Teach Your Dog to Behave (Paperback)
From Publishers Weekly
You might expect a second book to build on or enlarge the contents of an author’s first, but in this case, you’d be wrong. Here Dibra, so-called Dog Trainer to the Stars, and his writing partner Rudolph extract the training principles from their Dog Training by Bash , then recast the remaining information in alphabetically ordered entries about canine behavior, problems and solutions. While Dibra and Randolph acknowledge that only a steady obedience program will address the causes of most doggy depredations, they accommodate those pressed for time by offering stopgap remedies as well as more complex “cures.” For example, if your dog enjoys grabbing the toilet paper and dragging it around the house (”Toilet-Paper Unrolling”), you can either leave the bathroom door closed or set up a nasty surprise to teach him to keep his paws off. The book’s alphabetical organization, however, fails to set forth fundamental laws of obedience training–e.g., how do you teach a dog a new command?–and, assuming a standard index, seems completely unnecessary. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Dibra, a noted celebrity dog trainer, has compiled a handy, readable problem-solving guide for dog owners. Behavior problems are alphabetically arranged, with extensive cross references, and the trainer provides examples, diagnoses the situation, and recommends corrective strategies. This is a useful companion title to his earlier work, Dog Training by Bash ( LJ 1/91), although libraries already owning Job Michael Evans’s People, Pooches and Problems ( LJ 1/91) or Carol Benjamin’s Dog Problems (Howell, 1989) may decide to skip it. But public library patrons will like the easily accessible format, and demand from Dibra’s fans, especially in the New York area, will certainly be strong.
- Jennifer King, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Marlboro, N.J.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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As a professional dog trainer I am frequently asked which books I reccomend. This is one of them! It is a very good book for solving problem behaviors. It is set up like a dictionary with the behaviors listed in alphetical order. It is a good companion to a good training book. Do a search of Amazon for “monks of new skete”, to see what training books I am talking about. Good Luck!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very helpful!
This book is in a great format- It’s alphabetical! That means no annoying index to look through! There are tons of good tips to make your dog behave.
In general, this book is okay I guess. But there are dangers lurking in this book that you can’t notice at first… Bash tries to “help people help themselves”… but that’s not always the best idea. Basically, everything about training a dog you can find in a good training manual. Most of the “good” ones even cover problems you may encounter and solutions to those problems. But when it comes to serious problems, it is best to find a professional trainer. No, not a professional trainer’s book… I mean an actual person.
Positives for this book:
· Alphabetical order of problems
· “scenarios” for each problem, followed by a diagnosis and treatment
· covers most problems you could ever have with your dog
Negatives:
· Dibra is very into “correcting” dogs who growl/show any form of aggression, without much regard to the REASON they are growling/acting aggressive. This is not a good idea, and without assessing each individual case I would not recommend making this generalization. See a professional behaviorist if you encounter these problems.
· He tries to solve some pretty stupid “problems” for instance: dogs rolling in foul-smelling things, being aloof, or “singing” with high-pitched noises. Guess what, it’s instinctive and dogs do it. You get over it, or you don’t own a dog.
· The format is annoying when you turn to something and it says “see: ___ ” which it does all the time.
Every dog is different, and to me, this book overlooks that in many ways. Not to mention that I have a serious problem with this self proclaimed “trainer to the stars” who recommends throwing gravel and water balloons at dogs who chase bicycles. And the “knee treatment” for dogs who jump? That method is very outdated and not very useful for those with dogs under 50 lbs!!! Who kicks their dogs these days anyway? Not any good trainer I know of!
Or how about Dibra’s approach to food-guarding behavior? With your dog eating on a leash, “have a family member approach. If the dog growls or acts aggressive in any way, snap the leash and shout “NO!” Repeat this over and over day after day…” I broke my first dog of food guarding simply by hand feeding her (which is much gentler and easier). I would NEVER recommend leash-correcting a resource guarding dog when there are much simpler ways to “fix” the problem!
In my opinion, Dibra sets dogs up for failure, not success. He uses “setups” to catch a dog doing something bad, and then correct it, instead of setting them up to do good and rewarding. I think that a very educated dog owner can use this book for reference, or to help them make informed training decisions, but for the most part I did not find it helpful.