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| The Art of Raising a Puppy | 
enlarge | Author: The Monks Of New Skete Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Category: Book
List Price: $24.99 Buy Used: $3.32 You Save: $21.67 (87%)
New (48) Used (162) Collectible (12) from $3.32
Avg. Customer Rating: 180 reviews Sales Rank: 1855
Media: Hardcover Edition: 1st Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 274 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2 Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0316578398 Dewey Decimal Number: 636.707 UPC: 400307318974 EAN: 9780316578394 ASIN: 0316578398
Publication Date: March 20, 1991 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Condition: With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, best prices.
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| Customer Reviews:
Must read for any pet owner September 21, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Even if someone does not have a dog, I'd recommend this book to any pet owner. The "Big Idea" of this book is that "obedience" actually translates into "to listen" and "discipline" actually means to teach.
The Monks emphasize that their is a relationship (they would say a divine relationship) between a dog and his owner...but that relationship is based upon mutuality...a mutuality of respect and responsiveness. (Kind of a nice way to look at human relationships as well.)
Flowing from this is that the owner has a responsibility to be a thoughtful, kind teacher and to attentively "listen" to their dog...not to "correct", not "punish", but to understand their dog and to teach their dog with respect and kindness.
If you have an opportunity to view the Monks DVD or VHS on this topic you can see the love and understanding these men have for their dogs...they aren't simply "training", they have a deep and profound relationship with their dogs.
This is not only a "dog training" book, this is a great book on how to relate to all living creatures.
A "Must Have" for anyone with a puppy August 29, 2007 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the best book I've found on raising a puppy, by far. It's easy to read, the instructions are clear, the approach is humane, and the monks add a touch of philosophy that fills the book out nicely. As we've followed the monk's approach our puppy has learned and behaved exactly as the monks said he would. It's made for a happier puppy and a happy family all around. We've found several dog trainers who use the monk's approach with great success. Excellent puppy traininng book!
A must own August 29, 2007 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
No one should get a puppy before reading this book.
Best no-nonsense approach to raising a puppy. I have had many dogs in my life and I still learned stuff from this book.
Puppy raising DOGma from the Monks... August 26, 2007 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Let me begin by saying that I am not an expert on this topic, but I love my puppy... and feel I need to be.
The merits of this book is that it documents the THINKING, experience and methodology of a group of monks who've dedicated their lives to raising German Shephards... the downside is that it ONLY discusses their method, and does not take into account any others - - of course, this is not a fault of the book - - they are simply describing their approach (which they feel happens to be right, and all others wrong), but while their method is not "radical", I'm wondering if the method is really for everybody and all dogs... (The method, incidentally is somewhat orthodox leash training - - and does not use treats as rewards... I worry that some people might get out of hand with the POP-no's, and it may not be for PEOPLE who might confuse the corrective associations with acts of utter dominance and intimidation! Unfortunately, in reading a book, how can a person's leash technique be corrected. In the end, at one extreme of the scale the monks warn against coddling and spoiling the dog... but on the other hand, we don't want to traumatize it either!) another point: their writing style is easy to understand, but at the same time a bit dry (no warm and funny anecdotes, or as another reviewer elsewhere said "psychobabble") - - again, a plus or minus depending upon how you look at it.
In the end, the fact that this book does DOCUMENT in detail the process of how they raise their pups makes it GREAT reading... however I think the key caveat is that it should be supplemented with other reading...
Outstanding guide to understanding and training your puppy August 25, 2007 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The monks of the New Skete Monastary in upstate New York have produced an excellent guide for puppy owners of all experience levels. Their training philosophy is based on using the dog's pack instincts to establish the owner as the "pack leader" who must be obeyed and looked to for leadership. I saw two main areas where the monk's recommendations differ from the other training techniques commonly advocated today. First, they advocate using praise and affection as a reward for behaviors (rather than food treats). Second, while they advocate positive reinforcement of desired behaviors, they differ from other common contemporary training methods when it comes to dealing with unwanted behaviors. The monks advocate humane correction rather than the ignoring of undesired behavior. We found this to be absolutely essential with our 12 week old German Shepherd puppy when the "ignore" method advocated by other trainers failed utterly.
The book is laced with many helpful photos to illustrate the training points and contains an excellent chart of of dog facial expressions for various states of mental condition (thus helping you understand your dog's state of mind: very important in effective training).
Overall this book is a must-read for anyone who has a puppy or is considering acquiring one.
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