Training Books I Love!

  The market seems flooded lately with dog training books and rightfully so, as our pets are becoming more and more important in our lives.  I have bought so many books, I now have a whole bookshelf dedicated to dog training, so I thought it was about time to list my favorites below.
   I'm not a professional dog trainer, so I need all the help I can get to keep Cassie calm and interested.  I also work exclusively with positive methods.  I'm not going to say I never utter a correction, but I do try to be a solid and kind leader...which isn't always as easy as it seems.


  My Favorite Training Books:

 Kyra Sundance's Do More with Your Dog series:
    After a couple puppy-related books, this was the first set of books I picked up for Cassie.  We started taking a Tricks class at our local training facility and these books were the basis of it.  Tricks, as Kyra notes, are a great way to start a puppy on the path to loving learning and to thinking for itself.  Cassie started out in the class at about 10 weeks old and has stayed with it throughout her first year!  It has done wonders for her focus, especially around a class full of other dogs and has helped me ensure that she's curious about new things instead of frightened of them.   Though she still doesn't like the sound the wagon makes when she pulls it behind her.  We're currently training the 'get me a beer from the fridge' trick...which is on the expert level!

Sorry about the little brown nose in the corner!

  Let's face it, these books are great!  Kyra is a fun and enthusiastic teacher, who guides you through increasingly more advanced training while teaching your dog to learn through play.  Best of all: Your human/dog team can earn titles from Kyra's website!  Cassie and I are almost ready to test for our Advanced Trick Dog title.  With the completion of a level, you can receive a very pretty certificate, a Do More with Your Dog bracelet and with Kyra has sent us encouraging hand written notes!  The DMWYD books are available in most big bookstores or from Amazon and now both a workbook and DVD's are also available (those are on my birthday list).

Kyra is just about to come out with a new Tricks book.  I've seen some of the photos already and it looks like this will be another winner! So look for that when it arrives at your local bookstore or on Amazon!


MORE TO COME IN A LITTLE WHILE, including: Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed and Pat Miller's The Power of Positive Dog Training!