Training books

[TxDog]

Anyone suggest any good training or behaviour books?

[DiggityDogs]

definitely Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan... excellent source for behavior work.

[Stark]

I would suggest reading Culture Clash, Excel-erated Learning and progress from there. I would stay away from the "clicker books" and purely positive books. Though they are helpful in many ways as a whole the methods are unrealistic. With over twenty years of experience I find the clicker method to be the most ineffective waste of time, there are other positive methods which produce quicker results and more drive. Consider my correspondence course for a good start. school@lakewoodk9.com .

[opokki]

I too think the Culture Clash and Excel-erated Learning are awesome books. Although, I am taking a Clicker training class and I'm loving it. ;)

Here is a list of some of my favorites:

How Dogs Learn by Burch & Bailey
Don't Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor
How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks by Ian Dunbar
Click For Joy! by Melissa Alexander
How to Speak Dog by Stanely Coren
The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell
Behavior Problems in Dogs by William Campbell
The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
Dog Language by Roger Abrantes
Beginning Family Dog Training by Patricia McConnell
Outwitting Dogs by Terry Ryan

[Stark]

opokki,
While I have 1/2 of the other books you mentioned I am not familiar with McConnell. For some reason I want to think she is a purely positive trainer, is this correct? While I do use the clicker for select purposes I believe it to be ineffective beyond basic pet training. Is your training geared towards marker training exclusively or do you incorporate other methods as well? :)


TxDog

I would also suggest the following text:

Schutzhund Obedience Training In Drive-Dildei and Booth
Purely Positive Training/Companion To Competition-Sheila Booth
The Dogs Mind-Bruce Fogle
Dog Training With The Touch-Tom Rose/Dogwise
Training The Behavior-Gary Patterson/www.leerburg.com

I found Cesar's book interesting but if you're looking for real training info it's a waste. :eek: You can pretty much sum it up as: exercise, discipline and affection in that order according to Cesar. You're not going to find any training methods if that's what you're looking for.:(

[luv4gsds]

I hope you don't mind if I add my two cents to the list lol.

*The Other End of the Leash- by Patricia McConnell
*On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals- by Turid Rugaas
*How To Be The Leader Of The Pack- by Patricia McConnell
*Outwitting Dogs- Terry Ryan
*Behavior Problems In Dogs- William E. Campbell
*Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence- Carol Lea Benjamin
*No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way- by Barbara Woodhouse

[DiggityDogs]

yeah- cesar's book is definitely not for obedience training. It's more about teaching the owner how to 'be' around their dog. I also like bruce fogel, and the vollhards.

I have one of carol lea benjamin's books and I wasn't all that impressed. It was Ok... But I'm with stark- I tend to stay away from 100% positive methods as I believe that dogs need correction every now and then. If you use treats and goodies all the time, there's always the possibility that the dog will find something else more motivating that you. I want my dog to think twice before he decides to take off after a squirrel.

[luv4gsds]

I loved reading Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence- Carol Lea Benjamin its a great book. I have read some of Cesar Millan books and I must say I wouldn't light my fire with the paper it is written on.

[DiggityDogs]

well, everyone's entitled to their opinion. I had the privelage of seeing cesar at an IACP conference last march and got to meet and speak with him in person. He's very smart, and a great communicator with people and animals, and I wholeheartedly agree with his training philosophy. He's the first trainer i've ever spoken with that I feel truly 'gets' dogs- even beyond my capabilities of understanding. It's something I've strived for for as long as I've been training and I will continue to read, follow, and learn as much as I can from him. He is an asset to the dog training community. It's nice to hear a published author that's not afraid to not be P.C. and tell people that it's OK to say NO to your dog when he does something wrong.

[opokki]

opokki,
While I have 1/2 of the other books you mentioned I am not familiar with McConnell. For some reason I want to think she is a purely positive trainer, is this correct?

She's pretty positive but I'm not sure if she'd be considered "purely positive" or not.

While I do use the clicker for select purposes I believe it to be ineffective beyond basic pet training. Is your training geared towards marker training exclusively or do you incorporate other methods as well? :)


Actually, I didn't use a clicker much for basic training but I use it for many other things. I used it to teach my dog to spin, touch things with her nose on cue, and I use it for agility. I've also used it to get my dog to defer to me rather than to the dogs barking during class.
I use a verbal marker if I don't have a clicker handly and I use life rewards rather than just treats all the time. I use the clicker and treats to teach new behaviors and then I replace the clicker with praise and offer treats less frequently and in combination with life rewards.

[suki]

one I really like is,
"The Rosetta Bone", by Cheryl S. Smith
she's big into positive reinforcement, and is GREAT about replying back if you have any questions.
not sure how many would term it as training, per se, but it's a great book to help with communication and solving common problems.

[Stark]

TxDog,
I wanted to finally give you a complete list of books and videos I have found to very excellent resources. This is list of the books/videos past and present that I have studied over the years:
The Intelligence Of Dogs:Stanley Coren
Petspeak:
How To Speak Dog: Stanley Coren
The Dogs Mind: Bruce Fogle
The Knowledge OF Dog Behavior: Clarence Pfaffenberger
Excel-Erated Learning: Pamela Reid
Culture Clash: Jean Donaldson
Cesar's Way: Cesar Milan
It's Not The Dog It's The People: Nicole Wilde
One On One: Wilde
The Power Of Positive Dog Training: Pat Miller
Schutzhund Obedience Training In Drive: Gottfried Dildei, Sheila Booth
Purely Positive Training,Companion To Competition: Sheila Booth
Dog Training With The Touch: Tom Rose
Training The Behavior: Gary Patterson
Schutzhund: Susan Barwig, Stewart Hilliard
Training Your Dog The Step By Step Manual: Volhard and Fisher
Lend Me An Ear: Martha Hoffman
Skijor With Your Dog: Hoe-Raitto, Kaynor
Water Dog: Richard Wolters
K9 Search And Rescue: Gerritsen/Haak
Training The Disaster Search Dog: Shirley M. Hammond
Right On Target: Mandy Book, Cheryl S Smith
Agility Traing/Excelling At Dog Agility Book 1&2, Jane Simmons-Moake
Introduction To Dog Agility/Having Fun With Agility: Margaret H Bonham
Introduction to the Royal Dutch Police Dog KNPV-Training Program
The Complete Set of the William Koehler Method OF Dog Training
Saunt Frances Puppy Raiser Manual

The following videos are excellent and may be purchased on line:
Leerburg Productions;
Basic Dog Training: Ed Frawley
Competition Heeling: Tom Rose
The Forced Retrieve: Tom Rose
Grip Drive Focus; Bernard Flinks
First Steps Of Bite Training: Ed Frawley
Defense Training: Ed Frawley
Agility
Training Narcotic Detection Dogs: Ed Frawley
Training Competition Tracking Dogs: Ed Frawley

An excellent video using positive methods is "The Game" Ivan Balabanov, available from Dogwise.
For the retriever trainer-Beginning and Advanced Training For Your Retriever: Mike Mathiot

All of these resources continue to be available at this time, the Koehler books are somewhat expensive since they've become collector items.

Hope this is helpful.