How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners

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. They cover it all: naming the puppy, training with eye contact and jingling keys, establishing the best sleeping arrangements, even dealing with pet loneliness. Owners are advised to think of themselves as the dog's alpha figure, to train with praise instead of punishment, and to beware of becoming the dog's maid or doorman. Throughout, the authors reflect on the deep spiritual connection possible between humans and dogs. Generations of dogs have been trained with the bestselling 1978 edition of this book. With this update, the Monks are bound to gain many new fans--happy humans and obedient canines alike. With modesty and generosity, the Monks offer an extensive list of other helpful books about dogs, as well as a useful appendix of American Kennel Club titles and terms. --Judy Fireman

Don't Shoot the Dog! : The New Art of Teaching and Training

A Better Way to Better Behavior

Karen Pryor's clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don't Shoot the Dog! a bestselling classic. Now this revised edition presents more of her insights into animal--and human--behavior.

A groundbreaking behavioral scientist and dynamic animal trainer, Karen Pryor is a powerful proponent of the principles and practical uses of positive reinforcement in teaching new behaviors. Here are the secrets of changing behavior in pets, kids--even yourself--without yelling, threats, force, punishment, guilt trips...or shooting the dog:

The principles of the revolutionary "clicker training" method, which owes its phenomenal success to its immediacy of response--so there is no question what action you are rewarding
8 methods of ending undesirable habits--from furniture-clawing cats to sloppy roommates
The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior--for results without strain or pain through "affection training"
Tips for house-training the dog, improving your tennis game, or dealing with an impossible teen
Explorations of exciting new uses for reinforcement training

Learn why pet owners rave, "This book changed our lives!" and how these pioneering techniques can work for you too.

The Power of Positive Dog Training

Unlock the Power of the Positive Within You and Your Dog to Achieve All Your Training Goals.

Access your power! In this long-awaited book by one of the leading proponents of positive dog training, Pat Miller demonstrates how you can train your dog, have fun, and build a lasting relationship at the same time.

Walk away from punishment-based training methods and learn how you can reward your dog to obtain and reinforce the behaviors you could only dream about achieving Access your dog's power!

When you apply Pat's Positive Training Principles and follow Pat's unique six-week training program, your dog will learn to think and to choose proper behavior. The Power of Positive Dog Training will transform you and your dog into an unbeatable team, capable of addressing any challenge you may encounter.

Clicking With Your Dog: Step-By-Step in Pictures

Clicker training is a method of teaching behavior to dogs using positive reinforcement. The successive approximation of desired behavior is marked with a clicker and rewarded with a treat, a toy, or a pat. Inappropriate behavior is ignored, not punished. In 1985, Karen Pryor published the seminal work on this method, Don't Shoot the Dog (Bantam), and issued a revision in 1999. Both editions are highly theoretical and are aimed at the educated, informed lay reader. Tillman, an ergonomics illustrator as well as a dog trainer and clicker-training instructor, has made Pryor's principles and techniques accessible to the rank amateur. Using easily understandable text and clear, step-by-step drawings, she guides the novice through all the steps necessary to teach dogs almost 100 different behaviors, from basic obedience to housebreaking to tricks. She also applies the principles to the elimination of problem behavior. While Paul Owens's The Dog Whisperer (LJ 10/1/99) covered much the same subject matter, Tillman's book teaches the skills through illustrations. Highly recommended for public libraries. Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training

Author Pamela Dennison, owner of Positive Motivation Dog Training, has been training dogs since 1992. After switching methods from traditional punishment-based training methods to positive training, Pam started her own school in 1997 and has helped more than 500 owners to build better relationships with their dogs.

This book will be the first to offer readers practical advice on using positive training techniques in every aspect of dog behavior-from basic commands to housetraining and correcting problem behaviors.

There are currently more than 43 million dog owners in the U.S., and more and more of them are giving up on punitive methods of training their dogs.

Click for Joy! Questions and Answers from Clicker Trainers and Their Dogs

Melissa C. Alexander, moderator of the online discussion forum ClickerSolutions, collects clear and accurate answers to over one hundred commonly asked questions about clicker training in one essential reference.
Click for Joy! is packed with information for experienced trainers and newcomers alike, including:

* positive, effective solutions to common problems * practical instructions to train any behavior for fluency and reliability * encouragement, advice, and success stories from clicker trainers around the world * short-term and long-term consequences of controversial training techniques * clear, easy-to-understand explanations of the science underlying clicker training * glossary of clicker training terms and concepts * easy-to-use cross-referencing and index