A Dog Who's Always Welcome: Assistance and Therapy Dog Trainers Teach You How to Socialize and Train Your Companion Dog

by Lorie Long

You can take her with you... If you're like most dog owners, you want a trustworthy companion you can take on family vacations, to ball games, on hikes, and to cafes and festivals. You want your dog to behave when you have guests, stay peacefully at hotels, ride calmly in elevators, and maintain proper doggie decorum in all kinds of situations. Chances are, you've watched and admired assistance and therapy dogs who are attentive to their owners' needs no matter what. This book taps into the secrets of assistance and therapy dog trainers and shows you how to use focused foundation socialization training to make sure your dog is well behaved--even in unfamiliar environments loaded with distractions and temptations. It goes beyond typical behavioral training and basic commands and

Genres: Animals, Dogs, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

Reviews

[Paula Lancaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

From this book I learned the importance of always supporting your dog emotionally as well as several training tips specific to Therapy Dogs and Service Dogs.

[Lillia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational but not useful

Like so many dog training books today this one is largely anecdotal. If you are looking for clear cut instructions, or a step by step guide on training your dog, this is probably not the book you want. That being said, there is a lot of information on how dogs think, react, and respond. A good read if you are interested in socializing your dog.

[Rey Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written from the perspective of a woman who trained agility dogs. Although her dogs did their job well, she wanted to discover why assistance dogs were so calm. She interviewed and trained with people who train assistance dogs and discovered some of the secrets to a well mannered dog. I learned a lot. It is one of my favorites for dog training ideas.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book explores an interesting concept I found myself delving into with the arrival of my most recent puppy (raising a pet puppy to the same socialization standards of a future service dog). While there were a lot of interesting tidbits, anecdotes, and heartwarming stories, I found the book a bit long-winded and not very helpful as far as actual execution of the idea. Also, while the author repeatedly endorses positive reinforcement training, she also recommends corrections for certain fear-based reactions in puppies (please don't do this!) and other situations, and unfortunately completely misconceptualizes what true force-free positive reinforcement training actually is and how its proponents deal with unwanted behavior (no, its definitely not by ignoring it and hoping it goes away!). I would also like to emphasize that future service dog puppies are carefully bred for temperament, while pet dogs are often unfortunately not, and even with that advantage, many SDITs flunk out of their training for various reasons- so to expext that any and all dogs can achieve the same level of social competence as a finished service dog is not completely realistic (though certainly not impossible!). No puppy is a blank slate, and there are a LOT of factors that can impact their behaviors besides simply socialization! This can range from genetics and environmental exposure and experiences, to epigenetics via diet, nutrition, toxin exposure, hormonal health, and other factors including physical pain and discomfort. For myself and my own puppy, I found that understanding the difference between active and passive socialization was key (not directly mentioned in this book). And while I wish I had done more active socialization with him, I do believe that emphasizing passive socialization, in combination with his naturally laid-back demeanor, has definitely helped him become a fairly robust and calm, neutral dog around most public distractions. Bottom line, while I really love the idea behind this book, unfortunately it just didnt quite measure up to my expectations. I'd love to see a similar book with more instructional information and straight-from-the-service-dog-trainers advice for readers to take home and apply with their own puppies.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that the author gave a explanation of why it’s important to know your dogs personality and language.
She also describes what makes a good puppy kindergarten and obedience class.
And describes what socialization is and is not. As well as pros and cons of dog parks.
Good book, I’d recommend reading this to anyone who wants to help their dog be a happy member of the human family pack.

[Elisabeth Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not a how-to guide; more of the reason behind how it's done, but every trainer should read this book. Every dog owner, even.
It's inspirational.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a young, reactive dog who I dream of being able to take pretty much anywhere and hoped this book might give me some insights on training. While it did, and enjoyed the information provided, I would've liked a bit more hands-on information about the training.

I did like the Volhard Canine Personality Profile and the SOAPs information but would really have appreciated a bit more, "If you have this kind of dog, you may need to use this" to accomplish the training.

Still, there are some very cool nuggets of information within this book.

[Lachlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heartwarming book about the lives of assistance dogs and how you can apply some of their training to your dog. It takes a little while to get going and the lessons aren't as forthcoming as in other training books, but this is due to the book's focus on building and strengthening the relationship between dog and handler. Worth a read, if only for encouragement in the potential of your own dog.

[Mary Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much new, not well organized. There are better dog behavior books.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. Training dogs has changed so reading more about positive training with ideas and games that can be used was helpful.