Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Dogs CAN learn March 11, 2008
The book teaches many different commands at a few different levels, and as long as you have patience and are consistent with your dog, it really works. My wife and I have a stubborn mini-pin that's notorious for his rebellion, but after working with him for a few weeks using the commands and methods in this book he's become a well-behave gentledog. It's an easy read and makes it pretty easy to jump right in and start with your dog so I recommend it only if you will make a commitment to do the work. You and your dog will be much happier for it.
 Good dog training book July 12, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have several dog training books, but this is the one I lend out to friends who have children, so that the friends and their kids can read it. The idea of using your dog's name as a lead to commands, and nicknames the rest of the time is worth the price of the book. For the 16 years of my Aussie's life, whenever she heard 'Kiri...', she would look at me expectantly, because she knew what would follow would be a command (sit, stay, etc) that she would understand, rather than the 'blah, blah, blah' when I chatted with her. Another great point was training the dog to hand gestures at the same time as verbal commands. For the last two years of her life, Kiri had hearing problems, and the hand gestures really helped there. This is also an interesting read, and not a particularly difficult one either. Appropriate for tweens with good reading skills and older.
Your Dog Will Thank You! (its worth every penny) December 24, 2003
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
If you really want to learn to communicate with your dog, this is an excellent book! I agree 100% with the other positive reviews in every way. When I bought this book, I had never trained a dog before. I was not only AMAZED at how quickly I was able to find a common language with my dog, but also at how many of the classic "A-ha!" moments that my dog and I mutually shared. With this book as my guide, my dog not only obtained her Canine Good Citizen Certification, but is now also a fully trained and liscenced Therapy Dog--a great honor and accomplishment and one step down from a working Service Dog! With a common language we are able to communicate wonderfully. Also, many of the commands can be combined to string along a fully functioning sentence which is always fun! I am often asked where I had my dog professionally trained and people are always impressed that I did it all myself. With a reasonable amount of intelligence, patience, and creativity, anyone can teach their dog the basic commands. True, the author is no comedian, but who cares.
FYI, some of the more advanced commands (such as 'jump') may at first seem 'ridiculous', but I have found when I need to tell my dog that I need her to get up into a car, or onto the scale at the vet, or even just to jump up on the bed to say goodmorning (which she knows she must have permission to do) its a lifesaver. I also can't live without the command 'leave it' (invaluable!) and if you are a puppy owner, the communication 'bells' worked so well for me that housetraining took under 2 weeks! My dog still uses the windchime I have hung on my back door to tell me that she needs to go outside--something I don't always pick up on if I am on the computer. I can't say enough good things about this book!
The best book to train and have a great dog. September 4, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book promotes a consistant training program for everyone in the fmaily. You see results quickly if you are consistant with your dog. This book is also very effective in its use of positive reinforcement. I never hesitate to recommend it to a friend.
Simple - easy - powerful... get it! July 15, 2003
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is the best book I've seen on training a dog to be a great citizen of your home. It's not for the show dog/agility/retentive dog people so humorously portrayed in "Best in Show." This book teaches you, in order, the vocabulary you need to completely control your dog by voice command. This system keeps your dog from becoming confused by different people telling it to do different things in different ways with different expectations. It is absolutely amazing what you can do with your dog once you have taught it the "Twenty Magic Words" vocabulary that this book teaches.Don't discount this books short length or seemingly simple language. It's a book about talking to dogs! Of course the vocabulary is simple. If I had to choose only one book on dog training, this would be it. Highly recommended.
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