“You’re juggling
a lot right now, and a puppy’s a pretty big ball”.
That was my dad's advice when I talked to him about getting a puppy. So why exactly am I
getting a puppy right now? Portie puppies are a pain in the butt. If there is
any hope of them ever growing up and ceasing to little pain in the butts, they
need a lot of work. A whole lot of work. While there is a lot going on in my
life right now, I do have 2 months home without school or work. I doubt I’ll
get that opportunity again in the near future, so it’s puppy time.
In honor of
puppy coming home tomorrow, here’s a few of my favorite books and websites
pertaining to dog training and behavior:
BOOKS:
Training
Levels, Sue Ailsby
Sue
Ailsby’s blog was the first clicker training blog I found, and I raised Memo by
her levels training system. At that time all that was out were the levels posted freely on her website. Since then, she has published (in ebook format
only) an updated version of her training levels, which I have purchased and
read and plan on following with Cusco. I highly recommend anything and
everything she’s written, including her blogs and FREE BOOKS!
How
to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, by Rutherford and Neil
A
great book covering the puppy’s first year. Covers the stages of development
along with what to teach and look out for in each. Includes crate training,
house breaking, and handling sharp puppy teeth.
The
Other End of the Leash, by Patricia McConnell
Not
a fan on the views on dominance expressed in this book, but I do like how this
book focuses on fixing the owner’s behavior rather than on fixing the dog’s
behavior. Also contains some good discussion of making use of the dog’s
instincts in training. As a side note, I share Sue's take on domininance, found here.
Don’t
Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training, by Karen Pryor
Karen
Pryor pretty much invented clicker training while working with dolphins early
in her career and she explains the foundations of clicker training in this book.
This is more of a book on behavior modification than it is a dog training book –
it doesn’t teach you how to teach the dog tricks or obedience behaviors, but
how to think as a trainer.
BLOGS:
Mind to Mind - Sue Ailsby's blog! My favorite! Sue has several Portuguese Water Dogs and she trains them to become her service dogs. She's a clicker trainer and competes actively in dog sports. She was raising Stitch at about the same time that I got Memo and I read every single word of Stitch's blog, possibly multiple times. She also raises, trains, and shows llamas.
http://www.sue-eh.ca/
Dog Star Daily - A
fun blog written by Dr. Ian Dunbar, also a clicker trainer. He’s a fun writer
and is very interested in raising puppies and in utilizing specific periods of
brain development for different types of training. He’s a scientist and his
writing reflects that. While he’s a great writer and scientist, he can make you
think you’ve ruined your dog forever by not doing something at some specific
week of development. This is a good blog, just remember that plenty of dogs
have grown up to be spectacular pets without following Dunbar’s schedule J
http://www.dogstardaily.com/
Karen Pryor Clicker Training - There’s some good information here, but unfortunately
the main purpose of her blog seems to be to sell her products. Her products are
great, but none are necessary to raise a fantastic puppy.
Say Yes! - I
was just introduced to this blog by a friend and haven’t gotten to know it very
well, but everything I've seen so far is great. The author is
currently raising a puppy, so I’ll be following along. There’s a
definite focus on positive training, puppy raising, and agility.
I’m
sure there’s more, but that’s all I have for now! Pictures of puppy to come tomorrow!
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