Reviews for Good Owners, Great Dogs

The average rating for Good Owners, Great Dogs based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-12-31 00:00:00 Jay Vendubois What a terrific book. We have an almost 14 year old male miniature schnauzer who is well behaved, mostly, but is almost completely deaf, and appears to have a diminished sense of either sight or smell. A couple of months ago when my father-in-law passed away we inherited his three year old male miniature poodle and eleven year old female miniature poodle. This added to the recently acquired 8 chickens. So the funny farm was now up and running. The two poodles were never properly trained, so they are still a bit of a problem, but for the most part things have improved greatly from the time of their arrival. Fast forward to now, three months later. Our internet is down for a few days, it is the holidays, we are in provincial lockdown, and the internet guy just left without doing anything because he won't go on the roof in this weather. So, for entertainment I decide to leaf through this book, that actually came with all of the poodles "stuff".... although clearly, the book had been put to little use before now. Anyway...I have read a few other books on training dogs (or their owners...LOL) or dealing with behavioral issues, at least a few times over our dog's almost fourteen years. But, this book makes so much more sense than anything I have read on the topic. This book is basic, yet it is complete and thorough. It is written in an easy to follow manner and gives explanations as to why things work or don't work. It hits all the behavioral problems and explains how they have happened (usually through no fault of the dog), and how to correct them. And yes... you can teach old dogs new tricks. You just have to have good instructions! The author uses many positive reinforcement techniques, taking his cues and opportunities from the dogs. It really seems very logical and makes a great deal of sense. Needless to say, I learned much reading this book, although I'll admit I did not go cover to cover. I did read a great deal of it, although not necessarily from front to back. It was much more a sporadic review, jumping from topic to topic, or going where one instruction lead to another (see the chapter on... or go to page such and such for further explanation). However, I'd highly recommend this book if you are getting a dog, or even have one already. It would also make a great gift for that relative or friend with the annoying dog that incessantly licks you, humps your leg, or just doesn't listen to anyone. Not only can you teach old dogs new tricks... but old owners too!

Review # 2 was written on 2018-11-26 00:00:00 Sean Ross 3.5 stars What I didn't like: Not the most User Friendly book. Reads like a Textbook. Some humor--but not nearly enough. Layout was distracting--for example, all the photos should have been placed at the back (or beginning) of each chapter, rather than a photo every single page which interrupted the text. Also, the photos were black & white and not fun to look at. There were side-bars on every page which were distracting as well. Kind of a High School Yearbook feel to it. How To Train Your Dog Chapters--what I understood from those is that Brian Kilcommons is a Very Good Trainer. I doubt I could follow his instructions and train my dog exactly as he says. I do think that, like dancing, most people need a live example to learn dog training. What I liked: there was a TON of great info on dog psychology, which was tremendously helpful. Lots of examples. Also lots of good ideas on how to stop your dog doing problem behaviors--such as the dog who paws you for attention or sleeps on the couch while you are gone or growls over his food dish. This is definitely a very decent reference book for dog lovers and dog owners.