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Best Dog Training Books and Everything You Need to Know about Them

Dogs. The closest friend we have in the whole universe. This is only true when your dog obeys what you have to say and you train him properly. No, I am not saying yours is a bad doggie.

No, sir! If anything, the mistake is on our part since we don’t immediately strike the right chords with them. I understand training a dog can be a hard task. Socializing a canine pup takes time and patience. A bit of “Help” is always appreciated. That is why you need something substantial (Hint: A Book on Dog Training). So, here is a list of Best Dog Training Books for you to go through.

These books are from some of the best dog trainers and Psychologists. These things will address different levels of human and animal psychology that are critical to your dog’s training.

Want more? Dog owners will have an “Over the Shoulder” look at few factors that I kept in my mind while choosing these books for the list. Let us get on board with the topic of today.

Best Dog Training Books – Comparison Table

The Best Dog Training Books Currently Available

Oh, you are going to love this! Cesar Milan, Kyra Sundance, The Volhards and others made it to my list here today. The following books help you to tackle the psychology of dogs better. These do a perfect job in helping your dog right from the first day of his/her life to the end. Let me go into a brief review of these books and tell you why I consider them to be Top Dog Training Books out of many.

1. Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding & Correcting Common Dog Problems

Cesar Millan is a renowned dog expert. He has been working with dogs and understanding them for a very long time now. He is the star of the show Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan on National Geographic Channel. If you have watched the show, you would know how good he is in his craft.

His book Cesar’s Way deals with various aspects of dog training. The book focuses on a formula that goes: Exercise > Discipline > Affection (exactly in this order). Cesar has developed this formula based on his expertise in the matters of dogs and their training. According to him, there are no “problem breeds”, but problem owners.

In his book Cesar’s Way, he shares some of his very own cases in order to help you understand your dog better. Cesar shows us a pathway that leads dog owners to have a better and stronger relationship with their dogs. He demonstrates how common behavior issues emerge.

He emphasizes on how these issues can be corrected. There are many times when owners misinterpret their dogs and don’t give them what they actually need. This irritates the dogs, leading to their rough behavior. The book is actually a training program for dog owners to follow.

This book contains interesting incidents regarding many of his clients. Cesar’s Way has everything it takes to be the ultimate dog training guide. This book will be of great assistance for both new and old dog owners.

 

2. How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond

“How to Raise the Perfect Dog” is one of Cesar Milan’s very own guide for every dog owner. As I mentioned earlier, there’s hardly a dog fanatic who doesn’t know this guy. And he unearthed some precious gems in terms of Dog Training Tips. Cesar Milan’s books are easy, in-depth, and they strike the all the right keys when it comes to developing an understanding with your canine friend.

In his book, “How to Raise the Perfect Dog,” Cesar has shown us how to raise the perfect dog. According to his book, the early years play a key function in raising a dog. If you are planning to get a puppy, or if you have already brought one home, you should consider buying this book as well. This book will help you in creating the suitable environment for your little furry friend. The environment ensures that there occur no behavior issues in the future.

Cesar’s book also assists you in correcting the commonly seen behavior problems in young, growing dogs. Cesar himself has raised and taken care of dogs of many different breeds.

From his experience, he has gathered knowledge that he shared with us through his book. The book guides you through both sweet and sour things. It tells you how pups behave in their different stages of growing. It tells you if you are doing something wrong and how to correct them.

The book helps you to develop obedience in your dog from the very first day. In fact, Cesar has given particular sets of exercise and games to bring out the best in your dog. This 320-page book will help you to raise your pup in the best way.

 

3. Puppy Training: Proven and Fast Working Techniques to Train Your Puppy in Obedience, Potty Training, and Crate Training

Puppies are cute and everybody likes them. They can cheer you up just by sitting in front of you. However, training them might not be as cheerful as that. Anyone would agree that puppy training is a time and labor consuming job. Right? Not quite.

With the right guidance and tools at your side, training some of the most notorious furballs becomes easy.

When I say guide, Robert Mathews along with Marilyn Willows have prepared the perfect guide for this job. In their book Puppy Training, they have given all that you will require training your pup or growing dog.

This book is not only for noob puppy owners or trainers, people with grown up dogs and even experts can purchase it to build on their expertise. Say, you have got a pup that is a newborn and you don’t have any clue how to take care of it. Robert Mathews’ Puppy Training can greatly assist you in this process.

This 150-page training guide will help you thoroughly in raising your little pup to a great companion for you. The book demonstrates how the different stages of the puppy’s growth work. It will give you a prologue before you start the training so that you would know what you are signing up for.

The book will help to crate train and potty-train your puppy with satisfactory results. And of course, it will help you to train your pup not to chew things.

One common mistake dog owners come across is misinterpreting their dog/pup. Robert and Marilyn’s book will help you understand your pup’s body language. This will further help you to give your puppy exactly what it needs.

 

4. Dog Training for Dummies

Unlike most pet animals, dogs develop a special relationship with their owners. This is why they become companions from pets. Thus it is important that you give your companion the best of things. Possibly that is why Jack Volhard and Wendy Volhard have published the book Dog Training for Dummies.

In their book, they have discussed various aspects of dog training. One such aspect is to understand the breeds and the difference of behaviors. Dogs of different breeds are different than each other, and thus they have different training requirements depending on how they behave and react. The book will help you select the training method suitable for your dog based on his breed.

This also helps to develop their inherent personality that is generally lost in wrong or unruly training. The book is handy for people with both grown up dogs and newborn puppies.

If you have a grown up dog, Jack and Wendy’s book will help you to understand them and give them what they need. This is also critical for their proper training.

The book will also show you how to teach your companion basic commands, such as Sit, Down, Stay etc. And if your dog is going to have pups or if you are going to bring one home, this book will tell you what to do beforehand.

From the book, you can learn when to take your dog outside and how to develop their socializing skills. The book will help you to keep your dog healthy and safe from diseases. It will guide you in addressing aggression so that you don’t end up punishing your dog unnecessarily. All in all, it is a perfect book for first-timers.

 

5. 101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog

The international bestseller “101 Dog Tricks” is written by Kyra Sundance, one of my favorite trainers. Kyra herself is well-known around the globe for her stunt dog show performances. She is an expert in the area.

Kyra has a great deal of experience with various breeds. And with that, she has developed a guide, which is the book 101 Dog Tricks. In her book, she has demonstrated ways in which owners can bond with their dogs in a fun and rewarding relationship. According to her understanding and experience, this type of relationship is healthiest for the four-legged folks.

I found colorful photos that prove to be easy to follow. In fact, every step has an accompanying difficulty rating and prerequisites that help you prepare for the job at hand. In the book, she has also included what problems can occur in these steps and how to solve them.

This book contains tricks starting from the training of basic commands to very tricky ones. There are a number of unique tricks that include Tidy Up Your Toys into the Toybox and Get a Soda from the Fridge.

Kyra points out in her book that these tricks, training, and exercises help your dog in many ways. They keep him content, happy and both mentally and physically challenged. And through these things, a very deep and understanding bond grows up between you and your dog. The book 101 Dog Tricks is intended for both personal and professional use.

 

6. Team Dog: How to Train Your Dog–the Navy SEAL Way

Mike Ritland has had a great deal of experience with SEAL dogs, having training them for over 15 years. The SEAL dogs are well known for their high level of training and command response. And Mike thinks that these things are not only limited to them.

With proper training and guidance almost any dog can be like a SEAL dog. He published his book, Team Dog, in order to help people to train their dogs. He runs his company now for training SEAL dogs and also other clients. But he wants to share his expertise and training with as many people as possible. Team Dog is his approach towards that goal.

In his book, we can find various aspects of dog training. He says in his book that in order to raise your dog as the best friend of the family, proper training is vital. He has shared many of his experience in the form of anecdotes and examples. And he has discussed all of the tips and techniques in very easy language for better understanding.

This little book aims to build dogs as team leaders and be able to act in moments of crisis. Mike says different households suit different breeds of dogs. And Team Dog is there to help you find that out.

Since the book targets developing dogs as good as SEAL dogs, all kinds of professional and stunt dogs can be trained with its assistance. Mike Ritland explains scientifically the importance of gaining your dog’s trust and their obedience in his New York Times bestseller – Team Dog.

 

7. Training the Best Dog Ever: A 5-Week Program Using the Power of Positive Reinforcement

Larry Kay has co-authored the book Training the Best Dog Ever demonstrating techniques used by the renowned author Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz. His book focuses on the Power of Positive Reinforcement. It features in my list of Top Dog Training Books for a multitude of reasons.

Larry says that the most understanding relationship between a dog and its owner is developed through love and affection. Rough treatment and extreme training program can be harmful to the four-legged friends, which can lead to your harm.

His book aims to train dogs through trust and treat. In his book, you will not find any use of choke collars, bonding, leash yanking etc. Each and every step is demonstrated using an illustration. The book will help you to hand-feed, crate and potty train, basic commands and other complex ones.

Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz has trained Bo Obama, the White House dog and the Portuguese Water Dogs of Senator Ted Kennedy. The list is actually quite long. Larry Kay has illustrated her training techniques associated with her own expertise in this matter.

The book contains a 5-week training program that is sure to work for all varieties of dog breeds. The training program consists 10 to 20 minutes of daily practice. Training the Best Dog Ever will help you to make your pups and dogs comfortable in almost any situation – be that the office of the vet, a party at your home or on the street. Larry’s book is all about love and tenderness towards dogs. After all, they are our best friends.

 

8. The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs

As you can guess from the name, the book The Other End of the Leash is a totally different approach towards dog training compared to most training guides. Of course, this is a bland comparison without some facts. Facts are why I am recommending this as one of the best dog training books that are out there. Let me just go over them in brief detail.

The author of the book, Dr. Patricia McConnell is an applied animal behaviorist and dog trainer. She has had twenty years’ worth of experience which she has accumulated in her renowned book. Impressive, right? Wait till you hear the rest of the story.

According to her, our behaviors as owners matters as much as the behaviors of our dogs. Many of the cases of apparent disobedience are mainly a result of miscommunication. And Dr. Patricia McConnell in her book speaks of how we can train ourselves as well as our furry companions.

We can start by learning proper communication techniques. She tells us to look at the situation from our dogs’ perspective, thus understanding them far better than we could before.

Dogs and humans share personality types, and that is why all dogs don’t go with all of us. Slight movement of our body or a change in our voice affects our dogs. In her book “The Other End of the Leash,” the good doctor focuses on using our voice and body posture for successful communication and understanding.

The book notes that “rough and tumble primate play” is not always a good thing. Dogs love fun and we should give them so. Dr. Patricia McConnell demonstrates in her book a scientific perspective on how owners and dogs should behave around with each other. In short, the book helps to develop you as your dogs’ friend as well as them as yours.

 

9. Perfect Puppy in 7 Days: How to Start Your Puppy off Right

The 176-page book Perfect Puppy in 7 Days is a visual guide containing more than 400 photos to understanding your pup from day one. While most dog training guides focus on the overall development of the dog, Dr. Sophia Yin’s award-winning book focuses on the beginning of this journey.

In her view, the best relationships between dogs and owners often start to grow from the early stage of your friend’s life. So it is important that the owners give their best from the very first day they bring their pup home.

Training a puppy can be an easy job, as opposed to the common misconception that it is a hard and time-consuming thing. Dr. Sophia Yin demonstrates this by sharing her experience with her dad’s pup, Lucy.

With the help of her book, Perfect Puppy in 7 Days, you can get to bond and understand with your pup from the very beginning. The book helps to teach your pup with skills and socialization abilities that will guide them throughout their life.

It shows you that making the puppy enjoy behaving well is important. Dr. Sophia Yin’s book lets you see the world through your puppy’s eyes. She explains in her book the problems you might face and how to get rid of them.

This “Best Dog Training Book” candidate assures you that all this can be done in just 7 days. A puppy will only grow up to be a happy and confident dog if they are given the right start. According to the author, pets love owners who lead them as partners, but not as bosses.

 

10. Decoding Your Dog: Explaining Common Dog Behaviors and How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones

There’s a reason for me to put this on the list of Best Dog Training Books of mine. Most of us pet owners consider our pets has a member of the family, as our companion. That is why we approach them in the ways we do.

Still, there are times when we fail to make our dogs feel at home and end up sending them to shelters. However, a good number of specialists have come together to write a book to help you understand your dog better than ever.

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists has published the ultimate guide to dog training and understanding – Decoding Your Dog. This book is a scientific approach towards understanding dogs and developing a strong bond with them. The writing makes it easy. The writers paired with real-life experiences that many of us can relate to.

There are many ways of restraining your dogs, which include shock-collars, dominance training, clickers etc. But most of them are for training dogs as loyal animals, not as loving companions.

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists has come forward with their book that can help us make our dogs love us. The book helps us to know why our dogs are behaving the way they are and what should we do about it.

This book literally decodes the dog’s mind so that you can know them better and feel them as the companion you seek in them. Through a successful understanding of our canine partners, we can develop them better and in ways, that’s beneficial for both the owners and the dogs.

 

How Did I Choose These Books?

An Intriguing question to say the least. After I’m done with the list, it is only natural I tackle this one. This section will help you understand what things to keep in mind while choosing a book to train these four-legged beasts. These will also help you to widen your research for an Ideal book should you choose to look elsewhere.

First of All: Get an Idea about the Writer!

The FIRST thing I did was looking into the profile of the writer of training books like these. When it comes to my dogs (or anyone’s for that matter) I won’t simply by “Any” book from “Any” writer. Not to sound disrespecting but I want to get a book from a guy that has a clear idea about what he’s telling others to do. He/She needs to know his job pretty well.

Guys like Cesar Milan and Robert Martin get a pass in this regard. They’ve been in Dog Training long enough to know their job “Top Down.” A writer who knows his craft can navigate you through every life stage of your dog in his book.

Get an Idea about The Matter Your Book Discusses

It is mighty important for any owner to know what the book at hand is talking about. Let me give you an example, your four-legged friends have different life-stages, different behavioral patterns, and sometimes “Breed Specific” traits.

People should buy a book that addresses the proper issues their dogs are facing. If you want to socialize your friend, you should know which problems he has and then buy the books that deal with one or all those problems. I ain’t doing my own publicity here but the books that I recommended you, deal with all these aspects or a single aspect at a time.

What You Want to Do Matters Too!

While you are searching the solutions to your friend’s issues, bear in mind that the choice of a training book pretty much depends on your own goals as well.

The Best Dog Training Books always give you choices. The choice is to set your own goals. How do you want to treat your four-legged companion? What areas of his behavior do you want to improve? How do you want him to respond in various situations? Make a list of your answers and goals depending on questions similar to these. Then set out to buy a book that answers these questions.

Fortunately, the Top Dog Training Books, in my opinion, are diverse. They tackle behavioral problems as well as different “Life-Stage Based” treatments very well.

What is Your Style of Teaching the Canine Friend?

While you need to pay attention to your canine friends, please pay attention to yourselves as well. For example, how many hours are you willing to work with the puppy each day? How would you train your furballs? How do you prefer to learn more about dogs? Based on the answers to these questions, select a book from my list (or go beyond) that helps you to learn about your pets efficiently and train them well.

Okay, I Get the “How to” Guide but Why Do I Need A Training Book Anyway?

A valid question, isn’t it? Why would anyone need a book to train the dogs? If you think for a second, you’ll find the answer pretty quickly. For those of you who need a solid reason to buy one, I have quite a few. Let us have a look at some of them.

The Book is Your Own Version of a Trainer

The first reason for buying a training book for dogs is that you get your expert trainer at home. Yes! The book IS your trainer. Professional trainers charge impossible hourly rates that correlate to their expertise. Over the course of few days (or months), this can become tough to handle. With a book at hand, it is more like a “One Time” investment. Plus, you can train as many dogs as you want. At home. Conveniently. Within your preferred timetables.

You can Purchase Several Books at Once

This point pretty much echoes the previous one. These books are priced way less than what a trainer can charge you. These books don’t always deal with all the issues you can find. People might think a single book might not be enough for everything. If that’s the case, go ahead! Buy multiple books! Then you’ll have each one tackling different aspects of the training. These are cheap too. You won’t have to spend a whole lot to buy these things.

You Can Go Back to the Source Every Time!

Well, a trainer can’t repeat (or may not repeat) a trick more than thrice or four times. Even you’ll get tired. But the tricks in these books are permanent. You can go back and check these if you forget few things. You can always turn the leaf back and go through the steps. It is “One Book” for multiple dogs at times. Without wasting heaps of money too!

Final Thoughts

I don’t know about you but I am tired after this long guide on Best Dog Training Books. I believe I’ve covered everything I could within the topic. These short reviews depict my firsthand experience with these products. Just to make things a bit clearer, I’ve also included parameters that I focused on while I was choosing top dog training books for experimentation and review. At this point, you should be well-equipped to buy one of these on my list or even further your own research. If you feel I’ve missed some things, tell me in the comments right away so that I can fix it.

Thanks for reading this article. You may also like to read the articles about dog playpens, dog kennels, and dog strollers.