Good Owners, Great Dogs
by Brian Kilcommons, Sarah Wilson
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Book Reviews of Good Owners, Great Dogs
Book Review: Great training method
Summary: 4 Stars
This is by far one of the most informative dog training books I have ever had the pleasure of owning. Brian Kilcommons has apprenticed under Barbara Woodhouse(a renowned British dog trainer), and worked a lot of his younger years apprenticing for other trainers as well. He has a good understanding of a dog's behaviour and what a dog is thinking. His training methods are humane and his black and white photos are great. He has methods for curing some of the most troublesome problems.Brian Kilcommons in not some self-appointed know-it-all, he actually knows what he's doing and his methods have worked for thousands of dogs. I was introduced to the "No free lunch!" policy while reading this book, and every dog should be under it! He also explains about aggression, and where it can come from and how to deal with it.
Though some people may not be fond of his training collar, as it can be tricky to use and is very easy to make mistakes with it, his overall training method is great. I also like how he doesn't abuse the treat reward method, where every good thing a dog does, he gets a treat. It can be hard to wean a dog off treats, and never using them,(or using them sparingly to initially teach the command) is a great method.
Book Review: Don't own a dog without this book
Summary: 5 Stars
Kilcommons' book is terrific and funny too. Anything our dog does wrong can be traced directly to instances in which we didn't do what the book says ... and everything she does right (which is 98%, bless her heart) is because I trained her with the book. One invaluable command (see book for details): "Enough!" There are excellent sections on biting, and very important advice on the food bowl (take it away without warning periodically while she's a pup, or risk biting / snarling problems when she's grown). Excellent advice on jumping up -- never allow it, even though it's cute when she's a puppy, it's a disaster when she's grown. (Kilcommons is funny here: "dogs don't have fashion sense"). Great advice on names -- every dog needs two. The best overarching philosophical points I got from the book: 1) Never give a command more than once. Enforce it if she fails to follow the command. 2) Never give a command you aren't prepared or are unable to enforce. 3) Remember that you, the owner, is the alpha dog. She will "try out" for alpha dog from time to time. These tryouts must be squashed. Kilcommons tells you how to squash alpha dog behavior.Book Review: Truly fun and educational to read
Summary: 4 Stars
If you like the bottomline in dog training, this is it.Among the other books I purchased over a course of few
months, I found myself going back this particular book
over and over again to seek remedies. There are not just
the lucid explanations on canine behavior, but also
interesting tidbits. For instance, our pup had lost some
pigmentation on his nose after the first few weeks. We
just weren't sure why. This book interestingly points out
that plastic bowls might cause such pigmentation, and
therefore recommends only stainless steel or ceramic bowls
for feeding. Even though our vet did not agree, we switched
to ceramic bowls, and the problem disappeared.
I also read the book of the Monks of New Skete. When there
are differences in methods, I go by what Kilcommons says.
If you'll get only one book on dog training, get this. The
only reason I gave 4 stars is because I felt that the
material for some sections (e.g. health care and diet) might
have been more detailed than they already were. That's where
the Monks' book (How to be your dog's best friend) come in.
Book Review: Advice for pugnacious pups
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very good overall manual.
I had been having so many troubles with our dog. It had gotten to the point where he practically tried to run the house. When the family was watching a tv program he would even change the channel, usually to some program with a dog as a leading or supporting characer. Restricting his access to the remote changed that!
His growling and backtalk has really lessened too since he found that he doesn't like being grounded beyond going out for absolute necessities. And his howls of protest at not being able to get up on the furniture are a distant memory, now that he better undertands the value of a dollar, and that those couches cost a pretty penny. He has even stopped blowing his allowance all at once on beef jerky, as he almost always used to.
He also now understands that peeing on unliked visitors is hurtful to the visitor's feelings, as well as being just plain unsanitary, and that discipline is sure to follow if he pulls this stunt. I had considered taking him to a shrink because of this behavior but now it looks like I won't have to!
Book Review: A few issues...
Summary: 4 Stars
Having adopted a 4 month old puppy several months ago, I've read through this book at least 3 times but have also taken my dog to puppy kindergarten. While I like how this book has lots of pictures and easy to understand training exercises, I do have a few complaints.First, I find the layout of the book really confusing. The exercises don't seem to be grouped logically for a beginning dog trainer, and I almost always end up having to skip around to 3 different sections of the book just to look up 1 problem.
Second, I don't agree with the book's recommendation to use a cinch collar, especially for someone trying to train a dog for the first time. As they point out, there is a specific technique you have to use to get it right without hurting the dog, and I think it may be difficult for a newbie to master this without guidance, especially if they aren't going to a class and only relying on this book. For my puppy we used a prong collar which won't damage throat as easily, and in fact we have since moved to the Gentle Leader collar, which we love.
All in all, though, I have found it a helpful reference.