Having a dog can certainly enrich your life, but having a dog that refuses to listen can be a huge pain. Who wants a puppy that lies down when you ask it to come or chews up the legs on your brand new couch? I, for one, do not. Training your dog is a difficult, but necessary process. Thankfully, there is an entire library worth of books on the topic to help you out.
The Best of the Best
The top selling dog training book on Amazon.com is Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar’s Way to Transform Your Dog… and Your Life by Cesar Millan, aka the Dog Whisperer. Cesar Millan is known for his uncanny, almost spooky, way of connecting with dogs, figuring out their behavioral problems, and training them into obedience. Cesar believes that a dog’s behavior is a direct reflection of the owner - if you are an inconsistent owner, then you will have a dog with inconsistent behavior (Who asked him anyway? Sniff.). He endorses becoming a strong “pack leader” with a calm and assertive attitude. Better said, it is his belief if you know that you’re the boss, then you’re dog will know too. In his book, Cesar teaches you how to achieve this mind set.
“The Art of Raising a Puppy” by the Monks of New Skete is another great dog training book. The monks of New Skete, a monastery in New York, have been breeding and training dogs for over 20 years. This book focusing on the crucial first 3 months of a puppy’s life and how early bonding and training are essential. While there are the normal step-by-step guides to different training techniques, the book also explores the root of common puppy problems and treating the cause of the problem rather than the behavior.
Probably the biggest training problems that owner’s have with their dogs is house training. “How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days” teaches dog owners how to tackle this problem in just one week. The book endorses positive reinforcement and reward rather than punishment, and gives you daily guides to house training your dog. It also explores the difference between apartment training and house training, puppy and adult dog house breaking, and potty training for dogs that will be left home alone for extended periods of time vs dogs that are mostly with their owners. It also explains how to handle common dog issues such as separation anxiety, marking territory, and house breaking setbacks.
If you are going to be at work all day or leaving your dog alone for an extended period of time, you should probably check out “Crate Training Your Dog“. Crate training is an effective training method in protecting both your home and your dog when you are out of the house. This book explains the benefits of crating your dog (both for you and the animal), why it is important to crate train, and a cohesive guide as to how to go about it. The book is pretty short and straight to the point, and while there isn’t much “fluff” to the book, it is extremely informative and helpful.
“The Perfect Puppy: How To Raise a Well-Behaved Dog” by Gwen Bailey is another great book on training your puppy. This book emphasizes recognizing potential problems before they happen and raising your dog accordingly. It also is a great guide in how to deal with anti-social behavior in your dog (advice you may or may be able to use to deal with humans, as well) and how your behavior and attitudes can, and will, affect the behavior of your dog. It also has helpful tips in dealing with common, yet still troublesome, dog behaviors, such as chewing shoes, trying to get off of its leash, and unnecessary aggression.
Patience, Patience, Patience
Training a dog can be frustrating and tedious, but if you want you and your dog to leave in a peaceful and harmonious environment, then it’s necessary to take the time and effort in training him the right way. With a little effort, a lot of love, and the help of these guides, you should have your dog behaving like the little angel that you know he is in no time.
Subscribe to the Stylepup feed | Follow Stylepup on Twitter
Share This Post
Related Articles
Sugarrae runs on the Thesis WordPress Theme
If you’re a blogger looking for a professional prescence but don’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give a ton of functionality that you wouldn’t be able to obtain otherwise with a simple control panel. With the incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks, you can easily make your blog stand out from the crowd.
Thesis allows bloggers to make more professional customizations than they may have ever deemed possible due to lack of coding knowledge. The theme allows me to run Sugarrae more professionally, with a focus on monetization that is more targeted than I’ve ever been able to achieve with a theme before. You can find out more about Thesis below:
Indoor Dog Houses | Outdoor Dog Houses | Insulated Dog Houses
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }