# Recommended comprehensive training book for a beginner?



## Bequavious

My friend recently got a beagle mix puppy (well to be accurate it's technically his mom's puppy, but he wants to and is doing the majority of the training). This is the first time he's raised a dog, but he really wants to do it well and is open to all information. Perhaps even a little _too_ open, as he has already been advised in a number of dominance theory methods that could be harmful (his _vet_ told him the 3 month old puppy wasn't showing proper respect and needed to be alpha rolled regularly  ).

Anyway, I want to get him a solid beginners book, but most of what I have in my library is too specialized. Does anyone have any good recommendations? Preferably with positive methods, since physical corrections are more likely to cause problems if they're done incorrectly by a novice.


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## Merciel

For a novice owner with a new puppy? Patricia McConnell's The Puppy Primer.


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## Kaimeju

Ian Dunbar's "After You Get Your Puppy."

Pat Miller's "The Power of Positive Dog Training" is also a good read.


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## Bequavious

Awesome thanks!


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## pressured41

I just picked this up, and I can't put it down.. Training the dog to focus on the handler should be the 1st behaviour all dogs must learn.. The price is right too

Clean Run: Control Unleashed®: The Puppy Program

Control Unleashed®: The Puppy Program
Clean Run Productions LLC
Author: Leslie McDevitt, MLA, CDBC, CPDT 
Format: Paperback, Full color
Length: 296 pages
Release Date: 2012

Control Unleashed®: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog was written as a problem-solving book to help handlers with mature dogs that were having behavior problems during canine-sport training or competition. This book is different. Control Unleashed®: The Puppy Program is meant as “preventive medicine” for puppy raisers. Many common behavior problems can be either prevented or minimized by starting a puppy with good foundation training from the beginning. In addition, this book provides a program that will help you create a puppy that is ready for sport-specific training at the appropriate age—a puppy with the ability to focus on whatever you want, for as long as you want, whenever you want.

*“Paying attention”* is its own skill set and teaching it should be separate from teaching your puppy more complex behaviors. Without attention, you won’t get as far as you want with all those other behaviors you’re going to teach because it’s likely they will fall apart in the face of distraction. So it is wise to teach the attention skill set as the “base of operations” for your puppy training. The attention skill set includes: Discrimination skills, self-control skills, and arousal regulation skills.

The concepts and suggestions in this book can also be used for rescue dogs that, like puppies, are starting out as “blank slates” as far as your training is concerned.


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## MaggieRoseLee

Will your friend check out this forum? 

Great site that even has videos is ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...191183-top-training-expectations-puppies.html


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## Bequavious

pressured41 said:


> I just picked this up, and I can't put it down.. Training the dog to focus on the handler should be the 1st behaviour all dogs must learn.. The price is right too
> 
> Clean Run: Control Unleashed®: The Puppy Program


Did you just get the puppy one? I had heard of the original and was planning on getting it with my Christmas cash since my pup's almost a year old, but I'm not really sure how much difference it makes. 

In any case my friend's mom + puppy are moving back to Texas so I just got him _Bones Would Rain From the Sky_ since it's still interesting without having a dog and it'll give a positive approach for when he's able to get a dog of his own.


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## pressured41

Bequavious said:


> Did you just get the puppy one? I had heard of the original and was planning on getting it with my Christmas cash since my pup's almost a year old, but I'm not really sure how much difference it makes.
> 
> In any case my friend's mom + puppy are moving back to Texas so I just got him _Bones Would Rain From the Sky_ since it's still interesting without having a dog and it'll give a positive approach for when he's able to get a dog of his own.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Yes it was the puppy addition


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## pressured41

MaggieRoseLee said:


> Will your friend check out this forum?
> 
> Great site that even has videos is ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...191183-top-training-expectations-puppies.html


Thanks Maggie, I will check it out BUT engagement is and should be all owners Mandatory goal w/ there dog.


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## middleofnowhere

Sheila Booth's: Purely Positive Training: Companion to Competition 

Can't say anything more. Need to go back and read it again myself.


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## pressured41

Training the behaviour by: Gary Patterson









Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program








The Focused Puppy 
A training System for raising a Great Campanion & Performance Dog 










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## pressured41

middleofnowhere said:


> Sheila Booth's: Purely Positive Training: Companion to Competition
> 
> Can't say anything more. Need to go back and read it again myself.


This is one book I have only heard great things about, but sadly lost out to the below books due to money and I was more interested in building focus before learning sport specific books. I do however will get it in due time. 

If you want to build a library checkout the books sold at www.leerburg.com there isn't a crappy book on their website!


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## OriginalWacky

If somebody is looking for a good basic beginner set of training books without a specific sport/activity in mine, I'd highly HIGHLY recommend Sue Ailsby's Training Levels books. Almost all of the other books mentioned have also been good to great, but I'm very impressed with how well Sue has put together her books and made them very easy to follow even for a novice dog owner. In fact, when I was leaving our house when it caught on fire last year, I grabbed my copies (it's a set of two) on the way out the door! Now those books, my laptop, my Kindle Fire, and my cell phone (which doesn't have service) are the ONLY THINGS I haven't lost from my previous life.


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## middleofnowhere

Sheila Booth's book isn't specific to Schutzhund - Companion to competition in the title is meant to convey that it is for dogs that are intended for companions to dogs that are intended for competition.


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## pressured41

OriginalWacky said:


> If somebody is looking for a good basic beginner set of training books without a specific sport/activity in mine, I'd highly HIGHLY recommend Sue Ailsby's Training Levels books. Almost all of the other books mentioned have also been good to great, but I'm very impressed with how well Sue has put together her books and made them very easy to follow even for a novice dog owner. In fact, when I was leaving our house when it caught on fire last year, I grabbed my copies (it's a set of two) on the way out the door! Now those books, my laptop, my Kindle Fire, and my cell phone (which doesn't have service) are the ONLY THINGS I haven't lost from my previous life.


_________________

Just ordered my training levels books. I will most likely order EPub also. 
Next stop making a target stick


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## pressured41

I just ordered the EPub, should have my hard copy of training levels this week. This book is amazing and so simple to follow you can be a novice and performance will follow you if you simple do as Sue suggests!!! AWESOME


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## OriginalWacky

pressured41 said:


> I just ordered the EPub, should have my hard copy of training levels this week. This book is amazing and so simple to follow you can be a novice and performance will follow you if you simple do as Sue suggests!!! AWESOME


I really do love the way her books are set up. It's a step by step guide that even a totally new dog owner can use - and it's not preachy about why she uses positive reinforcement more than the rest, it explains it in easy to understand language. 

I have used steps from her books with some of the supposedly hard breeds to train, with very soft nervy dogs, with semi aggressive dogs - all with pretty good results. I also started working with a couple of my cats, and had one trained for recall and sit quite well. 

I think it helps that I've also read a LOT of other books, and continue to read more, because you can't really learn too much. Often folks who use Sue's books supplement them with other books for specific sports and so on. And I love that you can join the levels training group on Yahoo and Sue often helps to answer questions or give advice there, plus with so many users, if you're stuck on something, they can give you ideas to help.


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## pressured41

The yahoo group is outstanding. I get the e-mails from the group. Really a great dynamic Sue has set up!


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## pressured41

http://www.thedogathlete.com/collec...book-1-developing-engagement-and-relationship

Another book I would consider 


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