The Power of Positive Dog Training

Rusty is a rescue from Mississippi shipped to a local shelter here in San Diego. He is now a very powerful and athletic 60 lb two year old. When we adopted Rusty at 7 months old he wasn't house trained, was fearful and aggressive to most people, and had no idea how to play with other dogs. He was terrified of doors, hoses, and vacuums. When frightened, he would dart in, bite, and then dart away which made him dangerous. I immediately enrolled in a traditional "positive" training class, which used force training. The "positive" aspect was praise after the dog complied. If the dog didn't comply, he was forced using the leash and a pinch collar. Rusty freaked out at my attempts, and even more so at the trainers attempts to get him to lie down. The trainer's solution was to apply more force, putting Rusty into a mindless panic. Not wanting Rusty or the trainer to get hurt, I withdrew from the class and looked for a more effective approach. I discovered Pat Miller in the bibliography and recommended reading sections of several dog training books by animal behaviorists, especially Patricia McConnell and Jean Donnalson (I highly recommend both). Pat Miller's approach is clear, scientific, sensible, and highly effective for ALL types, sizes, and ages of dogs. One of her points, that I agree with, is that there are no vicious or "difficult breeds" of dogs. All dogs (and people) live to please themselves, to maximize reward and minimize punishment. Using reward almost exclusively to change behavior 1) is powerful because you can associate the reward consistently with the target behavior in the dog's mind, 2) results in quick learning depending on the trainer's skill in communicating to the dog, 3) builds the dog's loving relationship with the trainer, 4) results in a balanced, calm, and confident dog, and 5) is fun. In contrast, punishment 1) is not very effective because it's hard to associate the punishment with the target behavior (e.g. to a dog yelled at or hit for being on the sofa, "is he mad at me because I'm standing by the window, or because he's dangerous and unpredictable?"), 2) usually results in learning the wrong lesson (e.g. only go on the sofa when the owner isn't present) 3) creates a fearful and mistrustful relationship with the trainer, 4) results in a fearful, sneaky, neurotic dog (putting easily aroused dogs into the danger zone for attacking), and 5) isn't fun. The book is well organized, well written, and is all you need for a comprehensive training program. Rusty has learned remarkably quickly using Pat Miller's approach. He walks well on and off leash, comes when called, likes people and other dogs, plays acceptably well (it's hard to completely correct for no socialization as a puppy), knows many tricks, is well behaved, and loves and trusts me and my wife. He loves to learn because it's fun and he always gets what he wants when he learns (a treat and a stoke). I love to teach him because it's fun, because I love him, and I get what I want, which is a happy and well behaved big athletic dog. Other books will help you understand dogs and the relationship between dogs and people better, but for training this is the only book you need. You and your dog will be happy if you follow Pat Miller's approach.

No more choke chains, no more yelling. The last time we had puppies was almost 30 years ago. The puppies were taught with choke chains, correction jerks, and loud, assertive commands. I hated it and was never very good at the training methods we were taught, but these methods were considered the only way to show a dog who is boss and get obedient behavior back then. The puppies eventually learned and behaved fairly well. They lived into their teens, and then we got our first adult shelter dog, an already well-trained dog with beautiful manners whom we loved dearly until she died too early from malignant melanoma. When we brought Jazmine home from the shelter, it was another experience altogether. She had been a stray and in the shelter system for a while. She came to one of our local shelters on a lab rescue program--she is part lab and part ??? She was around two years old, and very active, but a challenge. Fearful at first, she eventually relaxed into a bit of a wild child--very sweet but a handful. Fortunately, the shelter gives a one hour home visit from their trainer who uses positive training methods. She taught us the very basics, and we attended her classes. Jazmine has too poor an attention span to do well around other dogs, but we wanted to continue the training at home, so she recommended this book. I was so happy not to have to deal with choke chains, yelling and jerking the dog. I was amazed to see Jazmine learn things immediately, with soft, calm commands and a gentle, positive approach. The book is great. It explains the theory behind the approach so well, that I was later able to apply the principles to some of the behavioral challenges Jazmine presented. She loved to steal things, especially socks and run into the other room to chew on them. We would chase her and grab the object, and you could see the little wheels turning in her head while she decided what object would be next. Using what I learned from the book, I analyzed what reward she was getting from this behavior. I finally realized how much she loved the chase and attention. So the next time she stole an item, I totally ignored her. She came back with the object to taunt me--"lookie what I have!" she seemed to say. I ignored her. She dropped the item and went to lie down in a corner of the family room with a puzzled look on her face. We have learned to chase her only when she has her own toys, she loves that. Now, when she wants a chase, she chooses her own toys and leaves our stuff alone. I didn't have to yell, punish, or swat--all things we would have been told to do by trainers in the "old days". I enjoyed the chapters and worked through them with Jazmine. She seemed to really enjoy the training sessions as well. We used clicker training at first, but were gradually able to move away from that. Now a simple "yes" will do most of the time and we don't have to carry a pouch of treaties either. Unfortunately, there are still certain behaviors she will only do with a treat--more my fault than the method's I think. We lent the book to a neighbor who brought home a new puppy, and I'd like to get it back so I could learn more. I buy this book for friends and relatives with new puppies and they give it good feedback as well.

I've read this book a few times now because I keep coming back to sections, and so far it is working great! Seeing your dog's eyes light up with recognition when he gets it right and hears the click is really something, and you know you're working towards your goal! My puppy learned sit and his name in a day no problem, and crate training is to the point where I can close and latch the door, and walk around the house for a while without him getting upset. When I get back, CLICK, treat! Going well. As for criticisms, it mostly comes down to the fact that there is not enough information in there for stuff LIKE crate training. She describes a bit about crate training the dog, how to click and treat, but nothing about at what point should you just lock him in for a time, or when he can be left alone? Should you wait until he is totally happy and comfortable in there for hours? Or is it okay to get him pretty happy, then bite the bullet and have him in there over night. There is no information on the first night. They give a bit of a sample, but nothing about where to keep your dog. The perfect scenario shows you locking the dog in the crate the first night, him fussing a bit, then going right to sleep. Well my puppy didn't fuss a bit when I first got him, he freaked out. I was worried he would injure him self. Our solution was from another book (The monks book) to tether him on a short line right beside the bed. This way he could not go off and relieve himself, but was not totally confined to the crate. SO when you get a new puppy, are you just locking him in the crate? Or are you doing the long crate training process in chapter 4? Anyways I do feel there are some glaring omissions here, but overall I'm really happy with the clicker training. As I said my dog is only a few weeks old and is already learning to pee on command, sit, pay attention when his name is said, whine less in his pen because whining earns him nothing, silence sometimes gets a click and treat, etc. This is after 3 days training. We need a book with the step by step practicality of the Monks book, with the methods described in this one.

Very helpful, good information and made me more confident regarding training our menace aka puppy and staying calm

This is the sixth training book I've read in preparation for my first dog in 30 years. It is, by far, the best of the lot. Some of the others were incomplete and some were way too detailed. I felt that to apply the methods in some of these, I would need the book along side like a cookbook. Some had good instruction but lacked the background elements necessary to own and integrate the ideas. Although I will re-read relevant chapters at appropriate times, I think I could do a pretty good job just having read this book once. None of the other books offered anything close to this facility. Other books speak of "markers" but Miller tells you exactly the what, why and when. As a Biology teacher, this all made solid scientific sense to me. All the training follows a few simple rules which provide a framework for each lesson. When done in this manner, the details for each different cue seem to follow naturally. I think my training will be a combination of 85% this book and 15% all the others. I also recommend: The Other End of the Leash, Patricia McConnell. Less detailed training info but great insight into dog behavior and how to adjust your behavior to accomodate..

Bought this when the Australian Shepherd puppy arrived at 8 weeks old. The basic idea is to reinforce good behavior with treats and praise (training treats are now widely available) and ignore (as much as you can) the bad. He also says not to be stingy with the treats (and praise) and occasionally give a 'jackpot' both of which are good suggestions. For example, followed the method in the book and the puppy became a first rate walker (I don't know if it was the method or she is just naturally a walker but the result is great). Used the approach to socialize her to people (have friendly people give her treats when she sits and/ or shakes for them) and dogs (give them treats) with success. Mostly followed the advice and the puppy learned not only the tricks but more importantly how to pay attention. The puppy just turned 15 weeks old and is enthusiastic and well behaved. The puppy has moved beyond the specifics of this book (she is now doing more advanced training) and this approach gave her an excellent foundation. update: The dog is now a year and four months and is doing fine. She is sweet, friendly and sociable. Still use the 'jackpot' approach when teaching new tricks. She can jump through hoops, dance and goes off leash in open areas. Not being stingy with the treats turns out to have worked well. Have since read a number of other training books and this one still gets five stars, especially for puppies.

Amazing content! We haven't actually gotten our dog yet but the stuff the author says in here really makes sense. I have seen way too many people take a perfectly good dog and either make them mean, very shy and timid, or hard headed (myself included). But that is why we got this book. Not only does it give the how to on training but it gives insight into how dogs think and why doing what the author tells you to do works. Its not like other books that say "do it this way" and you don't know why. It is giving the whole picture. Speaking of pictures, don't buy the book for the pictures because they are black and white and not very good. I did not knock off any stars for pictures because the content is that amazing. The book offers a training program for the first 6 weeks after you bring the puppy home that you can rearrange according to how well your dog is doing.It also gives troubleshooting and the first things you should do when you get him home. It is a must read, Must do kind of book! Cannot wait to try it out on our dog!

This is a very well organized and structured book of practical advice on how to train your dog in a positive way. It has easy to follow, detailed step-by-step instructions, followed by common questions and problems and how to resolve them. It offers a good introduction to clicker training, and some advice on how to prevent or remedy behavioral problems via positive methods alone. There is a lot to be learned from this book, and if you have a compliant dog, I'm sure it could be all you need. That said, the book is too obsessed with the positive, implying that even raising your voice is bad and harmful to the dog and your relationship. I was quite shocked and disappointed that the word "no" is completely absent from the book. Even the concept of "no" is absent. She sort of offers a weak alternative in the "no reward marker", which is the opposite of the click (mark a behavior that won't earn a treat). But that doesn't really convey the idea of "no", and even for that she can't bring herself to say the word "no" - instead insisting on silly things like "oops" or "too bad". And for some reason, that has to be delivered in a happy, cheerful voice. Why?? Why is it never okay to use a stern, disappointed or sad voice with your dog? I don't mean yell at him, but damn, letting him know via your voice that you're not happy with what he's doing or that it's not allowed isn't that much to ask! Dogs set boundaries between each other with communications like growling and snarling, without inflicting mental trauma on each other with it, so clearly it's an accepted form of communication in dog culture. So I don't see why the human voice has to always be happy or else. And I'm still not clear on how you're supposed to set boundaries on your dog without the use of "no". Boundaries are essential, for dogs and kids and people. Distraction will take his mind away at the moment, sure, but is that really teaching him that "this is not okay", or is it rather just showing him that "this other thing is more fun right now" (but later, when you're gone and there isn't a more fun thing to distract him, he may go right back to it). I think the concept of "no" is essential, and was really looking forward to learning how to teach its message in a nice way, but I guess I'll have to keep looking. A lot of people are mentioning her heavy use of treats. I also find this to be the case. She does mention that there are other rewards one can use, but in her instructions and examples she always uses treats. Given how you're supposed to do dozens of repetitions at a time, several times a day, giving a treat with every click, it really makes me wonder... Is there anything left in the dog's daily allowance of calories, or does he subsist on treats alone during those 6 weeks? She mentions that eventually you can fade the treats, but doesn't really give instructions on that. And what happens if the dog really wants his treats and won't work for hugs or frisbees? How do you fade the treats with a very food-driven dog? (she talks more about lure fading, but not really about reward treat fading). Oh, and another weird thing, but that's just picky so don't mind me :-) I found that about 90% of the hypothetical dogs in example situations in this book are always female. With the exception of a few token "he's", in this book a dog by default is a "she". And even with the tokens, the author will start with "he" and then within the same example transition him to a "she", while still talking about the same dog... A couple of times she even did it within the same sentence! It's confusing to keep track of who she's referring to - dog? Handler? Trainer? And also, it's just... weird. And yeah, I'm a woman. Too much affirmative action feels forced and fake. P.S. I've seen many people get confused by the use of the word "positive" in training books. I was confused myself. So, for whoever this may be helpful to - be aware of the two meanings of the word. In the title, the book refers to "positive" training as training that's humane, peaceful, nice, happy etc. - that meaning of the word. However, in trainer terminology, "positive" means something that's added, and "negative" means something that's taken away (a very stupid and confusing way of saying "additive" and "subtractive", but whatever). So "positive punishment" means something bad happens, "positive reinforcement" means something good happens, "negative reinforcement" means something bad is taken away and "negative punishment" means something good is taken away. With that in mind, the author's training method is NOT all positive. It's a combination of positive and negative - positive reinforcement + negative punishment (which is usually the most humane and most effective combination). I've seen a lot of people riled up about "you can't be only positive!", but I think they're getting caught up in the duality of the word. So, this trainer is all positive in terms of the humanity and kindness in her approach, but technically speaking she uses both positive and negative training methods.

Man merkt es diesem Buch an, dass die Verfasserin 30 Jahre Erfahrung in der Hundeerziehung hat. Ihre Methode ist gewaltfrei und ohne Strafen, dabei höchst wirksam, wenn man den Anweisungen genau folgt. Der Schreibstil ist kurzweilig und prägnant. Wenn man einen jungen Hund gut erziehen will, braucht man nur 1 Buch zu kaufen, nämlich dieses.

Depsite using positive reinforcement training with my horses, when we rescued our bearded collie x who had fear aggression issues I was at a loss as to how to manage him. I was recommended this book by a small animal vet and it focused me on how to start clicker training with him. It had a great introduction to the dogs mind and useful exercises to practice and aim towards. This book and my application of the principles to our training and handling of our new dog was the turning point in our relationship. I highly recommend it.

É um ótimo livro para quem quer aprender sobre adestramento e sobre como agir com os animais. Super recomendo :)

I had to send this review as this book, to me, should be at least a first book on training your dog. Yes it is what I call the new age of dog training using a clicker and food as treats and a reward. I have trained two dogs using the old methods of choker chains, but after reading the authors references, I see and confirm behaviors resulting from this method. I just adopted a four month old mixed breed from our local SPCA ( folks please don't write these dogs off as having poor training abilities) and here are my comments. It has taken me less then three days to teach this dog to sit, lay down, HOUSE TRAIN, and shake a paw! More importantly, all books usually will advise a pen to teach your dog about house training and securing your home if away ( this works by the way). Have you ever tried to put a dog in kennel? If you have succeeded without a battle, the dog must have lived in one, because this was the hardest thing I have ever tried in the past. However, it took me no time using the treats as a reward and the clicker. On the second night he beat me to the kennel! For experienced dog trainers this would appear likely to be no big deal. This is why I recommend this book, because too many of the books you read forget that most of us are just learning a method to deal with and train our dogs whether pure breeds or muts. The begining chapters explain how your dog learns, your body language, the dogs language, and how they effect your training methods. To me this was worth the price of the book by itself. And for all dogs not just registered breeds. I recommend this book as the most informative book on training methods that I have found at least. I suspect that those who issue a poorer raing are those that have had years and knowledge in training and forget about the beginers. So, some of the information as I have shown above, would be so what! I can do these things in minutes as well, but remember most people buying these types of books are first timers. Some don't have access to training courses or perhaps the money. They need the basics to understand how to accomplish there goal which is usually just for living in peace with their dog not trying to win awards at dog shows, although the author goes into the higher levels if that's your goal. If you are new to training, why clicker training is so effecive, you couldn't buy a better book, that's my opinion and thanks for reading.

Excellent explanations and easy to read plus inspirational.