3 Books to Turn Dogs to Their Best Versions

Blogs are cool. Vlogs are useful. But books… Well, let’s be honest, books are the treasure holding the most useful and in-depth stories which are mostly credible, well-structured and detailed.

Below you’ll find 3 books that totally changed my attitude towards dog training and relationship building. I recommend all 3 books for every owner, especially for those who are yet to have a puppy or just recently brought one home.

1. Don’t Shoot the Dog. The New Art of Teaching and Training – K. Pryor

This book was the very first one I ordered from Amazon (I mean… EVER!). And it was the first book I’ve read about how to train the dog. Eye Opener – it definitely was. Only 183 pages of well-condensed information for everyone who is newbie or has been an owner for quite a while now.

It mainly covers positive reinforcements, shaping techniques, tips & tricks of building the connection with your dog. Basically it’s the basis for every dog owner.

Unusual twist was Karen Pryors’ decision to connect dog training techniques with stories from own experience with family members, kids, co-workers… :) 

Super useful, well-written and fun to read book! No wonder it’s one of the most popular dog training books ever.

2. The Power of Positive Dog Training – Pat Miller

The only thing I regret is that I didn’t discover this book once I just brought Harvey home. 230 pages pure pleasure of reading and extremely useful information of how-to’s & guides, including:

• building both-ways relationship with your dog
• growing your dog with the help of a positive reinforcement only
• addressing behavioral problems as book analyzes different ‘problematic’ scenarios
• a number of training ideas and instructions

I loved that Pat Miller gives a lot of context why positive reinforcement is the way to go and what happens with the dog’s brains when a human use physical punishments to correct (?) the behavior. Touching, I’m telling you!

Aaaand finally, the book includes number of dog training tips & relationship building activities. That’s especially useful for new dog owners – six week training plan with specific exercises every week. Highly recommended!!

3. From Fearful to Fear Free: A Positive Program to Free Your Dog from Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias - M. Becker, L. Radosta, W. Sung, M. Becker

This is the newest book out of this Top 3 – published in 2018, it consists of 224 pages. While I was reading this book, I couldn’t help myself but thinking ‘I wish every owner would know those tips to help their dog grow into self-confident and happy doggo!’.

The writers tackle a number of situations every dog encounters from the early days – some of experiences, if handled incorrectly, lead to a frightened and upset dog for a lifetime. In-depth analysis and real examples shared:

• Turning visits to a vet a comfortable and joyful experience
• Growing puppies to being friendly for dogs and other animals
• Preventing the development of fear towards fireworks and loud, sudden noises
• Many more!

Should you read this book if your dog is an adult already? Is it relevant if your dog is daring and brave? Oh yes!

Fears could develop at any age and we, humans, are the ones who can make any experience better or worse. Must read!

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