Good Dog 101: Easy Lessons to Train Your Dog the Happy, Healthy Way

5 Comments

1. KLS says:

   June 2, 2010 at 10:18 am

   As an animal lover and veterinarian, I am delighted with Good Dog 101. This book engagingly explains the essentials of behavior science. Using these sound principles, Good Dog 101 shows us how to improve our dogs’ behavior. Unlike training manuals for dogs in performance sports, Good Dog 101 aims to help you make your dog a joy to live with at home.
   
   Good Dog 101 politely debunks training methods based on personality and intuition. There may certainly be dog or horse “whisperers,” but most of us are not! We need to learn techniques that regular folks can use to educate a happy dog. Good Dog 101 also analyzes the “boot camp” approach. Methods that use harsh force and intimidation are dangerous and ineffective. Good Dog 101 provides a practical alternative. The training tips are clear, concise, and conveniently arranged.
   
   I recommend this book for the new dog owner, the “challenging dog” owner, and anyone who is curious about the fascinating world of animal behavior. If we were to use these methods with children, co-workers, and spouses, the world would be a happier place!
   
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. Sammy T. says:

   June 2, 2010 at 11:55 am

   Almost two books in one: the first an interestingly written and extremely well researched history or how and why traditional dog training is the way it is, and why it doesn’t get desired results in many cases; and second, a well organized “how-to” for all the real life issues we face with our dogs. I’ve always had an uneasy feeling about traditional dog training and its apparent base in “dog mind reading” or other ill founded theories. A lot of the traditional methods seem illogical, ineffective, or even cruel. This book brings a much needed scientific approach, AND recognizes the changing role of dogs in our families today. I feel so much better about using the methods in this book because they make scientific sense, they’re positive and non-physical, and they focus on what’s important to our family – a well behaved, well mannered, and happy dog. The fact that the methods in the book follow principals from the American Humane Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is important to me. It’s also important to learn that these groups are critical of many of the traditional methods currently promoted in the popular press.
   
   The “lessons” in the book are an easy and often humorous read, and hit all the important things – from house training to handling bad manners (chewing, barking, stealing stuff, …) to serious things like agression and separation anxiety. Each item describes the behavior, why the dogs act this way, and then one or more levels of training to remedy the situation. Our family has already worked through several of these, including potty training for an almost adult dog, and have been very impressed with the results.
   
   A few illustrations would have been helpful when describing hand signals, etc. but we followed the descriptions and still got a good result.
   
   This book should be a “Must Read” for dog owners who want a polite and happy dog, and for dog trainers who want good, scientifically based results. Our first copy is already getting dog eared (no pun intended).
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Taylor S. says:

   June 2, 2010 at 2:08 pm

   Cristine Dahl, the author of Good Dog 101, is a gem in the Seattle canine landscape. We had the opportunity to work with her personally last year during which time we witnessed her methods first hand. We have an adult dog with a bevy of behavior problems: separation anxiety, dog/dog aggression, resource guarding, improper social skills, etc. We desperately wanted to add another dog to our life but knew it was an impossibility. We were proven wrong when Cristine performed the impossible: not only did she get to the bottom of the problems plaguing our dog for ten years, but she did it safely and kindly. This summer we added another dog to our home and we marvel every day at the relationship between the two dogs and their place in our family.

   Dahl has finally put her methods on paper in this marvelous book. It is easy to read, easy to use, includes fascinating and documented information on her methods and fairly but critically analyzes those of popular others in the field (Cesar Millan for one!). I recommend this book to anyone with a dog or puppy.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Anna Raines says:

   June 2, 2010 at 2:28 pm

   I just loved this book because the author offers dog training tips for those of us that tend to pamper our dogs and have trouble doing anything that might cause us to lose that loving gaze for even a moment. It is effective training based on positive reinforcement and allows you to lavish love and affection on your pet while training for good behavior at the same time. We should all have been trained this way as children-there would be a lot less neurosis in the world.
   
   Great book and easy reading with the author’s delightful and accessible writing style.
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. Christine S. Hibbard says:

   June 2, 2010 at 3:30 pm

   This easy to read and enjoyable paperback book is a comprehensive volume that combines step by step instructions for training obedience behaviors with easy to follow instructions for solving common behavior problems that inevitably come up with owners in any obedience class or puppy kindergarten. In addition to her chapters providing step by step instructions for training behaviors such as sit, down, come, leave it, and drop, Cristine devotes a chapter to “Common Canine Behavior Problems and How To Resolve Them” which covers Potty Training, Barking, Greeting Problems, Chewing, and Stealing. The author includes chapters on Aggression, Puppies, and Geriatric Dogs, the last of which is often given short shrift in general dog training books. Geriatric dogs have special needs and issues, but as owners, we’re often in denial about why our beloved companions have suddenly started behaving “badly”. Good Dog 101 can help owners identify that the issues their geriatric dogs are having are age related (organic) and not behavior related.

   What makes this book so relevant is Cristine’s constant focus on scientific methods and animal learning theory. Her research is sound and her methods consistent with the scientific data on how dogs learn. Her chapters on the history of dog training and traditional/military style training techniques are illuminating. I don’t think I’ve ever read a dog training book geared towards average dog owners, or the training community for that matter that did such a wonderful job of documenting the history of dog training and how those out dated, military methods of dog training (and the metal collars that came with them) came into popular use in the pet dog population. This is an important historical context given the resurgence of these techniques.

   I only have two minor criticisms of this book. After the chapter detailing the military history of dog training and traditional methods, I would have preferred that those comparisons had been edited out of later chapters. Why reinforce methods we’re trying to replace with more scientific and effective methods? Secondly, in this age of YouTube and iPods, the inclusion of photographs or illustrations might have made the text more usable for some readers. Overall, however, I feel these are minor issues compared with the overall value of this book to the public consciousness.

   Cristine does an admirable job of explaining “positive” training and giving owners tools for determining whether a trainer is truly using positive methods or just using the term “positive methods” to land clients. Our congratulations go out to Cristine Dahl for making canine ethology and animal learning theory understandable to the general public in her first book.
   Rating: 5 / 5