The Art of Raising a Puppy by The Monks of New Skete
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Book Reviews of The Art of Raising a Puppy
Book Review: We Ended Up Adopting A Different Dog!
Summary: 5 Stars
We showed up to pick out our mutt puppy and were prepared to take the female. However, we had this book in hand and the monks had a bunch of personality tests to administer to a prospective puppy. We performed the tests on the female and her brother. Her brother upstaged her at every turn so we adopted him. He has turned out to be a fabulous dog,incredibly smart and affectionate. The book also has training methods, some of which we used effectively. The "sterner" methods used by the Monks we were just too wimpy to use on our dog. The monks are all in favor of the training cage though. We had never used a dog cage before but now think it is wonderful for training a pup. The monks' toilet training for pups was less effective than a method we learned in another OOP book. We stuck with the other book's method of using vinegar and tabasco sauce on the dog. Notice the monks breed German Shepherd dogs. We just applied their material to a mutt and it worked fine. We were going to get another purebred dog but our vet advised us we would do better with a mutt medically and he was right. He was seeing too many medical problems with all types of purebred dogs.Book Review: Excellent! A must for ANYone preparing to get a puppy.
Summary: 5 Stars
Having had dogs as pets growing up, but looking to get a puppy of my own for the first time, I wanted to be prepared and "do it right." Considering that a dog can be with you for 10-15 or more years, you owe it to yourself and your dog to do what you can to get the most out of your relationship. This book shows precisely how to accomplish that - it describes the stages of puppy development and how to select the "right" pup for you, to early conditioning and formal training, to how to resolve common puppy problems, to general care. This helps to cultivate the best possible relationship by preventing early mistakes on YOUR part. I have a concrete guide now by which to raise my pup to be the best companion it can be - and a way to know how I can be the best possible master. It works both ways, for sure - if you ever had a doubt, you won't after reading this book. Understanding your dog leads to better "parenting" skills and good parents raise good puppies. Even if you're not new to dogs, this book has MUCH to offer...read this before you get your puppy!! (I plan to read "How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend" (also by the monks) next...)Book Review: GParticularly for GSD Puppy Buyers
Summary: 5 Stars
A must if you are going to pickup your GSD either from a reputable breeder or even the kennel. If will help you pick up that little puppy and when I gave my latest puppy the tests here, agareed with the breeder of what was the pick puppy. I have been quite happy with Napoleon & wish I had used this previously with a different GSD -- it would have wanred me of her, unfortunately, improper breeding and later fatal tendency towards sickness; yes the brothers can spot weakness in a puppy and for that I am totally impressed.The book goes thru the developmental stages of a GSD puppy and emphaizes puppy testing. i have had other breeds and the book does not work so well with them (Lab Ret & Yorkies), so I can honestly only recommend for the GSD group. If you fit in, then it's a must buy. If you are not sure if the GSD is for you, buy this book as you will learn what is so special about the breed.
If you are not thinking of getting a GSD or one of thw working breeds, ACDs, AS, Collies etc. then pass it by. It really does not work with the Sporting or Toys breeds- wnich is only failing but then no book is perfect for everyone.
Book Review: Outstanding Advice
Summary: 5 Stars
There are about 170 reviews of this book already on Amazon, so I do not want to take up too much more space with our opinions. My wife and I have the following comments about this great book:
1. Easy to read and apply the information. We have Pekingese dogs and not the large dogs that are cited in the book. Still, the Pekes are quite stubborn and demanding. The techniques advised in this book worked well to train our dogs.
2. Outstanding insight into how your dog thinks. We think the best aspects of this book deal with providing solid insight based on years of experience and fairly good science as to how dogs interact with humans and others. This allows you as the owner to better relate to your dogs and the training/behavioural aspects advised in the book make much more sense and are easier to implement in a consistent fashion.
3. Excellent use of photographs to enhance the text.
4. We have lent our book to at least 2 other people (maybe more) and purchased this book for family members and referred many others to get it for their new dogs. We cannot say enough good things about this wonderful book.
Book Review: Great training book for gentle, humane training
Summary: 5 Stars
My dog is now 2 1/2 years old and people always ask me how we trained her to be so loyal, obedient, loving and playful - my answer is "I read this book called The Art Of Raising A Puppy written by some monks in New York and started using it when she was 8 weeks old". I have recommended this book to other friends who have raised their puppies with the monk's philosophies and their dogs are the same - loyal, loving, obedient, and playful. The book stresses the importance of understanding why your dog does things so you can help train/correct them the best way. When you use the methods in the book it seems your puppy obeys earlier and needs to be corrected less than others who do not. Good luck with your training - I hope your relationship with your dog is as rewarding as ours has been.
By the way I do a lot of work with the local humane society and they are big on "clicker training" - I have seen many animals trained with this method and they don't have near the bond with their trainers as those I've seen trained with the monks methods. Just wanted to mention that.