So Your Dog's Not Lassie: Tips for Training Difficult Dogs and Independent Breeds

The training method is nothing new, she relies on positive reinforcement using food, which is good, but you can get the same info on training in lots of other dog books. This book is recommended for trying to understand your dog's unique personality, not for the training exercises.


Best, Most Detailed training book I've read   October 24, 2000
S. McFarland (Portland, OR USA)
34 out of 34 found this review helpful

This is the first training book I've owned that really translated into results with my dog. My dog isn't a "difficult" breed (she's a border collie mix), but she is highly energetic and distractable. Most books tell you "do this and your dog will respond this way." My dog rarely did what the book said she would. "So Your Dog's Not Lassie" instead gives detailed troubleshooting, covering a bunch of different dog reactions. With the book's help I've *finally* gotten her to stop pulling on the leash when we walk. She is 9 years old. This is a real accomplishment. I have a much better understanding of the need to get her attention (there's an excellent chapter called "Earth to Dog") and how that is the key to making our training work. This book made me excited about learning and working with my dog again. I recommend it highly.


My most treasured dog training book   June 7, 2000
Gunilla Melkersson (Upplands Väsby, Sweden)
41 out of 41 found this review helpful

I am a Swedish girl teaching obedience classes and competiting in obedience. My ever-growing library of American dog training books started with this book. I stumbled across it one happy day searching for a new book to help me further on the way to making my Icelandic sheepdog (a spitz breed) Swedish Obedience Champion. I fell in love with the cover within two seconds and the contence was even better. Since then I have bought many more dog training books, with the help from "customers reviews" here on Amazon.com. I have books from the Monks, Kilcommons, Karen Pryor, Ian Dunbar, Morgan Spector, Terry Ryan, "everyone", but you know what? This is still my favourite! And, of course, it was a great help for us. She has her title now.

It may not be exactly what the ordinary dog owner (not too interested in training) is looking for, but it's absolutely perfect for someone like me, wanting to convince my free-thinking, independent dog that training for obedience competition is fun.

The book is packed with great information. It convinces you that you must BOTH be your dog's boss (without physical confrontation, of course) AND "give fat pay checks to the reluctant worker". The text is also easy to read and the photos of bulldogs and other unusual obedience breeds performing do contribute. If I could give it 10 stars, I would.


Great techniques...poor writing   December 27, 1999
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

I bought this book a couple of weeks ago, and read through Delzio and Fisher's independant dog training techniques. I've gotta say that I was really impressed with the quick results I've gotton so far. I don't classify my Westie puppies as being "independant" or "hard to train" but they definantly do have their own agendas which are different from mine. This book taught me to understand that and use it to my advantage during my training sessions, and my puppies (both of them) learned to sit, stay, and down in less than 2 weeks. They're still not perfect yet, but I can tell it won't be too much work.

The only problem I had with this book is the writing style. It was very repetitive and wordy. These two authors are excellent trainers, but definately not writers. I figure there was about 15 to 20 pages of blah blah blah to sift through to get to the real techniques and useful info that's buried beneath. But overall its a must for anyone who wants an obedient dog.