Imagine Life with a Well-Behaved Dog: A 3-Step Positive Dog-Training Program [Paperback]

This Best Selling Imagine Life with a Well-Behaved Dog: A 3-Step Positive Dog-Training Program [Paperback] tends to SELL OUT VERY FAST!!

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (March 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312598971
• ISBN-13: 978-0312598976
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  

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This Best Selling Imagine Life with a Well-Behaved Dog: A 3-Step Positive Dog-Training Program [Paperback] tends to SELL OUT VERY FAST!!

Customer Reviews

This is a well written easy to follow dog training book. I particularly like how the author spends time in the beginning talking about how to match one's personality with their dog's personality. Other dog training books I've tried have talked about being an assertive leader for your dog, but haven't talked about how a passive personality and a dominate dog personality will clash. This author makes it clear that if you are a low energy and passive person you'll be happier with an older dog and one that is also passive or shy, and your dog will be happier too.
She also spends a good amount of time explaining how much exercise is required for a dog and challenging the reader to examine if his/her lifestyle is compatible with having a dog. She also makes several good points about how one's level of activity should match the dog's level of activity. Particularly if you are gone all day and don't have energy for an active dog, you'd do better with an older dog. She makes a great case for adopting older dogs which has really made me rethink the myth that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
The training section is easy to read and the steps are broken down so that they are easy to follow and implement. I particularly like her reminders to remain calm, clear, and consistent. The book has lots of real life cases and how the author has helped people overcome issues with their dogs. I find these extremely helpful in understanding why my dogs behave as they do and how my fears, anxieties and emotions impact their behavior.
Particularly helpful in this book is that the author gives lots of examples of how we inadvertently reinforce negative behavior by giving in to our dogs. Many of the dog books I've read talked about being the leader, but this author shows how we undermine our leadership in our house and elsewhere and what we can do to get it back. A good example is how when your dog wants something and barks we give it, then we end up having a dog that barks excessively because we've always given them attention or the reward when they bark. She gives some very good ways to stop such behavior by redirecting the dog and leaving the room, and making the dogs wait until their calm before giving them food, and attention.
All in all I found the book VERY helpful. We have 3 dogs of various ages and I've seen a dramatic change in our dog's behavior when I remember to be calm. The book has made it clear to me how we have confused our dogs by our family members giving in and not being consistent and now that we have started to work together as a family on being consistent with the dogs it has helped a great deal.

I purchased this book for an aunt who was having trouble disciplining an older dog she'd recently adopted. I was frustrated seeing her struggle with her own form of obedience training. I'd sought help in prior years with pets, so I thought I'd seek out a good guide for my aunt. My aunt, an immigrant, had communication issues of her own, and being around her and her pet made me nervous. I said, "enough was enough," and got her Julie Bjelland's book.
To date, gone are the days when my aunt's dog is confused and my aunt frustrated. Julie lays out a very good outline for dog ownership from beginning to end - starting from preparing for life with a dog to whether one's lifestyle would be a better fit for a puppy or older dog. I thought this was great, as I wanted my aunt to realize that there were different types of dogs for different types of lifestyles.
I especially love that Julie also outlined what tools were going to be needed, budgets of ownership, crate training, commands, leadership. Wow, I couldn't have found a more efficient and quick lifesaver for my own sanity and I'm sure my aunt's. Now both dog and human are more sane and happy in knowing their roles. I think that this book is authoritative, calm, and carries with it an air of true help for dogs and their human companions. The author is very qualified and knowledgeable and I think this book was worth the investment many times far and above the price. I also appreciated that the book was practical for the average person to understand. What a great guide from someone who trained guide dogs! Fantastic

 

Imagine Life with a Well-Behaved Dog: A 3-Step Positive Dog-Training Program [Paperback]