Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog

Fantastic read for new dog owners! Get it BEFORE you get your puppy

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2013

This book is fantastic - Dr. Dunbar is clear and concise with his instructions, and his techniques are strongly rooted in animal behavior science. I'm considering becoming a first time dog owner, and Dr. Dunbar's frankness and honesty were very appreciated, as were his very creative and surprisingly doable training techniques. I feel confident in my decision to get a puppy now, and his instructions/guides have given me a very good idea of what to expect and how to prepare.

In regards to the 1 and 2-star reviews complaining about his tone, which almost scared me away from this book- I suspect those users must have purchased an older version of Dunbar's book.

In the forward to his 2004 version (the hardback edition from Amazon), he credits his new editor with toning down his wording to presumably make it less inflammatory. This is very evident in the first 38 pages of the book, which are very positive and carefully worded when discussing "controversial" training topics.

However, Dunbar's infamously stern tone shines through after the first few chapters, but I honestly didn't mind it at all. He's firm because the welfare of your dog is in your hands and far too many owners don't appreciate that fact, hence the shelters full of poorly raised "problem" dogs. At no point does he cross the line and become some sort of raging dog-training Nazi, as some of the low-rating reviewers seem to suggest. Quite the contrary: I found him to be very professional, somewhat irreverent, very credible and quite clever in his training techniques.

Overall, this book is a fantastic read and I highly recommend you pick it up LONG before you even pick your puppy or your breeder, as Dunbar provides some excellent tips on what to look for at that stage.

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Kindle Customer

Clear and concise advice

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2022

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This is a great introduction to puppy raising. I have read multiple positive reinforcement puppy and dog books now and Dunbar explains things in a clear, matter-of-fact way that I appreciate. The advice re: what to expect in a breeder and your puppy can seem alarmist. I view it as what a person and breeder should aim to accomplish, i.e., the golden standard in puppy raising instead of all or nothing. Dunbar explains what we should strive to achieve and expect of ourselves and our young pups. Now that my pup is 4 months, this book is holding up well.

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Patricia B

Essential Help for You and Your New Puppy

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2007

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I bought this book after reviewing some of the articles on the [...]website, which offers a preview of some of the key points of the book. I did read many of the reviews here and felt that the negative comments were somewhat over-reactive.

From my perspective, the book not only makes sense about how to raise a puppy, but also about how to raise a child! Why waste time trying to teach kids or dogs what is wrong, until they eventually figure out what is right? That seems really inefficient, now that I know the "lure-reward" technique. This technique lets you use the essential nature of the dog to train it to do what you want it to do: pee, chew, and poop where you want it to, for instance. Walk calmly on leash, for another. The trick is to not fall into the trap of thinking that a few weeks of short and long-term confinement is somehow cruel to the dog. Like children, dogs respond quickly to a consistent routine. It DOES require YOU to be consistent and to have discipline, and I definitely figured out where I was being lazy and too lax, and whenever I went back to the tighter crate schedule, things improved immediately. I realized that I confused a few days of successful potty events with "success" in overall training and went from confinement to total lack of restraint, so I referred to the book again and made some corrections.

Here are a couple of tips that helped make this book so useful for me. First, I had a consultation with a pet dog trainer who knew about (and recommended) Dunbar's technique. This really helped me when addressing the issues that I felt were not explained in the book (more on that later). Secondly, while I took Dunbar's stern advice as the kind of advice someone gives to people who might not pay attention...that is, I didn't take him quite so seriously. So, when he says that your dog needs to meet over 100 people in his first month (or whatever), I took that as the general message: socialize your dog as much as you possibly can. We have a really small house and we aren't hugely social, but I was surprised to find that I could make a list of 100 people pretty easily. They haven't all been over to my house, but I've been out and about and exposed my pup to a lot of different people, and I could see the change in about 2 weeks! And, I realized too that this socialization has to continue through adolescence, the difficult stage (again, think of children). I also found that "training" your dog to be OK when you are not around was particularly practical and helpful. It not only reduced my dog's anxiety, but mine as well, since it gave me a method to work with the dog to gradually introduce him to "alone" time, which will definitely be a part of his life. It also helped me to be aware of where I might be inadvertently feeding into the dog's anxious attitude when I returned home (or got him out of his crate).

The sit, lay down trick is a snap and I even successfully tried it on an adult pitbull that wouldn't lay down for its owner!

What I also found interesting was that the tips I learned in the book and shared with my other dog-owning friends helped them when it came to their adult dogs! I think that the Cesar Milan method can be quite effective, but it is based solely on dominance, and the lure-reward method can work wonderfully too in many situations (such as getting your dog to be calm when going on leash and learning to happily sit when greeting people).

Now, for some things that come to mind that I found lacking in the book. First, I happen to have a toy poodle who is bizarrely un-food motivated, and Dunbar doesn't mention that at all. I did learn from other poodle owners that this breed isn't the most food motivated one. I wish he would cover that situation in the book. So, for instance, Dunbar recommends putting all of the dog's kibble in Kong toys, yet if I put all of Buck's food in his bowl, he *still* wouldn't eat even half of it. So, if the open dish doesn't work, the Kong toy is like locking it away! And, freeze dried liver didn't work for Buck either. Advice: get those beef jerky sticks for dogs. Or try cheese. And strangely: Wheat Thins (even my cat loves them). Small bits of hot dog too. (I use this for the poop reward). Even so, all of these favorite items stuffed into a Kong toy won't work for my dog. Maybe when he gets a little older/bigger and I can try it out again, but for now I'm mystified about turning him into a chew-toy-aholic.

Secondly, I would have appreciated more information on the puppy interaction when you have a really small dog, or a really large dog. I think the problems you encounter as a dog owner do vary when you have a "non-average" sized breed. How do you keep your little dog from being completely frightened of huge dogs (and then later turning into one of those yappy jerks)? How do you keep your rambunctious, lovey Great Dane from bowling over the chihuaha? And, when you do finally take your dog to the dog park, how can you as an owner to a better job of evaluating other dogs as potential problems? Most people don't even bother to socialize their dogs, so how do you evaluate?

Finally, while I initially started asking people to offer a treat to my dog to get him to sit, I quickly learned that most every person will use a different visual method in asking the dog to sit, while only using the word "sit." So, it's really too onerous in my opinion to try to get every person to get the dog to sit, since the lure/reward technique of holding the treat over the head works, but most people don't know the signal! So, my dog dances on its hind legs while people say "sit!" and give it the treat because he's so cute. This pretty much has de-sensitized "sit" as a keyword so I quickly dropped the idea of asking people to make him "sit." What *does* work is asking people to offer the dog a treat, since then they naturally great the dog with a lowered hand, palm up, which is far less threatening to the dog and not a dominance display. I am really not going to burden every human social interaction with an instruction on the sit technique that is required. Later, when the dog learns the word itself, maybe then. I feel that in this respect, Dunbar's advice is a bit impractical.

Overall, I am very glad that I bought this book, and it's been an essential tool in my working with my puppy and understanding the nature of dogs.

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nonneurotypical

I am glad I found Ian Dunbar. He knows what he is talking about.

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2012

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Dr. Ian Dunbar writes with the voice of authority because he truly is the authority. Read this book and learn from the source because most of the more current dog training guidance you will find elsewhere is following Dr. Dunbar's lead (or it is 40 years behind).

The content presented in this book and the expertise of the author deserve more than a five star rating and easily outweigh any shortcomings of this book. I think I understand why the information is presented in the book in the way that it is, but it may not lend itself to easy reading and easy acceptance by some people.

I read a little bit about dog training from several sources before deciding to get my first new puppy in 16 years. I came away a bit confused by the various approaches many of which were not at all consistent with successes I have had on my own with many dogs over the past 40 years. Then I read this book and all of the successes and failures I've had on my own suddenly made perfect sense.

Initially this book may be a bit difficult for some people to digest. It seems overly rigid at first, but the specific procedures that are described are offered as an ideal approach for the most typical scenario. Don't let that prevent you from reading on. The sense of humor may not be easy for some to grasp and the degree of emphasis that is placed on the urgency and importance of some aspects of training may put off some people. However, if you hang in there and read the whole book, I think you will come away with a very solid sense of what you need to do, when you need to do it, and why you need to do it even if you don't do it in the exact manner suggested in the book.

I am convinced that Dr. Dunbar genuinely wants to get his readers to succeed at training great dogs and avoid the creation of troubled dogs first and foremost. He points out that 75% of dogs that end up at a shelter because of behavior problems will never be adopted and will instead be euthanize ("put to sleep"). And, of the 25% that do get adopted, half will end up back at the shelter very soon after adoption and will likewise to be put to death. If he started the book with those statistics, the emphasis he puts on the importance of getting it right from the start might seem more immediately justified.

I read the small number of bad reviews of this book before I bought it and I'm glad they did not dissuade me. Anyone who has not read this whole book does not have the full perspective on it. Those who don't value a scientific approach to dog behavior and dog training may not be persuaded by it. Most who believe they already know the best way to train a dog probably will never read it.

I think some people will be a bit put off by the heavy sense of responsibility Dr. Dunbar throws on the readers head very early on in the book. Those people probably shouldn't own dogs.

7 people found this helpful

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Kevin Walker

Forget Cesar Millan and Read This

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2022

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This is a great book whether you're a first-time dog owner or a repeat puppy owner who wants to correct training mistakes from your past. Dunbar's positive method of training is a refreshing choice over methods that get more attention these days.

My only gripe with this book is that it is HIGHLY repetitive - but I'm guessing that is by design. Dunbar is all about socialization, socialization, socialization. He sets up a schedule for how many people - especially children and men - your pup needs to meet, and he wants your pup to meet 100 people by the time s/he is 3 months old.

The thinking is that is you want an adult dog who is not going to bite when they get startled or have a vet poking and prodding them, and who wants to be hugged and snuggled and well-behaved when meeting people, that training needs to start when your pup is very young, like 8 weeks old.
We threw puppy parties and invited nearly everyone we knew to come over, pick him up, hold him, give him snacks.

So, yes, this book is repetitive. But I give it 5 stars because following it means you're more likely to have a 5-star dog companion.

3 people found this helpful

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margaret white

Best book for training your puppy

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2014

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This is the best book I have ever read on training yourself and your puppy.A must read reference for every one anticipating getting a puppy. I read and studied this book for a full year before I found the right dog. If you want to raise a dog who is sociable, obedient, and a great lifetime companion, this is the right book. Everything is easy to understand and makes sense and helps you to understand the importance of reaching goals at the right stages of a puppy's life. I have used it to train two puppies and I am very confident in understanding how to raise a successful puppy. My oldest dog is one of the best dogs I have ever known. She is a Westie and they are known for being difficult to train and very stubborn. She is completely obedient and the smartest dog I have ever seen. My current puppy is learning quickly what is expected to do and what he can expect from me. I reread this book before the last puppy and it helped so much. If you are only going to get one book, get this one.

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Judith E. Wright

"Scared Straight" for first time puppy owner.

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2019

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I have no doubt that the techniques and training methods presented within are valid, incredibly helpful, etc., as many of the previous reviews have stated. My main issue with the book was that I felt it was a bit fear-mongering. By the time I had gotten a third of the way through it, I was terrified that I would screw up my future puppy in the first few days. And that's because Dr. Dunbar literally says it multiple times. "You must acknowledge that your puppy's socialization and education are now A DIRE EMERGENCY." "If your puppy fails to meet any of these deadlines, it is unlikely to achieve its full potential." "Remember, it takes only a few days TO START RUINING an otherwise perfect puppy." These statements might actually be true, and he may be just telling it to me straight, but I found myself stressed and pre-scolded. The book calls itself "The POSITIVE approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy & Well-Behaved Dog, but it's certainly not a positive approach for the potential doggy parent. I also found the book to be fairly repetitive - it is now burned in my skull that I should be using Kong dog toys. (Of course, consistency and repetition work for dogs, so maybe the author thinks that will work with humans as well.)
My takeaway from the book is that his way is the ONLY way to raise a pup. Otherwise I will end up ruining him, and he will probably be euthanized in a shelter because I'll abandon him in a shelter once his behavior problems get too much. The first line of the introduction - "Sadly, the majority of puppies fail to live long enough to enjoy their second birthday. Instead they develop a number of utterly predictable behavior, training, and termperament problems and are surrendered to animal shelters to play lotto with their lives."
I don't have my puppy yet, so I can't speak to his training techniques. I'll let the other reviews do that. And I fully understand the importance of puppy training, and don't deny that Dr. Dunbar speaks the truth. However, I feel like the tone of the book was anything but positive, and trying to terrify newbie puppy parents is not the best tactic. At least with me.

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H. Jin

It worked for us...

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2010

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'Before And After Getting Your Puppy' is an excellent book for prospective puppy owners, especially first-time owners such as ourselves. It is comprehensive without overwhelming you, and Dunbar is able to make the book entertaining as well as informative. In addition to providing plenty of advice, Dunbar also debunks many of the myths and half-truths about dogs, as well as the excuses made by their owners for why their dogs are poorly trained. I also really appreciate Dunbar's "positive reinforcement" approach, with its emphasis on encouragement and reward instead of punishment and discipline.

Basically, Dunbar's method can be reduced to two key points:

1) Positivity: rather than endlessly punishing your dog for the 1001 ways he can do something wrong, show him the one way you want him to do it right. Don't want your puppy to pee on floor or jump up when you come home? Then don't keep hitting him and screaming "No, bad dog!", SHOW him where you want him to toilet and how you want him to greet you, and reward him when he gets it right.

2) Consistency: let your dog know right from the first day what you want from him and be consistent in rewarding and punishing behaviour. Excusing or condoning "mistakes" in puppyhood simply indicates to the dog that this behaviour is accceptable, and ends up confusing the dog later when you punish him for doing something you (by default) have trained him to do.

The book is split into chapters that each cover an essential theme. After an introduction, the earlier chapters cover issues to consider before getting a puppy: selecting a breeder, what to look for in a puppy, which breed is more suitable, what you need to buy, how to prepare your house, and so on. Chapters 5-8 cover important development goals and deadlines for your new puppy; Chewtoy and House Training, Socialisation, Bite Inhibition, and The World At Large (walking, park playing, new encounters, etc). In each chapter, Dunbar goes into detail not only about what to do, but HOW to do it, providing specific practical examples as well as highlighting common pitfalls and mistakes many dog owners make.

One criticism I notice in the reviews here is that Dunbar's fairly rigid deadline approach ("If your puppy can't do X,Y,Z by twelve weeks he's well behind") could scare or intimidate new owners. I think the reason he does this is given in his explanation of rewarding dogs with treats. He notes that people often ignore him if he says to reward a dog with a treat, but if he specifically tells them to reward the dog with THREE treats, people will pay attention and carefully count out each one. Likewise, I think Dunbar feels that if he says "You should socialise your dog as soon as possible", people will let the socialisation lapse, whereas "Your dog must meet 100 people by 12 weeks" shakes the owner into action. Clearly, Dunbar isn't saying your dog will be a hopeless case if he has only met 99 people in 12 weeks, but he is making it clear that socialisation and training is critically important, and is best accomplished as quickly as possible.

In all, I found this an enjoyable and informative book, and it has certainly provided us with a healthy, happy, and well-behaved dog! Recommended, four stars.

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Lily

The Doc is In.

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2013

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Though I did grow up with a dog and most of my family members own dogs, I do not, and began fostering puppies with the enthusiasm and naivete of a new parent. I now have multiple large breed pups 10 wks - 5 months coming and going biweekly and have the privilege of learning very quickly what techniques work. This is one of several books I've read to assist me in this venture and while reading it, I kept thinking, "Yeah, I get what you're doing here." I believe he is deliberately trying to put a bit of fear into people to motivate them to be stricter with training simply because the majority of new puppy owners aren't at all knowledgeable and make the classic mistakes repeatedly. He all but admits this when he says he tells us to give the dog three treats every time they eliminate outside because if he tells us to give one treat, we might not. This can be extended to the advice about meeting hundreds of new people constantly, or having meet the puppy parties, or NEVER allowing a single accident in the house, or that they're basically ruined beyond hope if you don't do xyz by xyz weeks. It's hyperbole because, like many schoolteachers will tell you that the kids aren't the problem, the parents are, vets know the same about dogs and owners.

That said, while an X pen seems to work for some people, I would never use one. I feel that crate training done VERY strictly and properly for a few days to two weeks, depending on how much of a fast learner the pup is, allows the dog to be trusted in a puppy proof, gated room, very gradually extending to the rest of the house. Using the puppy pads has, in every instance that I've observed, trains dogs to eliminate on any and every towel, sweatshirt, rag, or paper left on the floor. If you are someone who cannot afford a dog walker and whose small puppy will be left alone upwards of 5 hours at a time, I guess it's more humane to teach them this method, though I'd want to unteach it in a large dog in a hurry. I'm not a fan of visiting homes where the darling Chihuahuas don't eliminate outdoors and we all get to appreciate the vision and aroma of their waste- 100x worse than a filthy cat litter box out of sight in a bathroom somewhere. Anyway, that's my deal, and clearly it's controversial.

What I got from this book was valuable- socialize, socialize, socialize, don't be a pushover when it comes to housebreaking, and be wary of communicable diseases. And I will always appreciate a positive reinforcement training book However, I can't stress enough that if you have a dog, want a dog, like dogs, read Culture Clash as well.

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Curtis

I am a Certified Animal Behavior Specialist who always recommends this book to my new puppy owners

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2020

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Some people may feel that the tone of the book is a bit condescending to dog owners, but if you can " get over it " and just take Dr. Dunbar's suggestions then you will get what you need from this book.

I get Dr. Dunbar's sarcastic tone and empathize with his frustration with some ( not all ) dog owners who just don't have or use common sense. Keep in mind that this is a Veterinary Behaviorist who was a pioneer in this work and is the reason that many of us in the same profession are successful at our craft. Dr. Dunbar is much older now and I would be cranky too ! Dr. Dunbar has so much experience and is such a valuable resource to many Animal Behaviorists.

I agree that the black and white pictures in the book are dated and should be replaced. I agree that their is some repetition in the book as well. I also agree that Dunbar can make the reader feel as though they have already messed their dog up if they have not done certain things. Life is not perfect so I tell clients to forge ahead. What choice do we have ?

I think of the book as a textbook rather than a novel. Just use the book for the excellant information and knowledge that Dunbar imparts. Another thing that I tell my clients about this book is that these are best suggestions. For instance, if your puppy has not met 100 people, especially men and children by the time it is 3 months, just move on ! You can still have a great dog. Remember that the book is giving you the best case scenarios for optimum results and most dog owners will not have that opportunity if they have an adult dog or older dog.

My recommendation as an Animal Behavior Specialist is to take what you can from this book and try not to be too sensitive about the tone. Remember that you are reading the book to gain knowledge. Good luck with your pet !

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