Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 56
 How to raise a puppy you can live with May 16, 2007
BLee (Kalispell, MT USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A great book for begginers. Recommend reading it prior to getting a new puppy. It's simple positive training techniqes are a must. Will help you pick out the perfect puppy for you!
Required reading for my new puppy parents May 13, 2007
R. L. Sanford (Elizabeth, CO United States)
I found this book to be an easy read with lessons broken down into bite sized pieces. he format will be quite helpful in guiding my new puppy parents in helping develop their dogs into good canine citizens.
 Outdated, with Some Good Tips March 3, 2007
Lee Charles Kelley (New York City)
19 out of 26 found this review helpful
On page two of HOW TO RAISE A PUPPY YOU CAN LIVE WITH you'll read the following: "All the qualities we admire in the dog come from the prey drive of the wolf." If you're like me, when you first read that sentence you'll be excited to read more. Unfortunately, after that bright beginning, things begin to go downhill, and we're back into the old hash of dominance hierarchy, who's the pack leader, etc. In fact very little of the real wolfiness of dogs is actually admired or celebrated in this book; more often it's punished or ignored! (For a book that really celebrates the dog's genetic origins read NATURAL DOG TRAINING by Kevin Behan.)
This book was originally written in 1981, hence the blurb on the back: "Did you know that puppies go through critical periods?" The trouble is, they really don't. Yes, that was the thinking back in 1981, but most trainers and behaviorists (except Ian Dunbar, who you'd think would know better) are no longer calling these developmental stages "critical periods". They're now referred to as "sensitive periods". And when are trainers going to stop focusing on the idea that since at about 12 - 14 wks. a puppy's brain waves are the same as an adult's, this proves they're ready for training, and you have to start them as early as possible? The authors contradict this idea themselves when in a later chapter they explain that the adolescence phase causes a puppy to stop listening to and obeying his owner. (Why train them so early if they're going to stop listening and obeying at 6 mos.?) Besides, a big part of training is about teaching the dog how to control and focus his emotions, and a puppy's emotions develop at a slower pace than his nervous system does.
Another example of outdated thinking is the constant reference to dominant and submissive behaviors, which we now know are based on stress (the alpha theory came from studies in the 1930s and 40s that were done on wolves held in zoos and sanctuaries, who were behaving in an unnatural manner that was a direct result of living under the stress of captivity). We now know that dominance and submission are not real, and as such are not part of a dog's natural behavioral repertoire. They're more rightly described as "threatening" and "non-threatening" postures; they're simple emotional signals, not indications of rank and status. And I don't know why the authors would still include an appendix on "temperament testing", which is no longer considered valid by anyone who knows anything about canine behavior. (And some of those old temperament tests done on puppies are downright mean, if not cruel!)
Speaking of people who don't know anything about canine behavior, it seems that the authors have done some updating of the text since 1981, which I assume is the reason for a section on Karen Pryor and clicker training that takes its place alongside recommendations for punishing a puppy with a shake can or a spray bottle, which Pryor and other modern trainers don't use. But to me, the mere fact that they've made Karen Pryor out to be an expert on dog training when she doesn't know the first thing about dogs, is indicative of how badly thought-out and how under-researched this book really is. If the authors had really done their homework, they'd know that clicker-training causes hyper-anxiety in some dogs, and increases food-related behavioral problems, such as scavenging and counter-surfing.
Still, there are numerous sections in HOW TO RAISE A PUPPY that are right on the money. I love that part of the goal here is to give uninformed, new dog owners the tools necessary to stick with their pup through the difficult stages of learning. That gets a gold star. Unfortunately, there aren't enough good points here to totally outweigh the bad, at least not for me. It's a fairly good reference tool as long as you ignore some of the mistakes I've mentioned, so I give it three stars total.
Excellent manual for training your new puppy January 17, 2007
Keven Davenport (Lawrenceville, GA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As a new dog owner, I found this book to be an excellent source of information regarding training techniques. We contine to refer to it while we are adjusting to our new pet. I would recommend it to anyone who wants an enjoyable relationship with their dog.
A must for Breeders and owners a like ! November 27, 2006
Grammy (Indianapolis, IN USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
As a Breeder for 30 years , I've bought all 4 editions of this wonderful book . I called it my " Puppy Bible " . Because of it , all my pups went to their new owners well socialized and with a copy of the book . I no longer breed, but am on a dog forum and constantly recommend it .
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