A Book Review, "Train your dog like a Pro" Jean Donaldson

In keeping with my news year’s resolution; wait was reviewing books part of that? I can’t remember. The truth is I’ve been swamped at work. We’ve had to stop fostering, my husband was taking up all the dog slack and though he was a good sport about it, with no end in sight he started getting understandably cranky. Still, enough about my personal life and more about the subject at hand, Ms. Donaldson’s book, “Train your dog like a Pro.”

Donaldson is (as one might have easily gathered from the title) not writing for the professional dog trainer, but for the rest of us, even the most work laden-time crunched-not excited about dog training among us.

If you’ve read canine texts, you might be familiar with the image of the rural farm house, the grass laden fields, the lovingly described pack of dogs, the lesson-teaching-well-meaning-personal-tales, all the things that bring to mind a natural connection between the writer and the canine psyche. Well, you won’t find those here. Donaldson isn’t verbose on her own relationship with the canine species instead leaving those cozy hearth scenes on the editing room floor in order to get straight to the point, training your dog.

To be blunt, I’m not sure if Donaldson is a natural savant of the dog world, but I can tell you she seems like natural at teaching people how to train their dogs. The training instructions are clear, well-described, and already broken down into small easy to digest and accomplish bites. Instead of a book, it is more like a work-book; and as such it is your own actions - your own success that keeps you coming back.

Donaldson starts off with simple instructions and goes above and beyond to give you several different explanations in case the first one doesn’t fit with your learning style. Yes, she actually discusses different learning styles. Furthermore, Donaldson approaches several aspects of dog training that are commonly overlooked by similarly presented books, time management, self- encouragement, motivation, involving family members, and if your still not able - with no condensation or judgment exploring other options such as having a professional do the training for you.

The chapters themselves are well organized, moving and building from the simple to the more advanced behaviors. However, even the most complicated sections cannot shake off the ubiquitous aura of simplicity. Which as you might imagine has the potential to be a complete bore, but almost surprisingly, it isn’t. I personally found the book pretty compelling. I loved reading the multiple explanations of the same concept unfold and found that the simplicity that flowed throughout actually tied the book together and kept the reader from ever feeling overwhelmed.

The only part I wasn’t a huge fan of was how late in the book the clicker was introduced. I understand, not everyone wants or is on board with a training aid. After all it is one more thing to buy and carry around, but aside from that little tiny afterthought I was really impressed. Now the best part. It comes with a DVD, A DVD which… I haven’t had to time to watch… yet.

I originally borrowed this book, but three fourths the way through added it to my must purchase list and now that I’ve finished reading it there is no doubt it is worth the money. It’s a perfect addition for anyone looking for a simple well thought out guide in order to start training their dog ... like a pro.

A Book Review: Do Over Dogs

I haven't blogged about books for awhile, but yesterday I finished Pat Miller's Do Over Dogs. With baited breath I have been awaiting a positive book addressing the concerns of adopting a new-to-you-dog.

Like many of Pat Miller's books I was impressed with the content.  Do Over Dogs is filled with useful advice and  I  was enamored with the section on selecting a dog, something that I think is often almost never addressed outside puppyhood (probably because so many people look for resources after they have adopted a dog not before they get a dog). In careful detail Miller goes over many of the challenges (all of the problems I've ever had fostering) of adopting a dog and then how to approach those problems.

I love how she doesn't dwell on the potential cause of those problems, but instead is firmly planted in the present focused on the future; concentrating on fixing those problems instead of dwelling on what could potentially maybe caused them.  Unfortunately the book was not organized in way nearly as useful as the content itself so instead of reading it cover to cover like I did, it might be better suited for a more targeted approach reading the chapters that interest you.

Most of the information in Do Over Dogs I've picked up along the way, from my adoption group, trainer, other books, ect.  I was able to put a word to a common problem I've had with Beckett for years," isolation distress."  Beckett is often distressed when alone in a new place.  Something I've dealt with when I first got him and then something I dealt with again when I moved.  I usually named it separation distress though in actuality Beckett didn't care who was with him.  So as you can imagine when I moved from my tiny city apartment with four other people in a building with 12 other people to our current suburban home that had just my husband and I he was not impressed. However, since the same techniques can be used to deal with isolation distress as separation distress I wasn't to bad off (another story though).

In general Pat Miller was preaching to the choir (me).  I did disagree on one point.  When discussing stress Pat says that the more shut down a dog is the more challenging the dog will be. Beckett used to shut down and yes it was challenging, but actually I've always thought of it more as an appropriate reaction to what must be an incredibly high level of stress.  Here was a dog in a completely new environment, encountering things he has never even imagined, things I can't do anything about because they are everywhere, floors, stairs, reflections, cars, and at the time the scariest of all, non-greyhound dogs.  Of course I did what I could to manage these things, but instead of lunging, biting, barking, or any of the other outlets available to him he just let me know that he can no longer handle things, by not doing anything.  Of course it would have been far better if he didn't have that level of stress, which is probably Miller's point, but it seems to me like a fair way for a dog to communicate that he or she is simply done.

Now for my confession.  This is one of four or five of Miller's works I've read.  In this book I was more emotionally attached to the subject then any of her previous books and it was still so dry. I've read scientific papers that are more engaging.  Personally I just find her writing style boring. And as such hard to read. The book just never engages me, even sprinkled with personal notes and ending with a  succession of success stories it lacks charisma.  Again, its just a personal preference, but it was disappointing.  I was looking for book that was more of guide to gift to new adopters; something for everyone not just the die-hard dog people. This books feels more like a reference then the new adoption guide I was hoping it to be.  Still it filled with awesome advice and I would not hesitate to suggest it to anyone.