Reviews for Manstopper!

The average rating for Manstopper! based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-03-05 00:00:00 Catherine Fran�ois I've read several of this author's books, and story time with Joel is always my favorite part. I was delighted to find the majority of this book was the equivalent of story time as the author called up specific examples via training sessions with dogs, and dissected exactly what had happened. As I've read about police dogs, MWDs and Schutzhund dogs, it was interesting to read about yet another kind of bitework: the personal protection dog, and to see how much it differs from the other sorts of bitework, while at the same time being quite similar. Do I feel like I could go out and train a Manstopper on my own? Well, no. But I was fairly certain before I ever began to research bitework that I hadn't the ability to do it myself. So why read the book? Well because the subject fascinates me (indeed, all aspects of dogs and dog handling do), and I also enjoy McMains' writing style. The more I learn about the subject, the more it's terrifying. Not because the idea of a dog which will bite on command frightens me. No, what frightens me is how alarmingly simple it is to teach a dog to bite, and how everyday people on the street regularly do introductory bite training exercises when they believe they are preventing their dog from getting at another dog or a stranger, and are then surprised to find the dog's responses intensify. What alarms me is the sheer level of human stupidity that exists in the world, and the knowledge that this sort of training could be performed by an idiot. Though the training would doubtless be improper, someone would very probably be hurt (unfortunately probably not the idiot, but instead some innocent bystander). But as to the book, if you've enjoyed McMains previously or are interested in the subject matter, the book is worth the read, and has quite a few anecdotes and tidbits which are as entertaining as they are useful, even if you don't want to train your dog to be a Manstopper. It also doesn't shy away from the dangers involved, even if you do the training correctly. Not only do you have to be hyper-vigilant to make sure your dog is not triggered by accident, even if you send your dog on purpose with ample justification you could wind up in a legal nightmare and your dog could be put down.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-09-16 00:00:00 Carolyn Bernier There is so much more to this discipline than I ever imagined. I have a lot of respect for these dogs and their handlers and trainers.