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Entirely revised, with a fresh new design and new photographs throughout, this new edition of HOW TO BE YOUR DOGS BEST FRIEND preserves the best features of the original classic and expands the book to cover and include:- new observations about dog behavior (natural behavior as well as problems) drawn from the monks 24 additional years of experience training dogs of all breeds- new trends in training- new equipment (e.g., invisible fences)- new reflections on the philosophical aspects of the dog/ human relationship, and dozens of new stories and case studies that bring to life the monks essential training concepts. more info
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
awesome book
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The book will help me be an amazing dog owner when I’m ready for it. I read it and thought about my lifestyle (22 y.o. English teacher in South Korea) and decided that now is not the time for me to have a dog. Kudos to the Monks of New Skete. It has, however, helped me start training my students.
a must read for all dog owners
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
if you are looking for a deeper relationship or just have a few problems with your dog and need some advise this book is fantastic. also read the art of raising a puppy even if you have an adult dog.
Wonderful!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Monks really know what they are doing and deliver their methods in an easy to follow manner. Buy it and share it with others!!
can be too harsch for some breeds and temperaments
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
The methods in this book will work on many dogs but be dead wrong for certain temperaments and breeds. It is WAY to harsch for my soft goldens.
Excellent book!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a revised addition of a wonderful book that has been around for a long time. The Monks are very impressive with their knowledge of dogs, their behavior and body language. The book teaches how to recognize the body language and how to correct unwanted behaviors. Their corrections are very quick and non abusive. They stress the necessity of being the pack leader but not in an overly demanding and strident manner. I have raised and trained many dogs using their methods and found them to be very successful. My dogs have always been good friends and a pleasure to have in our home. I highly recommend this book as well the other books by the Monks on training dogs.
Absolutely Essential!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My own dog’s trainer does not approve of the Monks, but in my world there is plenty of room for difference of opinion!
The Monks’ book is valuable no matter what method you eventually settle on as a good fit for your temperament and your dog’s needs, because the Monks’ advice is about so much more than training methods: it is about a lifestyle and outlook, and dedication to your dog as a member of the family, with needs very different from those of the human members. It is that sense of confidence and kind authority, without being stern or strict, that makes training work- not the style of training itself. This book helps you achieve that state, which gives your dog the restful assurance that Master or Mistress is in charge, so he can relax and do his best at being your dog.
Great Training Manual
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this because of my border collie. I am very glad I got this book. It was hard to choose which book to get since there are so many out there. I researched many books before deciding on this one. If you want to train your dog, buy this book!
This is the best book I have ever read on dog training, and I have read many.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this book from a friend and have absolutely loved it. This book should be owned by all dog owners and breeders. This is the best book I have ever read on dog training, and I have read many. By the time you are half-way through this book you feel as if you and your dog actually understand each other. That’s a result that speak for itself!
Also check these books:
Why Do Dogs Drink Out of the Toilet?: 101 of the Most Perplexing Questions Answered About Canine Conundrums, Medical Mysteries and Befuddling Behaviors
The Dog Who Rescues Cats: True Story of Ginny, The
outdated, wrong, harsh
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
This book presents the state of the art in dog training dating back to about 1975. The techniques are based on punishment, not building a positive relationship with your dog. The techniques will work with SOME dogs, but you will get better results with all dogs by using more modern techniques based on a better understanding of how dogs learn. Check out books by Pat Miller, Patricia McConnell and Jean Donaldson, for a start.
More boring than a three hour wedding
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Do not waste your money on this book. The monks apparently like to hear themselves talk and talk and talk. The big problem with this is that there is very little information in all the stories they tell that can help you directly with your new dog.
Great Book
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
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.’
How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
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.
This book helped me groove with my dog
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This book was recommended to me by a coworker who was a longtime dog owner. What impressed me was that he didn’t suggest any other books, just this one.
Now, eight years later, I understand why. I read the book shortly after adopting my dog (a 7-year-old GSD rescue), and also took the owner’s training course at the SPCA. The book prepared me for the course, and the 5-week course was primarily the hands-on phase of what the book explained.
So why just the one book? Simply put, I would say that the New Skeet monks have covered in their book as much as I’m able to retain and implement. Beyond that, and I risk confusing myself and my dog.
This book has helped me focus on the 4 or 5 important things to always do, and another 4 or 5 things to never do. And this focus has worked out very well.
My dog is not a working dog, nor a show dog, but as my pet, she seems happy and healthy, and we groove with her very well.
When you’ve got enough time on your hand…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Who better than a bunch of rural New England living monks to spend their days raising German Shepards and writing about it… Between living the monastic life (young pups tethered to their frocks), these monks raise, breed and train dogs… and have written a book (this) which is considered by many the definitive dog owners guide… and when it comes to straightforward, in-depth non-gimmicky practicality… this manual may very well live up to its reputation… and quite worldly and dog centered with the exception on their philosophy of discipline… and this is why I only give it four stars… not that I agree or disagree, but its important to realize that their method is neither RADICAL, nor exactly modern… Basically if you’ve been reading most of the newer books you’re told “Never punish a puppy…” in contrast, the Monk’s go into quite a bit of detail on how to get yours to yelp should he try to pull certain offenses… Included are maneuvers which the monks describe as more drama than violence, but definitely are corporal punishment… with those controversial ALPHA ROLLS for toppers… and this is where I have a problem: I would really like to see the average non-professional dog trainer little old lady try to slap then alpha roll a large breed dog with an aggression problem and see what happens (a face full of stitches perhaps?) If such maneuvers are meant as a LAST RESORT, wouldn’t that mean that the dog may very well need to be handled by a professional with a bit more experience… Trust me… I can’t even play with my toy poodle without now and then having my nose chewed on… wrestling Rottweilers… forget it. – - I hope atleast one person agrees with me that even if this type of discipline is appropriate to get the dog to submit, it should not be done by someone unless they really know what they’re doing… and even if not abusive when PROPERLY ADMINISTERED can be traumatic if not dangerous to the handler and dog if IMPROPERLY done. (I will admit though, the setting the dog up not to chase cars trick does sound rather fun!)
That said, this book is chock full of advice… not mere obedience but everything including very sensible advice many books miss out on… For example, the Monk’s plead for a lifestyle that keeps the dog active, occupied and socialized, not merely disciplined and tied up in a yard…
and they go into the specifics how, even offering advice on how to make toys and sports good for both city and country. – - They also have a rather interesting trick they use with keys (similar to clicker training.)
My end advice… get it, but also read other books for balance… nonetheless, get it before you get your pup…
The trouble with dominance…
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Although they have a lot of good things to say, their whole idea of absolute dominance over your dog is unnecessary and potentially incredibly dangerous. The shakedown and alpha roll-over should pretty much never be done, to any dog. These techniques can emotionally and physically damage a submissive dog, not to mention break down your trust relationship. Done to an aggressive dog, it’s just asking for trouble. I would much more recommend Patricia McConnell’s “The Other End of the Leash.” The obsession with dominance (usually meaning aggression) is not good for anyone involved in dog training.
not a complete waste of time, but close
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
read it if you want, but please read Kilcommons’s book first. The monks don’t expand their ideas–the book is mostly an overview of concepts instead of teaching techniques step by step. I respect anyone who can train a dog effectively; however, I don’t agree with their “hands on” approach.
a great place to train the Master
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I read this book years ago when we got a Puppy and found it train me, not so much the dog. The advice clearly addresses the “how to” aspects of training and the advice learned proved invaluable. Highly recommended!
Good ideas about how to interact with and train your dog
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I can see how this book might not work for aggressive dogs or potentially aggressive breeds, but my wandering, neurotic, gentle shepherd-mix dog has become very loyal and mellow. I am my dog’s 3rd owner- I got him at about age 3 and he now has a better ‘personality’ than most dogs I know that were raised from puppies.
“How to be your Dog’s best friend” really helped me understand where my dog was coming from in terms of evolution and breeding and how to help him behave well in my household and in human society. Granted, he was ok (not aggressive, just independent) to begin with, but now he is an amazingly well-behaved obedient dog mostly because I adopted the attitudes and training methods in this book. You still might want a personal dog trainer, but this book probably won’t hurt if you want to end up with the kind of dog that hikes off-leash, never gets into a fight with another dog, and sees all humans (that aren’t currently attacking you) as boss. This last part is crucial- I have found that your dog really needs to know that you are in charge and looks to you for guidance and commands. Mostly I learned about the effective attitudes and demeanor to have with my dog.
Understanding your dog
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I read this in the late 80′s. It changed my world and my relationship with my dogs ever since. A must have for your library
I was pleasantly please
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The first thing I noticed about this book is how the Monks start right away as “REAL” people who are not trying to sugarcoat the readers eyes with what you expect to read. They have a honest, different approach to training your dog with methods that will not agree with everyone. I believe their techniques are very helpful to anyone who has a larger breed dog but has limited training and behavioral information on the toy breed owners. Even though I have a toy breed, I found that some information in this book was helpful and very resourceful.
Classical Training for your Dog
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
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!
dog training for a blind dog
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
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.
A Rational Approach
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
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.
Very good seller!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The seller is so informative and fast. He/she actually shipped my product at a price that is more than what I have paid. The package was nicely wrapped. I’d definitely buy from this seller again.
Extremely insightful
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a wonderful book that everybody who owns or wants to own a dog should read.