The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy - and Well-Behaved Dog

I had a few issues with the extreme expectations he had. I read this book shortly before adopting my 8 week old little rescue mutt. The first issue I had is his mentality about choosing the "correct" puppy, and really he's speaking on the fact that one should purchase a puppy from a breeder to be sure you have chosen the correct "qualities". Unfortunately- many people like myself prefer to rescue puppies, regardless of what their breed and qualities are. According to Dr. Dunbar, if you do not "choose" the correct qualities in your puppy you risk having a dog with a behavioral issue (aka a defective dog). My puppy was dropped off at a high kill shelter with her 4 sisters and they are the definition of mutts. There is no way to really know what her true breeds are without some DNA testing. It could be likely that she has qualities that according to him, would make her an unsuitable pet. The idea that one should cherry pick your puppy to possess the exact qualities you want is insane, and does a disservice to the dog rescue community.

After reading it I had a mentality that was like "IF I DONT DO THIS RIGHT SHE WILL BE A HORRIBLE PUPPY AND SHE WILL END UP IN A SHELTER AND NO ONE WILL WANT HER". The expectations seem extreme, and he puts an emphasis on the fact that if these steps are not taken, your dog will be a problem. His method of using positive reinforcement is fantastic of course, but I do not believe it should be a "Dr. Dunbar's way or the highway" type of situation.

His recommendation on socialization was a good one, but again extreme. Inviting people over for a "puppy party" seemed a bit much, as I'm certain most of my friends and family could care less about setting aside specific time to come over to see the puppy. I did my best to get her to meet as many people as possible (was it 100? no probably not, but quite a few). And she seemed to turn out quite fine. Shes 3.5 months now and LOVES people and children and other dogs.

Another issue I had was his suggestion to feed the puppy her food by way of rewards or through a kong toy. My puppy has been off of kibble and a BARF diet since she was 8 weeks old. You can't exactly feed chicken necks and liver in small pieces to a dog that way. While earning it is good, partitioning it throughout the day is not feasible for someone who chooses not to feed their dog processed dog kibble. Secondly, he assumes that all dogs will continue to try and get their food out of their kong once they can no longer reach it. My puppy would lick it until she couldn't reach the food anymore and then gave up. This kept her occupied for about 2 minutes. I tried over and over again but she was uninterested once she could no longer reach it.

I did not follow 100% of the recommendations and took a "looser" approach to her training. So far she is very well behaved, she is exercised regularly, hasn't destroyed any furniture, shoes or other non-dog toy items. She is not possessive over her food or toys, she greets people, children and other dogs with happy kisses and tail wagging. She can bark and stop barking on command. She enjoys her crate and sleeps the entire night. Shes fully potty trained and can go on command. She always stays nearby when off leash and knows her boundaries. I would say she turned out okay so far, and I did not have to follow some of these strict recommendations. I believe with patience and effort, you can develop your dog into exactly the dog that you want but it does require work.

I likely wouldn't recommend this book to anyone else. I believe there are others that emphasize the importance of positive reinforcement without such unnecessary strict guidelines.

The author has very strong opinions about some training, so take this book with a grain of salt. But it is useful as a prep for getting a puppy. I wasn't a fan of the own ten-bajillion Kongs idea until we brought our puppy home and she ate too quickly, so we opted to follow his suggestion of feeding from Kongs. This is a short read and has some useful ideas, read this along with a few other puppy raising books and you will be set.

What a refreshingly doable approach -doable with perfect attention and intention. Dr.Dunbar makes raising and training your dogs into consciously explaining the role of your dogs job as family member. I actually had never thought about the amount of life skills we are responsible for explaining. For example, how to greet me, how to greet my family and friends and how to greet strangers. Where should your dog sit , lay, wait while you do anything? We are supposed to tell them all and each of these things so they don't wander off and do unskilled dog things. My dogs have always done lots of unskilled things like pee, sniff and dig where ever they wanted. Not to mention wander around, chew stuff and shred stuff and bark at random times and things.
My only complaint about the book came at the end. Id read every page , nodding "yes, yes, hmmm and yes" yet at the conclusion i am not clear on all the "how to's" Now we have no more bowls of food. Lots of "sit, down, stay" feed kibbles and "good dog"s. My pack is more attentive, better behaved and sitting often, Thank you, Dr Dunbar!!!

I felt this book was very depressing and approached training in a negative way. It's all do this and you'll ruin your dog, do that and it's a huge mistake. While I understand the importance of making pet owners (especially first time pet owners) aware of the typical problems you'll experience, it was just very negative. I found "training the best dog ever: a 5 week training program" by Larry Kay to be a better book that covers much of the same things, but tells you how to fix any problems or bad habits the puppy may have.

Easy to follow training instructions with very good backgound information to help understand training with rewards and treats. Recommend for anyone wanting to train a dog for a trusting companion pet!!

Just finished reading this book in preparation for our puppy, who we'll be getting in a couple of weeks, thus, I can't comment on how well any of these ideas work. That being said, Dunbar makes training your puppy sound ridiculously easy, and I only hope it's half as trouble-free as he suggests. I wish there were a little more in the book about house training.

Invaluable resource for anyone considering a puppy, or those who have already brought home their pup and only now realized that they could use some information and guidance on how to socialize, potty train, crate train, and trick-train their new buddy (among many other helpful lessons, for both human and dog.) If you are getting a puppy, get this book first, and listen to Dr. Dunbar's advice. It will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.

Everything this author explains is 100% correct, or at least it has been for the new Labrador Retriever I got. We were headed straight into disaster until I found this book when my puppy was 11 weeks of age. We are now pretty darn happy. Everyone should read this BEFORE getting a puppy!

Book was interesting with a different approach than I would have expected. Will pick and choose to meet my goals with what works best for me. I would say it was definitly worth buying. This book was recommended by the breeder I got my girls from.

Fabulous guide to preparing for training your puppy. Our's comes home next week so we'll see how well his recommendations work, but it all appears to have a sound methodology so we are feeling positive and well prepared

Mostly decent advice, but not worth how frustrating this is to read compared to other equally helpful dog training guides. I wish he would've applied his positive reinforcement tactics while writing this book. Guess he saves up all his positivity for dogs :)

I think this book has some good tips, but the tone of it is condescending. It always sounds like he's angry at me personally and assumes I'm a terrible dog owner and will eventually send my dog to the pound. I get where he is coming from, but I am just trying to train my own puppy...I'm not necessarily interested in the welfare of dogs in general at this point, and definitely not interested in hearing him complain. His attitude might be motivating for some people, but for me it was discouraging, especially because he also has very high expectations for puppy behavior.

Which brings me to my other main issue: his stern requirements are unrealistic. For example, only adopting a puppy who can already sit and lie down at a few weeks old. Seriously? What about all the puppies (most of them) who can't? And often he pretends like many of the training excerises are easier and simpler than they really are. My puppy is 12 weeks old and does not have much self control, gets distracted very easily by ANYTHING, and isn't always motivated by treats (I've tried many types). So many of the tips in here are much harder than he makes them sound. My vet says that is normal at this point, and she's the one who recommended this book in the first place.

Not any more helpful than other books or YouTube training videos. Wish I could return this.

Some very useful info, especially on expens, kongs, bite inhibition, but written in a somewhat didactic tone that was a little off-putting. And really - is one puppy puddle going to doom housebreaking indefinitely? A little looser leash would be appreciated!

Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog
This book is a must for anyone who wants to raise a well loved, trusting and well behaved dog.

Some very useful info, especially on expens, kongs, bite inhibition, but written in a somewhat didactic tone that was a little off-putting. And really - is one puppy puddle going to doom housebreaking indefinitely? A little looser leash would be appreciated!

Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog
This book is a must for anyone who wants to raise a well loved, trusting and well behaved dog.

I bought the Kindle Version and have only finished 45% of the book; I don't think I will finish it. No one wants to be treated as an idiot and that is what I feel he does to the reader!! I almost forgave him because of a couple of interesting training points he gives, but he still manages to be a verbally abusive parent brow-beating a child!! Seems one cannot believe everything/anything posted on the internet when trying to research a subject.