and that a "jack-pot" reward may make the owner feel good, but it doesn't have much influence on the animal's learning.
This book met with approval by the group in general. Many members of the group said they would recommend it to their clients.
 Great training book! March 29, 2002
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book gives you a very good and detailed analysis of "hard to train dogs" and how to train them. It's easy to follow and fun to read. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a dog with an "attitude". :-)
 This book wont make him Lassie either July 15, 2001
10 out of 25 found this review helpful
I bought this book in the hopes that it would help solve a toy/food aggressive guarding behavior in a 30 lb dog of mine. The book instead told me how to recognize aggression. Thanks I got that already. If your dog has a real problem you will need another book.
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