Top 10 Dog Training Books
These are simply must-reads in no particular order.
Note: Since I'm listing them, I figured I can make them affiliate links in case someone actually decided to buy one of these.
Focus here is on Human-Dog understanding first and trick training second. Consider the "understanding" piece of the equation as a foundation upon which tricks (sit, roll over, limp, shake, etc) are built. Feel free to add your favs in the comments sections. Enjoy.
-
How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition)
How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend, an informal, friendly guide by The Monks of New Skete, is really two books in one: a step-by-step training manual and a philosophical discussion of the spiritual benefits of owning a dog. The Monks, who support their community in upstate New York by breeding and training German shepherds, reveal a profound devotion to all breeds in this detailed guide to every imaginable aspect of dog ownership.
-
Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
Karen Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and through numerous fascinating examples reveals how this art can be applied to virtually any common situation. And best of all, she tells how to do it without yelling threats, force, punishment, guilt trips--or shooting the dog.
-
The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs
Jean Donaldson's first book is quite simply the very best dog book I have ever read. It is utterly unique, fascinating to the extreme, and literally overflowing with information that is so new it virtually redefines the state of the art in dog behavior and training. Written in Jean's inimitably informal yet precise lecture style, the book races along on par with a good thriller.
-
Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems
Fans of the National Geographic Channel's The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan will be grateful for Cesar's Way, an accessible guide to help new and current dog owners better understand the needs of their beloved pets. If you are not yet a fan, try to catch a couple of episodes of the remarkable show--you will be amazed, impressed, and motivated to create a healthier, more fulfilling relationship with your dog.
-
On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals
Turid identifies what she calls calming signals: signals used by dogs to prevent things from happening, from avoiding threats from people and dogs to calming down nervousness and fear. Turid goes on to explain how dogs use calming signals, and how we, as dog owners, can use them as well with our own dogs.
-
The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs
An animal behaviorist and adjunct professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, McConnell offers sound advice for dog owners: Pay attention to your own behavior. Believe me, your dog is.
-
Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog
The star of the British television show Dogs with Dunbar has been teaching pet owners to train their dogs humanely and thoroughly for over 30 years. In this compassionate and honest volume, the veterinarian shares his definitive opinions about the way dogs should be trained.
-
The Rosetta Bone: The Key to Communication Between Humans and Canines (Howell Dog Book of Distinction)
Far too often, we humans expect our dogs to understand what we say to them. Though we may spend a lot of time talking to them, we’re really not communicating. And without proper communication, it’s impossible to train a dog properly–– let alone make your human/canine relationship a rewarding one.
-
101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog
101 Dog Tricks is the largest trick book on the market and the only one presenting full-color photos of each trick and its training steps? The step-by-step approach, difficulty rating, and prerequisites, allow readers to start training immediately.
-
Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life
Millan, television's "Dog Whisperer," says that "Even the most unobservant person can see an owner's own issues totally mirrored in his or her dogs' problems," and in this follow-up to last year's bestselling Cesar's Way, he makes that connection more explicit and exploitable. Every dog wants a "clearly defined social framework, with a fair, consistent pack leader"; chances are good, then, that behind every unruly dog is an inconsistent human.
Bonus:
How to be the Leader of the Pack...And have Your Dog Love You For It.
Learn how to love your dogs without spoiling them and provide boundaries without intimidation. This dog training booklet clarifies how to be a benevolent leader and avoid aggression related to fear or dominance. If you want to be a natural leader to your pack and teach your dog that being polite is fun, this booklet tells you how to do it in a peaceful, kind way.
Comments 14 Comments
Is there something that makes Culture Clash special? (I'm contemplating reading it....)
You like the Ceasar Millan books? I've watched his show... not the biggest fan of some of the methods, but also not about to bash him for not subscribing to exactly what I believe in when it comes to training. Would one find something in his books that one couldn't find in any old training book that would make it worth the read? (I'm assuming yes because he's on the list.... but still asking. XD)
We have a decent number of these books in our little "library" (overflowing bookshelf that needs organized...)
Hmmm. Dang it. Now I feel an even bigger need to poke at your brain. Quit being so interesting, seriously. =P
-JJ
There is tremendous value in Cesar's books. Certain type of people with certain types of dogs will find them extremely helpful. Other folks might find them not so useful....different strokes as they say :-)
Three books in this collection stand out: 1x Monks of New Skete and 2x Cesar Millans. These authors/publishers are now widely discredited among dog professionals and behaviour scientists for their continued propagation of the apocryphal pack theory. The founding principle of these books are diametrically degrees opposed to the rest of the books in the feature.
I don't mean to be critical, but I had to speak out.
I think whats more important is that all of these volumes have a ton of great information as well. We dont have to agree or do everything we read in it, but its always a good thing to know what others know....if that makes sense :-)
Have you read books by Cesar Millan and Monks? I only ask because boiling them down to the pack theory is unfair to the great amount of information provided by both...
In fact, I was going to include a book by William R. Koehler. Not because I agree with his methods, but because there is a ton of valuable information in his books despite individual techniques.
I hope this makes sense and Im certainly glad you commented.I think this is a conversation worth having.
See you soon :-)
Yes, I've read them when I had to write something on traditional and modern theories. Researched Koehler quite a bit too. Am relieved you didn't include it.
The 3x books are definitely not all bad. Mr Milan's approach, for example, with the calm/assertive thing, and the emphasis on giving dogs enough exercise. I also like the rags to riches background story. It makes for an entertaining read. Aaaaand, kind of irrelevant in book format, but I really find him kind of cute with that smile of his ; )
So sure there is good in there (and there is bad in the other books), but some of the central points are so flawed (e.g. interpreting every behaviour and its brother as the dog trying to dominate you) that they discredit the whole book as a reliable source of information on dog training.
Another point if you'll allow me. I find the branding of "How to be your dog's best friend" and 'the Dog Whisperer" misleading for proponents of traditional training methods (thus on the less gentle end of the continuum in comparison many of their contemporaries).
I am dedicating much of my energy trying to educate the public about dog-related facts, and particularly about the long-discredited, but clinging, pack theory. So I shudder each work traditional work gets promoted, especially from such influential sources, as it is having a retrograde effect on the public's understanding of dogs.
My personal fave in this list? J. Donaldson's the Culture Shock. It also has its drawbacks (structure and scope are really loose, in my opinion), but I love that it tries to draw on facts and science.
Sorry to be so kantankerous (no idea how you spell this, LOL), but I am passionate about this subject.
Oh, and, again, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your lists. Lists are a fab format for the web. Great work on keeping the blog full of them!
If there is contest for the best phrase anyone ever said regarding dogs it has to be "retrograde effect on the public's understanding of dogs" lol...nicely worded :-)
Are you on Dog Trainer 2.0 with us? (see links on the right hand side). Consider this an invite :-)
But Donaldson, McConnell and Pryor are very, very great! ;-)