The Way of Life Method: How to Heal Your Relationship with Your Dog and Raise a Sound, Strong, and Spirited Companion

by Souha Ezzedeen

Get to the root of your dog’s behavior by building a deeper relationship with The Way of Life Method.

Even the most loved dog can drive their owner crazy with behavior issues. Between the time and money spent on tools and training methods that go nowhere, it can feel like you and your pup are doomed to a life of anxiety, reactivity, and dog aggression.

Getting to the root of your dog’s problem behavior starts with looking at your way of life.

Dog trainer and relationship coach Souha Ezzedeen draws on nearly two decades of experience with man’s best friend to invite owners to think differently about their relationship with their dog. Not just another dog training book, this guide takes a revolutionary approach to raising dogs and addressing their problems by pulling from the instinctual lessons of mother dogs and wolf packs. Get a new understanding of why dogs are having such trouble and cultivate a deeper and more harmonious bond.

Whether you’re welcoming a new puppy to the family or dealing with a challenging canine companion, you will:
- Establish a positive relationship with your dog using a three-stage program.
- Focus on mindsets, boundaries, socialization, and dogs’ natural instincts as you complete reflection questions and practice essential exercises.
- Learn your mindset’s hidden power when you uncover your goals at each stage.
- Get a better grasp of mother dogs and wolves in nature to create a way of life that your dog instinctively understands.
- Perfect your connection with your canine by understanding how to raise dogs for character and attitude instead of training them for skills or behaviors.

Put priority on your relationship with your dog and heal the bond with your family companion, regardless of their age, breed, or background. The Way of Life Method goes beyond conventional training to help you design a way of life where you and your dog connect and thrive.

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 19, 2023

About the author

Souha Ezzedeen, PhD, is a university professor, dog trainer and coach, and the founder of Way of Life™ Dog Training in Ontario, Canada. She draws on nearly two decades of diverse experiences with dogs in her training business. As an academic for more than 25 years with expertise in management and organizational behavior, Souha has a curious mind, loves research, and is well-versed in the behavioral theories that undergird mainstream dog training. When she faced complex challenges with her dog, Maya, Souha dove deep into a theoretical and practical study of all things canine. That study soon became a passion, which revealed itself to be a calling to help dog owners and their companions develop stronger relationships. Today, her goal is to share all she’s learned about the human-canine bond with people struggling to achieve a more harmonious life with their dogs.

In addition to training companion dogs of all breeds and ages, Souha has experience volunteering walking and fostering rescue and shelter dogs, boarding challenging dogs, and continuing to work through new challenges with more dogs of her own. Souha has been active in dog sport from the beginning, including sheep herding, obedience, and scent work, learning to nurture both stability and drive in her dogs.

To learn more, visit: www.wayoflifedogtraining.com.

Reviews

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I now feel empowered to build a solid and lasting relationship with my newest rescue challenge, a 10 year old mini aussie who came to me with many issues. Souha Ezzedeen's method of raising dogs versus training dogs just makes so much sense.

Whether you are a seasoned dog owner, an new dog owner or simply an animal lover, read this book. You will learn so much. It is a fascinating read, full of the author's first hand experiences with her many dogs and plenty of scientific backing.

This book will earn a "top shelf" position on my bookshelf and I will be purchasing several copies for my dog-loving friends and family at an upcoming in-person book launch.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Customer Review
M
5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Approach That Makes Sense!!!
Reviewed in Canada on October 29, 2023
Brilliant !!!
My husband and I adopted 2 street dogs in the spring of 2023. We promptly realized that we needed help. Our old dogs were rescues but not street dogs and wow what a difference.

I spent hours on YouTube and listening to Podcasts from many many different trainers. Each promised that their method was the ultimate method and would be a success. Problem was they all relied heavily on food motivation....these two could care less about food or toys!!
The longer they were with us the more "issues" started to appear. We were at my wits end and ready to admit we made a mistake and in over our heads.
We called an animal behaviorist (quite costly) to come to our house. She also relied on food motivation , another waste of effort and money :(
Back to admitting defeat and feeling sick that we could not deal with these dogs.

While on FaceBook (by now my feed was full of Dog Trainer pop ups) I noticed a post from Souha Ezzedeen looking for people to read her book in advance of the launch date. I ignored it for a few days figuring it would be just the same as all the others. Out of desperation I figured "what the heck might as well have a peak"

All I can say is " it most definitely is NOT like all the others"!!
Her book The Way Of Life Method is refreshingly different, easy to read and above all.....MAKES SENSE !!
Souha writes in a clear and concise manner. The book is laid out in a way that leads you by the hand through the three stages.

I think what I like most is reading her book is the calming feeling it gives me and the confidence that , yes we can do this. I can even feel her right there saying "you got this"

Do yourself and your dog a huge favour and get a copy.

Marlene
Ontario, Canada

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Shilo Goodson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually kind of a hard book to rate. I feel like the author, Souha Ezzedeen, knows what she's talking about, and it is clear that she's a good dog trainer. With that in mind, I feel like it would be great to go to her and have her help you one-on-one to train your dog/s. Yet, those training methods can't be fully captured in a book.

She has some great advice, including a focus on not overwhelming your dog with too many new friends (human, dog, or otherwise), especially in the beginning. She also focuses on the relationship between dog and human.

One of the biggest issues is that I felt like the book was very repetitive. This book could have been a lot shorter without the repetitiveness.

There are a few things some people might find controversial or impractical. The author is very much about using a crate for each of your dogs. She says that this crate should be available for the dog for the dog's whole life. Especially in the beginning, she has you keep your dog in the crate nearly all the time. I know there are other successful dog trainers who would not agree with doing this.

I may have misunderstood, but the author also seems to want you to keep your new dog away from your old dogs for quite a while (as in weeks) after the dog has joined your family. Unless you have a very big house, this feels impractical. I get that you may want to slowly introduce your pets to each other, but leaving them completely separate for an extended period of time seems impractical.

[Robyn Golding · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have a dog, read this book.
The Way of Life Method
How to Heal Your Relationship with Your Dog and Raise a Sound, Strong, and Spirited Companion is thoughtful, well written, and easy to follow. The material is presented in multiple ways (studies, stories, exercises) which allows the reader to learn about a concept, read real stories and examples of the concept in action, and then put the theories in practice by completing exercises with their own dog.

The author has taken years of research, studies, and hands-on experience of the complex dynamics between dogs and their humans and broken it down into stages that make sense for you and for your dog.
On the surface, The Way of Life Method seems simple, but don't be surprised if your feelings go deep while reading. I had a moment where I realized that the dogs I've had in the past with challenging behaviours were unintentionally made worse by me and that the dogs have had that were balanced and easy going were that way despite of me, not because of me. A hard and necessary pill to swallow. This is not a conventional method. It's not the way we've always done things, and that might feel uncomfortable. Keep reading, keep following the instructions, and it won't take long before you realize that this is the way we should have always been doing things.

I received an advance copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Leetoh COrr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way of Life review

The way of life method book was an eye opener at the least. As a first time dog owner this was the method I needed. The author presents material both based on research and experience making it relatable and practical. She provides steps for the reader to implement the method and reflection questions along the way. The cases presented are supportive to know one with a reactive dog or other behaviour issues are not alone, giving hope to a better way of life with a dog.
The book provides practical ways and steps to implement the method in everyday life. Such a great way to raise a dog.

[Annalise Beube · Rating 5 out of 5]

The conventional ideas of dog training are exclusively focused on reinforcing and modifying behavior, and they are quick to label a dog's behavior as characteristics of its personality, breed, or past experience. This book takes the dog out of the behaviorist petri dish and challenges people to build a relationship with their dog in a way that aligns with a dog's nature and instincts. The result is that you no longer have to teach the dog what to do or not to do, the dog just knows.

[Carol & Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every good book to read

[Carol K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an interesting book and a completely new way (to me anyway) of raising a dog.