Adoptable Dog: Teaching Your Adopted Pet to Obey, Trust, and Love You

by John Ross, Barbara McKinney

A guide to the special needs of pre-owned dogs shares advice for dogs of all ages and with a range of training needs, discussing how to choose a dog that is compatible with a home, how to introduce a dog to family members and other pets, and overcoming a history of abuse. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Dogs

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This one is John^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Ross, i.e. with 16 spaces

Reviews

[Gwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful for anyone looking to adopt, especially if you have kids or a dog already living in your house. Rescue groups should recommend it for all potential adopters.

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outdated and starchy guide; not recommended. Ross has no credentials and the book is largely unhelpful.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this very informative.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fetch. Sit. Read.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as training methods go, Ross's techniques are almost identical to those recommended and described by the Monks of New Skete, so if you're curious about his training philosophy, that should give you a good idea. I don't think he describes the methods quite so well as the Monks do, but it's helpful to read a different wording of the same exercises. Some of the material in this book is very handy, in particular the section on housetraining an older dog, which is often not addressed in other pet manuals. The tips for picking out a rescue or shelter dog are also helpful. I wish the chapter on "what if the dog doesn't work out" and the chapter on euthanasia had not been combined. While euthanasia is sometimes a last resort if a dog is untrainably aggressive, I feel like that situation, or a situation where one has to return a dog to the rescue or shelter, is SO different from cases of euthanasia when a dog is ill that these should have been addressed in separate chapters. I also wish there had been even more information on dealing with problems that are often specific to rescue dogs, like food protection issues; these were addressed, and competently, but I think anyone who is dealing with this would probably want to read multiple sources to get a fuller picture.

Not a bad book, but not a knock-your-socks-off read, either.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book saved us. We went to the library to get dogs before we got Kaia, and we found this one at the last minute. It's the only one we read. Matt read it all before we got her, and because I so busy with school, I was reading "How to bond with your dog" on the way to pick her up! But tons of good tips from a dog trainer about training your dog and promoting good behavior. And a lot of good tips that teach you how to think like your pooch - which has us grunting "Nahhh!!" like a momma pooch at her anytime she does something we don't like. We sound like idiots at the dog park, but it stops her from digging holes (and many other things) immediately. Highly recommended for new and old dog owners.

[Nikoya · Rating 4 out of 5]

We just adopted our first dog, from a shelter, and were wanting a basic book on how to train/raise a dog. I found his methods very practical and cruel free; you can tell that this author truly loves dogs. I have found a lot of his suggestions helpful in training our dog and understanding what dogs go through when they are brought to a new home. The big thing he pushes is consistency and I have found that to be so true.
I haven't read any other training books and I probably will; but I found this one very informative.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is great. Had loads of information about adopting, training and caring for your dog. Also did a lot of troubleshooting outlining common issues that some adopted dogs may have - fear of noise/certain people (wearing hats, have a beard, or men, etc...), separation anxiety, excessive barking, etc. Very useful and I really liked the training section. It was helpful and clearly written with easy to follow instructions and helpful hints.

A great book. Gets you into the mind of a dog and helps you successfully incorporate him/her into your 'pack'.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book to help me train my dog--it works great! It's easy to read and easy to follow. I've now used it for all of our dogs and tell my friends to get it before getting a pet. A book that is both fun and helpful.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for people adopting a dog whose history you might not know about. Also, good, clear, easy-to-implement instructions for dog training.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

obviously i need help... and yes i did just adopt a doggie!!!!!!!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot of good information in this book and a lot I found to be common sense. It actually made me a little hesitant to adopt another dog, but inspired me to better train the one I have.

[Valerie Davia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really helpful book on adopting a formerly owned or stray dog. Training is explained in great detail, stories give examples, methods seem easy to learn. Glad I picked it up.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every dog training book provides insight and new techniques to try. This one had several pitfalls I have fallen into, and how to get out of them. Decent conversational style. Good book.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Offers various cases. Nice layout and information about training an adopted dog