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Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog
Very few dog trainers have not been influenced by Dr. Ian Dunbar's dog-friendly philosophy. In the 1970s, Dr. Dunbar sparked a dramatic shift in dog training -- away from leash corrections and drill-sergeant adult dog classes based on competitive obedience and toward a positive approach using toys, treats, and games as rewards for teaching basic manners, preventing behavior problems, and modifying temperament. Before Dr. Dunbar there were no classes for puppies, very few family dog classes, and not much fun in dog training. His positive approach to training revolutionized the field, especially in training puppies.
Now in Before and After Getting Your Puppy Dr. Dunbar combines his two popular puppy-training manuals into one indexed value-priced hardcover edition. In clear steps, with helpful photos and easy-to-follow training deadlines, he presents a structured yet playful and humorous plan for raising a wonderful dog. Dr. Dunbar's guide is based around six developmental completing your education and preparation, assessing a puppy's prior socialization and education, teaching errorless housetraining and chewtoy-training, completing a socialization program of meeting strange dogs and people, etc.
Now in Before and After Getting Your Puppy Dr. Dunbar combines his two popular puppy-training manuals into one indexed value-priced hardcover edition. In clear steps, with helpful photos and easy-to-follow training deadlines, he presents a structured yet playful and humorous plan for raising a wonderful dog. Dr. Dunbar's guide is based around six developmental completing your education and preparation, assessing a puppy's prior socialization and education, teaching errorless housetraining and chewtoy-training, completing a socialization program of meeting strange dogs and people, etc.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 20, 2001
458 people are currently reading
1045 people want to read
About the author
Ian Dunbar
67 books69 followersVeterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer, Dr. Ian Dunbar received his veterinary degree and a Special Honors degree in Physiology & Biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College (London University) plus a doctorate in animal behavior from the Psychology Department at UC Berkeley, where he researched the development of social hierarchies and aggression in domestic dogs.
He has authored numerous books and DVDs about puppy/dog behavior and training, including AFTER You Get Your Puppy, How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks and the SIRIUS® Puppy Training video.
In 1982, Dr. Dunbar designed and taught the world's very first off-leash puppy socialization and training classes -- SIRIUS® Puppy Training. Subsequently, he created and developed the San Francisco SPCA's Animal Behavior Department, the American Kennel Club's Gazette "Behavior" column, which he wrote for seven years, and the K9 GAMES®, which were first held in San Francisco in 1993 and continue as annual events in Japan and France. He hosted the popular UK television series Dogs With Dunbar for five seasons and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including the Today Show (US) and Dash Village (Japan).
He has authored numerous books and DVDs about puppy/dog behavior and training, including AFTER You Get Your Puppy, How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks and the SIRIUS® Puppy Training video.
In 1982, Dr. Dunbar designed and taught the world's very first off-leash puppy socialization and training classes -- SIRIUS® Puppy Training. Subsequently, he created and developed the San Francisco SPCA's Animal Behavior Department, the American Kennel Club's Gazette "Behavior" column, which he wrote for seven years, and the K9 GAMES®, which were first held in San Francisco in 1993 and continue as annual events in Japan and France. He hosted the popular UK television series Dogs With Dunbar for five seasons and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including the Today Show (US) and Dash Village (Japan).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
May 29, 2012
Good grief. This book is like "Scared Straight," only instead of targeting rebellious youths flirting with prison, Dunbar has his mind firmly set on scaring the crap out of any first-time puppy owner. One wrong move and your dog is headed to an early grave. Or if you're lucky, just severely maladjusted.
A representative passage: "If, on the other hand, your puppy is given unsupervised free run of the house from the outset, the odds are that it will be confined later on--first to the yard, then to the basement, then to a cage at the animal shelter, and then to a coffin." Alrighty then.
Here's a suggestion for Dunbar: the people who pick up the book are not the ones who need the Scared Straight treatment. We're the folks who are interested and invested in raising a happy and healthy dog. Using fear tactics will not train us well. (Which is a little ironic, since he keeps emphasizing that fear is not a good training tool--the same thing applies to us humans, too!) Puppies and their owners occasionally make mistakes, and that's okay. I refuse to believe that if my puppy has one accident, or hasn't met 100 people before 3 mo., I have failed in her training. That's just ridiculous.
Grave pronouncements aside, Dunbar really knows his stuff. If you can get past the pre-emptive condemnation and unrealistic expectations, you'll find some really good information about puppy development, behavior, and training.
A representative passage: "If, on the other hand, your puppy is given unsupervised free run of the house from the outset, the odds are that it will be confined later on--first to the yard, then to the basement, then to a cage at the animal shelter, and then to a coffin." Alrighty then.
Here's a suggestion for Dunbar: the people who pick up the book are not the ones who need the Scared Straight treatment. We're the folks who are interested and invested in raising a happy and healthy dog. Using fear tactics will not train us well. (Which is a little ironic, since he keeps emphasizing that fear is not a good training tool--the same thing applies to us humans, too!) Puppies and their owners occasionally make mistakes, and that's okay. I refuse to believe that if my puppy has one accident, or hasn't met 100 people before 3 mo., I have failed in her training. That's just ridiculous.
Grave pronouncements aside, Dunbar really knows his stuff. If you can get past the pre-emptive condemnation and unrealistic expectations, you'll find some really good information about puppy development, behavior, and training.
January 28, 2015
Excellent ideas, especially the encouragement to strongly integrate all kinds of puppy-training into every day life. However, I do think Ian Dunbar is rather unrealistic and terribly discouraging. As I began reading this book, I thought this was IT, the Holy Grail of dog/puppy training. But I quickly realized that with my 9 week old puppy, according to Dunbar, I was already a total failure. Dunbar emphasis error-free house-training (and what new puppy owner wouldn't be excited about THAT concept?), except that this means that once your puppy urinates or poops in the house, EVER, you have now completely destroyed all progress you might ever make with your puppy and are at risk of having to have the dog sent to a shelter where it will be sentenced to death.
Once you decide to just take Dunbar's perfectionism with a grain of salt, it's easy to follow many of his instructions and work extensively with your puppy, when you can, to teach new tricks, to play, to encourage compliance. I found the section on bite-inhibition to be particularly helpful. Dunbar emphasizes that the puppy MUST bite, and that the owner must work toward making it increasingly clear what level of puppy biting, then mouthing, hurts, and will not be tolerated. This is in such stark contrast of other advice I've been given, as a new puppy owner. Our vet immediately grabbed our then 9 week old puppy, said he needed to teach us how to discipline our dog, and gave her an alpha-shake by the scruff of her neck. The Petco dog-trainer-wannabe also pronounced as necessary her version of a "therapeutic grab and hug" by rolling our puppy over on her back, snarling "OFF" at her, while putting her hand in the puppy's mouth, holdng the bottom of the mouth, and shaking her. (Our puppy backed away into a corner by the dog food, and peed on the floor.)
Dunbar encourages making it clear to the puppy what is acceptable in biting/nipping, by shouting "ouch", and stopping play for a minute or so. He does not recommend being highly punitive, and proposes that there is value in the puppy learning, very early, with baby teeth, what is "too much", and how to inhibit force. Dunbar strongly encourages using an entire arsenal of dog toys for chewing to establish acceptable items for chewing and off-limit items. Encouragingly, these methods seem to be working well with our now 12 week old puppy.
Dunbar can be overwhelming, however, making puppy training seem like you might not only need to quit your job, but perhaps hire an entire platoon of servants to help with the work load. (Then again, maybe I'm just now tired, as we enter our 5th week of puppy parenthood.)
Once you decide to just take Dunbar's perfectionism with a grain of salt, it's easy to follow many of his instructions and work extensively with your puppy, when you can, to teach new tricks, to play, to encourage compliance. I found the section on bite-inhibition to be particularly helpful. Dunbar emphasizes that the puppy MUST bite, and that the owner must work toward making it increasingly clear what level of puppy biting, then mouthing, hurts, and will not be tolerated. This is in such stark contrast of other advice I've been given, as a new puppy owner. Our vet immediately grabbed our then 9 week old puppy, said he needed to teach us how to discipline our dog, and gave her an alpha-shake by the scruff of her neck. The Petco dog-trainer-wannabe also pronounced as necessary her version of a "therapeutic grab and hug" by rolling our puppy over on her back, snarling "OFF" at her, while putting her hand in the puppy's mouth, holdng the bottom of the mouth, and shaking her. (Our puppy backed away into a corner by the dog food, and peed on the floor.)
Dunbar encourages making it clear to the puppy what is acceptable in biting/nipping, by shouting "ouch", and stopping play for a minute or so. He does not recommend being highly punitive, and proposes that there is value in the puppy learning, very early, with baby teeth, what is "too much", and how to inhibit force. Dunbar strongly encourages using an entire arsenal of dog toys for chewing to establish acceptable items for chewing and off-limit items. Encouragingly, these methods seem to be working well with our now 12 week old puppy.
Dunbar can be overwhelming, however, making puppy training seem like you might not only need to quit your job, but perhaps hire an entire platoon of servants to help with the work load. (Then again, maybe I'm just now tired, as we enter our 5th week of puppy parenthood.)
April 7, 2010
I have good and bad news about this book.
The good is that this is my favorite puppy book I’ve read so far. The author advocates gentle and intelligent ways of handling Puppy’s misbehavior, rather than the painful or frightening correction methods advocated by other authors. He explains exactly why you should use certain training methods rather than simply taking a “because-I’m-the-expert” stance. The result should be a happy, well-behaved, confident dog companion. I was especially thankful for his copious information on bite inhibition and developing a soft mouth. Since we have three cats, this is of vital importance to me.
The bad news is that if you are a nervous pet parent, Dunbar won’t do much to reassure you. He is big on the “developmental deadlines,” the idea that a puppy must learn this and that by age such-and-such or else he could be scarred for life. Needless to say, that made this first timer’s teeth chatter! He also is a strong believer in errorless housetraining…yikes. It would seem to me that if Puppy were pacified with all of those food-stuffed Kong toys, it would be harder to anticipate when he has to “go.” Dunbar also suggests that your puppy meet 100 new people in your home in order for him to become socialized—a nice idea in theory, perhaps, but I don’t know ten people I’d feel comfortable inviting into my house, let alone 100!
Clearly, I’ve got to start researching puppy kindergartens in my area (an idea also boosted by Dunbar).
The good is that this is my favorite puppy book I’ve read so far. The author advocates gentle and intelligent ways of handling Puppy’s misbehavior, rather than the painful or frightening correction methods advocated by other authors. He explains exactly why you should use certain training methods rather than simply taking a “because-I’m-the-expert” stance. The result should be a happy, well-behaved, confident dog companion. I was especially thankful for his copious information on bite inhibition and developing a soft mouth. Since we have three cats, this is of vital importance to me.
The bad news is that if you are a nervous pet parent, Dunbar won’t do much to reassure you. He is big on the “developmental deadlines,” the idea that a puppy must learn this and that by age such-and-such or else he could be scarred for life. Needless to say, that made this first timer’s teeth chatter! He also is a strong believer in errorless housetraining…yikes. It would seem to me that if Puppy were pacified with all of those food-stuffed Kong toys, it would be harder to anticipate when he has to “go.” Dunbar also suggests that your puppy meet 100 new people in your home in order for him to become socialized—a nice idea in theory, perhaps, but I don’t know ten people I’d feel comfortable inviting into my house, let alone 100!
Clearly, I’ve got to start researching puppy kindergartens in my area (an idea also boosted by Dunbar).
September 23, 2011
This book is a comprehensive guide to selecting, preparing and caring for a puppy and a must read for anyone considering adding a canine baby to their lives or for anyone who needs to housebreak and train an older pup from scratch.
The author tackles everything in a way that is understandable for even the newest puppy owner and he doesn’t talk down to you and has a great sense of humor about things instead. As an example he says if your puppy dog makes a potty error inside the house, you should pick up a newspaper and smack yourself with it because it’s your fault for not following the rules. The puppy doesn’t know the rules. I thought that was a very cute and tactful way to handle owner stupidity without calling out said stupidity in an insulting way as some trainers are prone to do.
The rules can look intimidating at first glance and I won't be doing them all (there's no way on earth I can introduce my pup to 3 new people a day) but training a pup/dog is a huge time investment and an on-going process that will pay-off in a well-trained dog for the rest of its life. Letting the dog out every hour on the hour, training him to sit, stand, come, be gentle, take food from your hands -- all that stuff is so important in the beginning. My older doggies, who are now in doggie heaven, were angels only to me, LOL. They were what many would call naughty. They jumped on visitors, begged for food and barked like lunatics at strange men (well, I must admit that “quirk” never bugged me at all) but I was young, busy and yes LAZY when I got them and didn’t follow through on the basic training. I was just happy they did their business outside, didn’t eat the house when I left and never bit anyone but they could have been so much better if only I’d invested the time and found this book way back when.
I highly recommend this book to anyone pondering a pup.
The author tackles everything in a way that is understandable for even the newest puppy owner and he doesn’t talk down to you and has a great sense of humor about things instead. As an example he says if your puppy dog makes a potty error inside the house, you should pick up a newspaper and smack yourself with it because it’s your fault for not following the rules. The puppy doesn’t know the rules. I thought that was a very cute and tactful way to handle owner stupidity without calling out said stupidity in an insulting way as some trainers are prone to do.
The rules can look intimidating at first glance and I won't be doing them all (there's no way on earth I can introduce my pup to 3 new people a day) but training a pup/dog is a huge time investment and an on-going process that will pay-off in a well-trained dog for the rest of its life. Letting the dog out every hour on the hour, training him to sit, stand, come, be gentle, take food from your hands -- all that stuff is so important in the beginning. My older doggies, who are now in doggie heaven, were angels only to me, LOL. They were what many would call naughty. They jumped on visitors, begged for food and barked like lunatics at strange men (well, I must admit that “quirk” never bugged me at all) but I was young, busy and yes LAZY when I got them and didn’t follow through on the basic training. I was just happy they did their business outside, didn’t eat the house when I left and never bit anyone but they could have been so much better if only I’d invested the time and found this book way back when.
I highly recommend this book to anyone pondering a pup.
December 28, 2016
I mean, it's fine, and helpful, but pedantic and fear-mongering.
We all make mistakes. Dogs are resilient. One accident is not the undoing of your puppy training program.
Possibly I just chafed at the tone because at this point I'm relatively well-read in this area, and it felt condescending and unnecessarily absolutist-- there's more than one right way, but you'd never know it from reading this.
That said, I know this is a product of an overwhelming desire on the part of the author to avoid the sort of disasters that happen when unprepared puppy owners get in over their heads and end up surrendering dogs to shelters or worse. He's not wrong that many perfect puppies are ruined by their owners, and we ended up doing things that are similar to much of what he advocates in most cases. Notable departures: our vet is a big advocate for feeding on a set schedule, so our puppy is fed out of a bowl and not a Kong. (He does have a kong for when he's crated)
We did not use a puppy toilet. Even in the depths of the Wisconsin winter (i.e. -10 degree temps), we just took him out to the yard to do his business, because we think it's easier to teach the puppy that there's exactly zero places in the house where he should be eliminating.
Dunbar's approach to training uses the cue word immediately, even before you're getting a consistent response from the dog with luring. We took an approach advocated by others and made sure the puppy had nailed the behavior on a lure before adding the cue word, hand motion, and gradually removing the lure, so that the command cues would not become diluted.
Overall, a useful reference if you can get past the tone.
We all make mistakes. Dogs are resilient. One accident is not the undoing of your puppy training program.
Possibly I just chafed at the tone because at this point I'm relatively well-read in this area, and it felt condescending and unnecessarily absolutist-- there's more than one right way, but you'd never know it from reading this.
That said, I know this is a product of an overwhelming desire on the part of the author to avoid the sort of disasters that happen when unprepared puppy owners get in over their heads and end up surrendering dogs to shelters or worse. He's not wrong that many perfect puppies are ruined by their owners, and we ended up doing things that are similar to much of what he advocates in most cases. Notable departures: our vet is a big advocate for feeding on a set schedule, so our puppy is fed out of a bowl and not a Kong. (He does have a kong for when he's crated)
We did not use a puppy toilet. Even in the depths of the Wisconsin winter (i.e. -10 degree temps), we just took him out to the yard to do his business, because we think it's easier to teach the puppy that there's exactly zero places in the house where he should be eliminating.
Dunbar's approach to training uses the cue word immediately, even before you're getting a consistent response from the dog with luring. We took an approach advocated by others and made sure the puppy had nailed the behavior on a lure before adding the cue word, hand motion, and gradually removing the lure, so that the command cues would not become diluted.
Overall, a useful reference if you can get past the tone.
February 5, 2015
Dunbar has some interesting techniques for raising dogs. But "puppy receiving all of his food from stuffed chewtoys or being handfed by people vs food quickly gobbled down "for free" from a bowl"...I'm not so sure but I will give it a try once I get my puppy.
The biggest one for me was Dunbar's socialization technique - "Your puppy must socialize with at least one hundred people before she is three months old. That's just twenty-five people a week, or four a day." Really?! Since that's before puppy is fully immunized, Dunbar suggests inviting those hundred-plus people over to your home, take their shoes off before entering and after each being handed a bag of kibble to proceed to handfeed puppy while teaching him to come, sit, lie down, stay, off, take it and "gennnntly". And to have guests to offer kibble to pup after examining his muzzle, ears, paws and rear end. Oh, and what I love is for guests to offer kibble to pup after "examining and cleaning the pup's teeth and clipping the puppy's nails"! Sure, I know that's so puppy can get used to somebody other than me in preparation for a groomer and vet, I just can't wait to see how my guests will react to my request. LOL! And there's no way I'll meet Dunbar's 100+ people socialization requirement. Perhaps 25? Unless I have hubby invite everybody from the pub to come over and meet his new puppy every time he stops by there in that 4 week window. Hmm...that might work...
The biggest one for me was Dunbar's socialization technique - "Your puppy must socialize with at least one hundred people before she is three months old. That's just twenty-five people a week, or four a day." Really?! Since that's before puppy is fully immunized, Dunbar suggests inviting those hundred-plus people over to your home, take their shoes off before entering and after each being handed a bag of kibble to proceed to handfeed puppy while teaching him to come, sit, lie down, stay, off, take it and "gennnntly". And to have guests to offer kibble to pup after examining his muzzle, ears, paws and rear end. Oh, and what I love is for guests to offer kibble to pup after "examining and cleaning the pup's teeth and clipping the puppy's nails"! Sure, I know that's so puppy can get used to somebody other than me in preparation for a groomer and vet, I just can't wait to see how my guests will react to my request. LOL! And there's no way I'll meet Dunbar's 100+ people socialization requirement. Perhaps 25? Unless I have hubby invite everybody from the pub to come over and meet his new puppy every time he stops by there in that 4 week window. Hmm...that might work...
September 3, 2011
I love that Ian Dunbar made this book available for free on his website Dogstar Daily . The book is filled with practical solutions to problems new dog owners are likely to face such as house training, bite inhibition, chewing, separation anxiety and barking. He has some great idea to help your new pup quickly learn the house rules like keeping them confined to a small area, like a kid's playpen, when you can’t pay 100% of your attention to them and making sure they go out to the bathroom every hour on the hour.
I didn’t like how Dr Dunbar made training feel like a race against the clock where if you miss a deadline your dog is irreversibly damaged. There are too many well-trained dogs that were rescued and trained as adults for me to agree with that idea. Perhaps he is being hyperbolic to stress the importance of training but I don’t think it added to the book.
This is a great free resource to the potential/new dog owner. People would be much better prepared reading this book vs. anything by Cesar Millan or other dominance training advocates.
I didn’t like how Dr Dunbar made training feel like a race against the clock where if you miss a deadline your dog is irreversibly damaged. There are too many well-trained dogs that were rescued and trained as adults for me to agree with that idea. Perhaps he is being hyperbolic to stress the importance of training but I don’t think it added to the book.
This is a great free resource to the potential/new dog owner. People would be much better prepared reading this book vs. anything by Cesar Millan or other dominance training advocates.
June 6, 2014
I started off being totally scared when reading this book because the author kept saying the dog would be ruined forever if I messed up! However, he becomes more comforting as the book progresses and I like his straight forward, to the point approach. While there seems to be a lot to do, his checklists and urgency guides help a lot. I really, really found this book helpful- other puppy books are really wish washy in comparison. I think we will have a a very Dunbar trained dog! :)
July 13, 2008
This book helped my husband and me tremendously when preparing for our first puppy, an excitable Boston Terrier. Dunbar breaks down the training process for you and makes it less overwhelming and more logical. He definitely seems to understand the canine mind and what ways work best to communicate with our favorite furry friends.
Some highlights that helped us:
* Crate training within a larger confined area
* The joys of kibble- & treat-filled Kongs and other chewtoys
* The need to socialize pups with people and other dogs--for a multitude of reasons, one being to help the pup obtain a "soft mouth" and learn that biting is bad
House-training can be challenging and not all dogs take to the same toys, etc. Puppies might take a few weeks or months to want to eat out of Kongs. My advice is to stick with the things you really want your pup to learn--whether it's eating habits, potty training, or cute tricks. Have patience--puppies take awhile to learn new things, just like human babies!
There are different schools of thought with puppy training. Dunbar definitely sides with positive reinforcement and is not keen on emphasizing the negative by punishing dogs (which could cause the dog to fear you and make more mistakes). All I can say is, his techniques worked for us and we have a happy, healthy, loving dog and never have to worry about him biting anyone!
Some highlights that helped us:
* Crate training within a larger confined area
* The joys of kibble- & treat-filled Kongs and other chewtoys
* The need to socialize pups with people and other dogs--for a multitude of reasons, one being to help the pup obtain a "soft mouth" and learn that biting is bad
House-training can be challenging and not all dogs take to the same toys, etc. Puppies might take a few weeks or months to want to eat out of Kongs. My advice is to stick with the things you really want your pup to learn--whether it's eating habits, potty training, or cute tricks. Have patience--puppies take awhile to learn new things, just like human babies!
There are different schools of thought with puppy training. Dunbar definitely sides with positive reinforcement and is not keen on emphasizing the negative by punishing dogs (which could cause the dog to fear you and make more mistakes). All I can say is, his techniques worked for us and we have a happy, healthy, loving dog and never have to worry about him biting anyone!
October 25, 2013
The most in-depth and indispensable how-to for the positive approach to dog training. Trying to use this book with a real (and wonderful) puppy taught me that I didn't have what it takes to raise one. Dunbar talks about the importance of crate training, bite inhibition, and socialization in puppyhood. I found I didn't have the heart to keep the poor thing in a crate, and I knew 100% that if I did not crate train him, he would end up developing all the problems with chewing up all of the stuff in the house that Dunbar warned about. So, the puppy ended up finding a better home with someone who could crate train him properly, had the requisite experience and understood how to read and treat a dog. My point is that Dunbar's instructions are unimpeachable. Use them if you want a happy, healthy, and well-behaved dog. Or, like me, you may realize you don't have what it takes to have one, because by reading Dunbar you will know exactly what needs to be done to have one.
Dunbar offers most of the instructions as free PDFs online, but it's worth getting the book if you can.
Dunbar offers most of the instructions as free PDFs online, but it's worth getting the book if you can.
January 11, 2023
Fudge is starting her puppy classes next week. The trainer recommended that we read BEFORE AND AFTER GETTING YOUR PUPPY by Dr. Ian Dunbar in preparation for the training. I love the positive training concept. I have applied this concept with all my furbabies. Although this book is excellent for people who are getting or are planning to get a young puppy, the book does not address how to train a furbaby who is a teenager. Fudge is now six months and has missed several months of opportunities to learn basic skills such as walking beside you, coming on command, laying down when asked or not being afraid to meet new people. She is a bright dog and already has made leaps and bounds in her training. She can walk without pulling, sit and give paws, and she loves meeting new people. We are working with her to learn to lay down or come on command, and rollover. She will get there; I have no doubt. Unfortunately, this book is not what will help us get her there. It is still an excellent book and I recommend that you read it if you have a young pup or are planning to get one.
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August 9, 2020
There seems to be a great deal of good advice and instruction here, and his emphasis on rewarding good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior is appealing. Conceptually, at least. We used somewhat different advice to train our previous golden retrievers with good results, but there is certainly room for improvement, so we’re willing to consider newer techniques if they’ve actually been shown to be better.
We’ve had our new puppy for just 5 days now, and we’re trying to diligently follow his training advice, but so far it feels like this book makes his method seem a bit too facile and simplistic. I still trust his expertise and plan to stay the course, but it’s more challenging than he makes it sound. I’m willing to add another star or two if our dog eventually gets it and becomes the perfect pet. If only our puppy would just read the book...
We’ve had our new puppy for just 5 days now, and we’re trying to diligently follow his training advice, but so far it feels like this book makes his method seem a bit too facile and simplistic. I still trust his expertise and plan to stay the course, but it’s more challenging than he makes it sound. I’m willing to add another star or two if our dog eventually gets it and becomes the perfect pet. If only our puppy would just read the book...
August 8, 2022
Highly recommended if you are in the planning stages of getting a puppy… if you already have the dog I would not recommend this one. It will only make you feel guilty
October 2, 2011
This was a good primer for raising a puppy, with good positive reinforcement training techniques. Dunbar is a well-respected trainer and seems to really understand dogs and how they think. However, I was irritated that Dunbar really never offerred any advice for what you should do if your dog does't respond the way his theoretical dog did. For example, he would say "hold the treat above his head and say 'Puppy, sit'. Your puppy will sit his butt down on the floor to get a better look at the treat." Which my dog (and I'm assuming most dogs did just fine) but what if he doesn't? Then what?
There were many instances of this, where the author would tell you what to do, then tell you what your dog would do in response, and then how you should respond to that response. But no attention was paid to the fact that not every dog is necessarily going to make the expected response, so he doesn't provide any guidance in that scenario. Still a very useful book, but it lost a star for that because it was less useful than it could have been.
There were many instances of this, where the author would tell you what to do, then tell you what your dog would do in response, and then how you should respond to that response. But no attention was paid to the fact that not every dog is necessarily going to make the expected response, so he doesn't provide any guidance in that scenario. Still a very useful book, but it lost a star for that because it was less useful than it could have been.
July 19, 2017
A must read for anyone who is thinking of getting a puppy.
Two caveats however due to new info and updates since it was written.
1. He says puppies under 12 weeks shouldn't go to puppy classes. This is no longer the case. See the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's Statement at http://avsabonline.org/uploads/positi...
2. He supports taking dogs to dog parks which now most trainers do not recommend - for why go to http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/dog...
It is now recommended that daycare is better. How to choose a daycare at http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/choo...
Two caveats however due to new info and updates since it was written.
1. He says puppies under 12 weeks shouldn't go to puppy classes. This is no longer the case. See the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's Statement at http://avsabonline.org/uploads/positi...
2. He supports taking dogs to dog parks which now most trainers do not recommend - for why go to http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/dog...
It is now recommended that daycare is better. How to choose a daycare at http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/choo...
September 27, 2020
挺好的一本書，後面還附檢視表，讓大家可以看看自己在幫助狗狗社會化的路上完成哪些項目。雖然有些事在臺灣不能一體適用，比如繁殖業者，比如在這種有人會抓家犬來殺的地方你怎麼能要狗狗如此信賴陌生人，但就最初限制行動範圍再到後來漸進式放寬小狗生活空間，對於狗主絕對是有用的。（就算不是第一次養狗，近來也易被網上許多神奇言論擾亂什麼誰一定要鮮食什麼狗一定要怎樣怎樣養才是愛，相較之下這本書還真是定心丸啊。）
現在臺灣很多人送養狗都隨便下載網路上找不知誰提供的切結書一條不漏印出來，不是說叫你不要給人簽，而是那個常見版本都要求認養人不關籠不綁寵物，還有不少人藉此要求認養者開粉專拍影片讓他家訪，希望人家一帶過去真的有不關不綁，真不知道是哪來的想法？怕狗狗被關到終生不散步或活動空間狹小有違動保法就算了，但若關籠訓練或漸進式擴大活動範圍你也不讓做，根本就是嚇唬初次認養者並害到狗狗嘛！等到人家小狗放著，玩到他怕了，退養或棄養再來找下家嗎……
現在臺灣很多人送養狗都隨便下載網路上找不知誰提供的切結書一條不漏印出來，不是說叫你不要給人簽，而是那個常見版本都要求認養人不關籠不綁寵物，還有不少人藉此要求認養者開粉專拍影片讓他家訪，希望人家一帶過去真的有不關不綁，真不知道是哪來的想法？怕狗狗被關到終生不散步或活動空間狹小有違動保法就算了，但若關籠訓練或漸進式擴大活動範圍你也不讓做，根本就是嚇唬初次認養者並害到狗狗嘛！等到人家小狗放著，玩到他怕了，退養或棄養再來找下家嗎……
October 21, 2015
Helpful.
July 21, 2021
A good first book on modern behaviour psychology and the training involved for dogs. After learning about dogs behaviours and training methods, it showed me there are a lot of “old school” dog owners out there. This was shocking - my ideology is people don’t raise their kids the same way we did 40+ years ago. We get better and learn new things as time progresses; research compounds as time goes on. It’s drastically different now (ie. it was socially normal to hit/smack/spank your child back in the day, OF COURSE it’s not OK to do that now). Likewise with dog training, it’s drastically different. If someone tells you otherwise, well…keep an eye on them when they have children.
The book broke down training in easy to digest patterns. Each chapter and method was seemingly similar (reward for good, redirect bad). The only negative thing I’ll say is the author loved to highlight how imperative somethings were in an over the top manner. It was anxiety inducing at times - he even makes some over the top comments like, paraphrased, “your dog will be in a coffin if you don’t do this”. Well that’s reassuring. But, I understand his approach. If you’re not willing to put in the time it makes sense to scare these people off. I could see this book being particularly anxiety inducing in current dog owners who have surpassed the authors recommended timeline for training. Or even dog owners who chose to adopt/rescue. I think what’s important to keep in mind is this book is a guideline - you can always pick and choose what to take from it. I see a lot of other readers freaking out at the authors strict timeline (and giving the book a bad review as a result). Again, it’s not gospel, just the authors opinion if you fit it’s narrative 100%.
After reading this book, I researched further for other books and training philosophies. The name “Ian Dunbar” kept coming up, even referenced in other books and basically every article (both academic and non) - I guess I accidentally picked the right book to read as my first one.
In all, 4 out of 5 as I learned a lot from this one. It seems every video I watch on YouTube, every other book, and every good trainer further cements these methods. They are all very common, backed by science, and clearly work. I’m prepared to ignore anyone that tries to give anecdotal advice other than what modern training presented in this book and everywhere else has to offer. That doesn’t mean this book is the gold standard, but rather the training in this book is wide spread - it’s like a golf swing. There’s one way to do it right, every book/video/whatever shows it the same, but with minor tweaks and their variation on the same thing.
The book broke down training in easy to digest patterns. Each chapter and method was seemingly similar (reward for good, redirect bad). The only negative thing I’ll say is the author loved to highlight how imperative somethings were in an over the top manner. It was anxiety inducing at times - he even makes some over the top comments like, paraphrased, “your dog will be in a coffin if you don’t do this”. Well that’s reassuring. But, I understand his approach. If you’re not willing to put in the time it makes sense to scare these people off. I could see this book being particularly anxiety inducing in current dog owners who have surpassed the authors recommended timeline for training. Or even dog owners who chose to adopt/rescue. I think what’s important to keep in mind is this book is a guideline - you can always pick and choose what to take from it. I see a lot of other readers freaking out at the authors strict timeline (and giving the book a bad review as a result). Again, it’s not gospel, just the authors opinion if you fit it’s narrative 100%.
After reading this book, I researched further for other books and training philosophies. The name “Ian Dunbar” kept coming up, even referenced in other books and basically every article (both academic and non) - I guess I accidentally picked the right book to read as my first one.
In all, 4 out of 5 as I learned a lot from this one. It seems every video I watch on YouTube, every other book, and every good trainer further cements these methods. They are all very common, backed by science, and clearly work. I’m prepared to ignore anyone that tries to give anecdotal advice other than what modern training presented in this book and everywhere else has to offer. That doesn’t mean this book is the gold standard, but rather the training in this book is wide spread - it’s like a golf swing. There’s one way to do it right, every book/video/whatever shows it the same, but with minor tweaks and their variation on the same thing.
March 16, 2021
Informative, backed up by research (which is very rare for puppy training books), and I love his positive-reinforcement only approach. Dunbar teaches all that you'll need to know when getting a puppy: potty training, the importance of crate confinement, food, chewtoys and bite inhibition, typical daily schedules, how to teach tricks and all of the basic life skills, how to approach punishment, socialization, how to integrate training into your daily lifestyle, and more. He educates against harmful discipline heavy training and disputes the well-believed misconception that your dog needs to be taught that you're "alpha" and scared into following your commands.
My one issue with Dunbar is he is sometimes so melodramatic that it's distractingly hilarious. Even without Covid, in no universe would my puppy have 100+ visitors in the first few weeks willing to practice extensive amounts of training with him (though I absolutely love how Dunbar clearly has so many friends that he thinks everyone can just do this) and he makes it seem like if your puppy does not perfectly master all skills immediately and without error, he will be ruined forever and die alone in a pound. He's big on developmental deadlines, but I've taken them as suggestions that we should work towards and not something that must be achieved or we will all be sentenced to death. The hysterics would emphasize the importance of proper training to those new to dogs (which I'm guessing is his intention as many people get puppies without knowing the importance of proper socialization and consistent training during puppyhood), but could be stressful for a nervous owner.
The key to this book is taking his perfectionism with a grain of salt and taking his suggestions as guidelines for training. If you do this, you're set! This is the one book I would suggest for anyone getting a new puppy - it covers everything!
My one issue with Dunbar is he is sometimes so melodramatic that it's distractingly hilarious. Even without Covid, in no universe would my puppy have 100+ visitors in the first few weeks willing to practice extensive amounts of training with him (though I absolutely love how Dunbar clearly has so many friends that he thinks everyone can just do this) and he makes it seem like if your puppy does not perfectly master all skills immediately and without error, he will be ruined forever and die alone in a pound. He's big on developmental deadlines, but I've taken them as suggestions that we should work towards and not something that must be achieved or we will all be sentenced to death. The hysterics would emphasize the importance of proper training to those new to dogs (which I'm guessing is his intention as many people get puppies without knowing the importance of proper socialization and consistent training during puppyhood), but could be stressful for a nervous owner.
The key to this book is taking his perfectionism with a grain of salt and taking his suggestions as guidelines for training. If you do this, you're set! This is the one book I would suggest for anyone getting a new puppy - it covers everything!
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April 23, 2019Will assess when we see how the results play out!
March 20, 2013
This has been on my to-read list for a loooong time. I didn't know anything about dogs until Faith was not a puppy anymore. (Poor Faith had to go through a LOT of mistakes.) By the time I realized this was kind of a famous book that I should read, I didn't have very much incentive to read it. Now I have incentive because I'm getting a puppy!
To be honest, I was a little disappointed. There's some great advice in here and (I think) some not-so-great advice. I liked the parts about bite inhibition and the long-term confinement plan. The socialization parts are kind of opposite of the advice in the puppy CU book; I think a happy medium and an owner who understands her puppy are the best bet. I didn't really like Dunbar's attitude of ONE MISTAKE IN PUPPYHOOD AND YOU ARE DOOOOOMED! Of course, yesterday I came downstairs to discover that Faith had helped herself to a decorative votive holder that was on the dining room table and destroyed it. So maybe the fact that she peed on the floor about three times when she was a puppy did signal many more mistakes to come! (Actually, Faith's belief that anything in her environment is fair game positively punishes me to clean up after myself, which makes me a happier human. Sometimes we have casualties, though!)
To be honest, I was a little disappointed. There's some great advice in here and (I think) some not-so-great advice. I liked the parts about bite inhibition and the long-term confinement plan. The socialization parts are kind of opposite of the advice in the puppy CU book; I think a happy medium and an owner who understands her puppy are the best bet. I didn't really like Dunbar's attitude of ONE MISTAKE IN PUPPYHOOD AND YOU ARE DOOOOOMED! Of course, yesterday I came downstairs to discover that Faith had helped herself to a decorative votive holder that was on the dining room table and destroyed it. So maybe the fact that she peed on the floor about three times when she was a puppy did signal many more mistakes to come! (Actually, Faith's belief that anything in her environment is fair game positively punishes me to clean up after myself, which makes me a happier human. Sometimes we have casualties, though!)
August 23, 2019
I stopped at 27% in.
I appreciate Mr. Dunbar's influence on the world of positive dog training. I'm going to be a new puppy owner in just a few days, and have been cramming my head with a variety of books (all of which focus on positive methods), as well as many podcasts (Mr. Dunbar's included). And I'm done with him, and his podcasts. I'm anxious and nervous about getting the puppy as it is, for it's happening more quickly than I expected, and I don't feel quite ready.
This book made me feel that if I don't get a puppy from a breeder that has spent all day long properly socializing and caring for their litter that I am going to have a problem dog. My future puppy is coming from a rescue. I know very little about her background, other than she was born on a farm. Maybe she's been kept in a barn her whole life, and has only met one other human. Maybe she's the product of major inbreeding in addition to not being handled enough or given enough life experiences before I pick her up at eight weeks of age. Whatever the case, there's nothing I can do about what happened to her before I get her, and this title only increased my stress, not lessened it.
I appreciate Mr. Dunbar's influence on the world of positive dog training. I'm going to be a new puppy owner in just a few days, and have been cramming my head with a variety of books (all of which focus on positive methods), as well as many podcasts (Mr. Dunbar's included). And I'm done with him, and his podcasts. I'm anxious and nervous about getting the puppy as it is, for it's happening more quickly than I expected, and I don't feel quite ready.
This book made me feel that if I don't get a puppy from a breeder that has spent all day long properly socializing and caring for their litter that I am going to have a problem dog. My future puppy is coming from a rescue. I know very little about her background, other than she was born on a farm. Maybe she's been kept in a barn her whole life, and has only met one other human. Maybe she's the product of major inbreeding in addition to not being handled enough or given enough life experiences before I pick her up at eight weeks of age. Whatever the case, there's nothing I can do about what happened to her before I get her, and this title only increased my stress, not lessened it.
June 15, 2012
The best thing about this book is that it gives clear developmental guidelines and a training program for the first few months at home. Dunbar stresses that it is imperative to socialize the puppy with humans before 12 weeks, and gives ideas for how to do that (Throw puppy parties and have him meet 100 people). Second most imperative is to teach bite inhibition before 16 weeks (through puppy playschool).
Dunbar gives some training tips, but I would have preferred more. In that respect, I prefer My Smart Puppy by Sarah Wilson. However, Dunbar's approach to housebreaking and fostering chew-toy-aholism is clearly described and is working well on my new puppy.
Dunbar gives some training tips, but I would have preferred more. In that respect, I prefer My Smart Puppy by Sarah Wilson. However, Dunbar's approach to housebreaking and fostering chew-toy-aholism is clearly described and is working well on my new puppy.
January 11, 2021
Halfway through this book I was convinced that deciding to get a puppy was the worst thing I’d ever done. Luckily some rational and incredibly responsible dog lovers talked me down from the proverbial ledge, but holy cripes. The rhetoric in this book overshadows its useful content. Learning his strategies for dog training would have been lovely without the reminders that my dog will end up euthanized if I screw up. This is not a book for anxious first-timers.
May 17, 2014
The last of my invaluable puppy books. I love how this one breaks things into 6 key goals of puppy development, which I have been working towards with my dog. So far, so good, and I definitely recommend this to anyone getting a puppy, or thinking about getting a puppy since it talks a lot about the before period as well (hence the title, though I didn't read it until after I had selected mine).
February 13, 2015
Though it was a bit alarmist, had some really valuable information for starting off right with your puppy.
February 11, 2019
My new baby, Harriet, will be coming home from the breeder in two weeks. As a result, I’m reading five books on positive reinforcement-based puppy training and comparing them for anyone trying to decide which of the most popular puppy books to read. Links are below.
The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete
The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days by Shirlee Kalstone
Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution by Zak George
***
So. Many. Dad jokes.
Out of the five books, this is definitely the one that strives to be funny and folksy and pop-culture-y (for 2004, anyway). It really doesn’t succeed at that, but the lame jokes made me quite fond of the dorky author. Also, despite being a 2004 book, this book has a distinct 1990s vibe. I can’t pin down why.
It’s also the most fear-mongering of the books. Everything is an “emergency” or a “disaster” (“If you have difficulty getting the pup to calm down and enjoy being hugged after one day of practice, call a trainer to your home immediately. This is an emergency” is a real quote). I don’t disagree, I get that socialization is extremely time-sensitive with puppies. But still, the language of “catastrophe” “disaster” “emergency” etc. is intense.
I really appreciated the emphasis on teaching a puppy productive habits and giving them things to do when alone to self-soothe—understanding that puppies may not want to simply sleep all day, that they must have some stimulation when they’re home alone.
The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete
The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days by Shirlee Kalstone
Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution by Zak George
***
So. Many. Dad jokes.
Out of the five books, this is definitely the one that strives to be funny and folksy and pop-culture-y (for 2004, anyway). It really doesn’t succeed at that, but the lame jokes made me quite fond of the dorky author. Also, despite being a 2004 book, this book has a distinct 1990s vibe. I can’t pin down why.
It’s also the most fear-mongering of the books. Everything is an “emergency” or a “disaster” (“If you have difficulty getting the pup to calm down and enjoy being hugged after one day of practice, call a trainer to your home immediately. This is an emergency” is a real quote). I don’t disagree, I get that socialization is extremely time-sensitive with puppies. But still, the language of “catastrophe” “disaster” “emergency” etc. is intense.
I really appreciated the emphasis on teaching a puppy productive habits and giving them things to do when alone to self-soothe—understanding that puppies may not want to simply sleep all day, that they must have some stimulation when they’re home alone.
February 7, 2022
I really, really like this book. It's very clear and concise, well organized and structured. I appreciate a follow-the-instructions kind of plan to training, but if that's not your thing maybe go for The Art of Raising a Puppy instead. This is a very detailed book on how to set your puppy up to succeed using prevention and positive reinforcement techniques.
He has organized the book by development stages in the main chapters and then again by importance in the end. I love the care he gives to teaching bite inhibition and socialization (tho I'm jealous if you know 100 DIFFERENT people of any gender to invite to your house a couple times a week for several weeks tbh). And, as someone that works with dogs and has a dog aggressive dog, I don't think he's being hyperbolic about dog aggression and poor training being a death sentence for a puppy. I see it a lot more than I'd like, dogs surrendered or euthanasized even by the most well meaning owners because of dog and human aggression.
All of that said, I do dislike that most people will start the book already feeling they've failed (I did!). And sometimes it feels he is saying there's very little chance of rehabilitation, or that you've basically spoiled your dog for life if they EVER crap in the house. But if you can look past those parts and can enjoy the dry British humor ("who will train your puppy [left outside all the time] ?! A shrub?!) it's a pretty useful book.
He has organized the book by development stages in the main chapters and then again by importance in the end. I love the care he gives to teaching bite inhibition and socialization (tho I'm jealous if you know 100 DIFFERENT people of any gender to invite to your house a couple times a week for several weeks tbh). And, as someone that works with dogs and has a dog aggressive dog, I don't think he's being hyperbolic about dog aggression and poor training being a death sentence for a puppy. I see it a lot more than I'd like, dogs surrendered or euthanasized even by the most well meaning owners because of dog and human aggression.
All of that said, I do dislike that most people will start the book already feeling they've failed (I did!). And sometimes it feels he is saying there's very little chance of rehabilitation, or that you've basically spoiled your dog for life if they EVER crap in the house. But if you can look past those parts and can enjoy the dry British humor ("who will train your puppy [left outside all the time] ?! A shrub?!) it's a pretty useful book.
July 19, 2017
This book should be 100% mandatory for people getting puppies. It has so many valuable ideas and a specific timeline on what needs to happen when as far as puppies' development goes. Science based training and positive reinforcement are the foundations of this book and if you follow these recommendations you will have such a great family member.
I do have a few criticisms though. One, the average person would have a very hard time doing everything Dr. Dunbar recommends. I definitely understand the intent but we also need to be realistic of the time commitment most people will be willing to give to a puppy.
Secondly, I found that the part about dog parks to be incomplete. Dr. Dunbar says that ppl with very large and very small dogs tend to end up staying away from dog parks because those dogs are more likely to either be a bully or get bullied and the owners (understandably) wish to avoid conflict. It is reassuring that he also states most dog fights are a lot of noise and not much else. However, he leaves the discussion there. So if you are a small dog owner, how are you suppose to mitigate the (in my opinion) very large risk of taking your dog to the dog park?
Overall though, I highly enjoyed this book and will be reading more by him as soon as I am able.
I do have a few criticisms though. One, the average person would have a very hard time doing everything Dr. Dunbar recommends. I definitely understand the intent but we also need to be realistic of the time commitment most people will be willing to give to a puppy.
Secondly, I found that the part about dog parks to be incomplete. Dr. Dunbar says that ppl with very large and very small dogs tend to end up staying away from dog parks because those dogs are more likely to either be a bully or get bullied and the owners (understandably) wish to avoid conflict. It is reassuring that he also states most dog fights are a lot of noise and not much else. However, he leaves the discussion there. So if you are a small dog owner, how are you suppose to mitigate the (in my opinion) very large risk of taking your dog to the dog park?
Overall though, I highly enjoyed this book and will be reading more by him as soon as I am able.
March 30, 2021
I need more instruction than Dunbar sometimes gives.
My dog didn't come from a breeder, so according to him (maybe no longer, this book was published in 2004) already has a red mark against it. 4 days in - a potty accident indoors - another failure on my part. He goes on and on but gives little to guide you along especially with your imperfect self, life and new dog. An example, pup pottied outside of potty area, how does one correct. He tells you how to establish potty time, let them off once they have done their business, but puppies sometimes go again after you have declared they are free! Maybe I missed the answer bit. My brain is spread thinly caring for a puppy
Guess, I personally need a more positive, reassuring manner :)
That said, he has good points I have gleaned.
My dog didn't come from a breeder, so according to him (maybe no longer, this book was published in 2004) already has a red mark against it. 4 days in - a potty accident indoors - another failure on my part. He goes on and on but gives little to guide you along especially with your imperfect self, life and new dog. An example, pup pottied outside of potty area, how does one correct. He tells you how to establish potty time, let them off once they have done their business, but puppies sometimes go again after you have declared they are free! Maybe I missed the answer bit. My brain is spread thinly caring for a puppy
Guess, I personally need a more positive, reassuring manner :)
That said, he has good points I have gleaned.
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