The Puppy Primer

I had to accept the fact that I was the one who need training! If I wanted a good dog I had to be a decent trainer. It's been awhile since I've had to train puppy. I wish our other dog could have just trained the puppy-but since that wasn't going to happen I had to find a good, easily understood book. (Besides, I hadn't done a stellar job training our other dogs.) The paperbacks in pet stores don't cover all the things responsible puppy parents need to know. This book was recommended to me by my daughter. She has been a dog handler and trainer for many years for the military and now for Homeland Security...so she knows her stuff! This book is easy to follow. Chapters and specific training issues and methods are logically presented. You don't have to read the whole thing cover-to-cover before you get a puppy or immediately after you get one. I just started with the simple stuff like getting puppy to know its name, how to potty train (still working on that one,) and teaching it how to chew on appropriate things!You won't be overwhelmed by this book and it really has made puppy training easier this time!

This book is a must-read for new puppy owners. You can definitely trust the info in this book; Patricia McConnell is a certified applied animal behaviorist, ie she has a PhD in zoology and has studied behavioral science. Don't let that put you off though; this book is an easy read, and doesn't bog you down with science jargon. The information is spot on and the instructions are step by step and easy to follow. Yes, it is set up as a program starting when you first bring the puppy home, but the dog police aren't going to come get you if you don't do everything in order. Whether you're about to get your puppy or you got them a month ago and you're starting to run into trouble, this book is one of the best you can get.

Helpful context: Reminders to practice, a few examples of corrective actions, and reminder that dogs aren't born speaking EnglishBook needs improvement:I don't have a puppy / dog, but I will get one in a few months. I can't imagine reading the book when I actually have a puppy; it is too dense. In the age of 144 characters, infographs, and gifs, one would think the Author / Editor would have produced a more readable book. I bought it because it was on a review of top X dog training books or something.It is repetitive, which could be fine, but Author / Editor failed to repeat info in an interesting manner. I had a hard time visualizing the instructions. I practiced on my husband, too. We had friendly obedient dogs when we were younger, so we're not clueless. I kept thinking maybe the book is for super experienced dog owners, or learners who just like words and more words. Author / Editor missed an opportunity to educate differently.I was super frustrated reading the book. How am I going to remember all of the new information? I thought I would have to make my own diagrams, flowcharts or table, if I want to follow the advice and instructions in the book, especially once we get a puppy / dog. I realized that I couldn't be the only one with this problem, so I did an internet search. There are lots of simple one page flowcharts that are wonderful and will help dog owners remember the basic principles and processes of training a puppy or dog.Example of my frustration:The Author didn't clearly give examples of 'levels of distractions' until maybe the middle of the book. The book recommends practicing with different levels and one is supposed to practice some things like 30 times a day. By the end, I forgot some of the specific details of what I should do or the number of recommendations for each training activity. I practiced on my husband, but I can't imagine grabbing and re-reading the book once the puppy / dog is here.

We got our new puppy a month ago and have been using the guidance in this book everyday. Excellent program for training. It could be improved a little with more realistic training times included. Some instructions seem to indicate that a few reps is all that needs, however, a few reps a few times a day and everyday for a couple of weeks is more like it. Really like the summary pages that a good reminder for the instructions.

This book is excellent--super easy read, broken down very easily, very easy to go back and revisit topics--using both the table of contents and also the layout of the chapters is very easy for browsing to find topic. McConnell breaks down training into week by week (or stage by stage), which is very helpful for novice trainers. She breaks it down for me and my pup so we don't skip steps and get ahead of ourselves and ultimately fail. So, for instance, sitting, coming when called, heeling, etc. are broken down and revisited several times throughout the book. By doing this, she paces out the obedience training. Master stage one (or week one), and then move to the next stage. I highlighted as I read. I use it like notes/outlines--reread before doing the next stage for obedience training. Our pup 14 week old Australian Shepherd/ Border Collie mix is coming along nicely--and so am I for that matter. It's very easy to skip around as well. Love info on house training, jumping up, play biting, as well as sitting, down, heeling, etc--love everything--very comprehensive. She also explains about the optimal windows for socializing and obedience training--it keeps me on task, focused, and optimistic about training my pup. Training my pup make me love my put that much more!! This is one of three books of McConnell's that I have. I LOVE: The Other End of the Leash and have her Family Friendly Dog Training: A Six Week Program for You and Your Dog which we are using for our 3 yr old rescue.

I've had a number of puppies in the past but this is the first for my husband. This puppy primer is the perfect refresher for me and learning text for him. He has become a training guru and is working wonders with our now 4 month old border terrier. I highly recommend this regardless of your skill or experience. It will work for anyone. Trust Dr. Pat! She rocks.

Brilliant book, nice bite size pieces of training and explanations. Our puppy has loved the games (training) 🥰🐶🥰

This book was so useful for me before my puppy arrived. I also recommended it to a work colleague who had also just gotten a puppy

Well presented. Well illustrated. Perfect 1st manual for a pawrent!

Sorry but was disappointed with this book. Patricia is a very knowledgeable lady and I have many of her books in my library. This book was too basic for me. Will look for a first time owner to pass it on to.