How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition)

Entirely revised, with a fresh new design and new photographs throughout, this new edition of "How To Be Your Dog's 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.

How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend, an informal, friendly guide by The Monks of New Skete, is really two books in one: a step-by-step training manual and a philosophical discussion of the spiritual benefits of owning a dog. The Monks, who support their community in upstate New York by breeding and training German shepherds, reveal a profound devotion to all breeds in this detailed guide to every imaginable aspect of dog ownership. They cover it all: naming the puppy, training with eye contact and jingling keys, establishing the best sleeping arrangements, even dealing with pet loneliness. Owners are advised to think of themselves as the dog's alpha figure, to train with praise instead of punishment, and to beware of becoming the dog's maid or doorman. Throughout, the authors reflect on the deep spiritual connection possible between humans and dogs. Generations of dogs have been trained with the bestselling 1978 edition of this book. With this update, the Monks are bound to gain many new fans--happy humans and obedient canines alike. With modesty and generosity, the Monks offer an extensive list of other helpful books about dogs, as well as a useful appendix of American Kennel Club titles and terms. --Judy Fireman