How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition)
Selected Book Details
- Hardcover
- Edition: Rev Upd
- Author: The Monks of New Skete
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
- Release Date: September 2002
- ISBN-10: 0316610003
- ISBN-13: 9780316610001
- List Price: $25.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryHow to Be Your Dog's Best Friend, an informal, friendly guide by The Monks of New Skete, is really two books in one: a step-by-step training manual and a philosophical discussion of the spiritual benefits of owning a dog. The Monks, who support their community in upstate New York by breeding and training German shepherds, reveal a profound devotion to all breeds in this detailed guide to every imaginable aspect of dog ownership. They cover it all: naming the puppy, training with eye contact and jingling keys, establishing the best sleeping arrangements, even dealing with pet loneliness. Owners are advised to think of themselves as the dog's alpha figure, to train with praise instead of punishment, and to beware of becoming the dog's maid or doorman. Throughout, the authors reflect on the deep spiritual connection possible between humans and dogs. Generations of dogs have been trained with the bestselling 1978 edition of this book. With this update, the Monks are bound to gain many new fans--happy humans and obedient canines alike. With modesty and generosity, the Monks offer an extensive list of other helpful books about dogs, as well as a useful appendix of American Kennel Club titles and terms. --Judy Fireman |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
A Rational Approach
Rating:
My wife and I are "new" puppy owners. Neither of us has owned a dog in a very long time... decades to be more specific. We want to raise the dog in a mutually successful manner, and this book outlines a lifetime-of-training and relationship-building philosophy that we both buy into. Due to the demands of being a new puppy owner, my initial read-through was fragmented and bounced around as I needed to solve specific problems, but I went back and re-read cover-to-cover. The book is well written and easy to understand. Like most other dog training books it merely scratches the surface of the human-dog relationship, but, compared to other books, the Monks method stresses the relationship. There is an extensive reference list at the back of the book, organized by chapter, that you can use to get more information. We are "training beginners" and have not had to consult the additional resources, although we also like the book called "New Dog" by Dr. Bruce Fogle who is less into relatioship building but more into methods. The Monk's book also provides "home-brew" recipies for things like eliminating odor, stains, and cooking treats and specific methods for training things like sit, down, recall, etc. I would classify this book as an introduction to dog training that I found highly informative and rewarding. I just want to raise my new puppy in a "healthy" manner that will provide a mutually-rewarding relationship and this book provides the path.
How to be Your Dog's Best Friend
Rating:
A dog is man's best friend. This book is a dog owner's best friend. The monks exhibit a loving and consistant approach to dog training. Their knowledge about the developmental stages and personalities of dogs is very insightful and helpful. This is a wonderful companion book to The Art of Raising a Puppy.
Classical Training for your Dog
Rating:
I would highly recommend any book by The Monks of New Skete. These men absolutely know what they are doing and they REALLY KNOW dogs. It's really interesting to learn all about the canine and how God made them. Any dog whose owner has read any book by The Monks will be the smartest, most well-behaved dog in the neighborhood!
Great Book
Rating:
I've read both of the Monk's books and they provide great insight on how to raise a dog. Highly recommended for new puppy owners and especially for German shepherd owners. Their prospective really gives the owner an understanding of how dogs think and about their 'roots.'
dog training for a blind dog
Rating:
I found that this book stood out from the others of it's kind by the simple gentleness that the authors use in their training methods. They allowed the dogs to enter their daily routines and lives with something akin to mutual respect. I needed this viewpoint and it's respectful workability to help me with my situation. About this the book had no answers and I found that most of their training suggestions had to be used in a different manner.
My dog has recently gone blind from glaucoma and while there are a few books out there that deal with this, I liked the monks' approach to training the best. My dog and his situation differs in that he is a bassett hound - very scent oriented - and whose main function/job is as watch dog and protector. He was never formally trained but responded well to a few commands as he grew up to understand his job. We live on a large fenced property (15+ acres) and walk the perimeter nightly for exercise. His blindness came on over a period of time but was still traumatic. It was here that I needed a bit of guidance to get him passed the fear and uncertainty of what to do next. The monks gentle approach helped as we started to work on more appropriate voice commands and a bit of formal training. I needed the assurance that he would behave on command and respond with the appropriate actions so that I could keep him safe. While he can't see any hand signals or see my movements, he follows my voice and is responding well gentle leash tugs for direction. Also I had never before used dog treats but they are definitely helping to get the training moving along. We still take our nightly walks with me acting as a "seeing-eye dog", and after a month's time he now steps out with confidence, head held to the ground, sniffing out intruders, but tail held high.
My biggest thanks to the monks and their gentle ways was that as long as we maintained our routine, something my dog had come to depend on, he had the courage to face the world blindly. He still shares in my life the same spot and attention he's always had. We are able to go out in public with confidence and he's established friends at the local dog park. I think that the key factor was just being my dog's bff (best friend forever). With his new situation he is greatly dependent on me to keep him safe while he explores his surroundings. Instead of a depressed, whimpering/cowering dog I have one that steps out with confidence and is once again smiling and wagging his tail happily.
If I can get that from this book, then it should work for pretty much everyone.
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