The Ultimate Guide to Raising a Puppy: How to Train and Care for Your New Dog

I haven’t had a puppy in many years - and honestly just didn’t want to screw anything up. I was recommended this book by a trainer and I it in Used-Good condition for around $5… it’s worth countless times more than that! Great advice and approaches to training a puppy; and some things I had not considered before. I go back and reference some parts when I am feeling unsure - then I have the confidence to forge onward.I included this in my Belgian Malinois puppy starter kit - and he is great and very intelligent. He has responded to every single tactic in this book so far. He goes #1 on the pads in the house about 90% of the time, we successfully go #2 outside 100% of the time and he is only nine weeks old and has been with me for 5 days with no prior training. I feel like I was able to be really well prepared for puppies homecoming before he even arrived. Not only does the author offer training insights, but also talks about your dogs personality, and how important it is to give them choices to raise confident, independent, and happy dogs. I may buy a second copy for my friend with an adult dog - I still think these topics apply well beyond the puppy months.

I read this book cover to cover! Now I'm going over it again. I've had dogs all my life, but Victoria is a genius. I just wish I could learn to be as calm as she is. I have a 2-year-old Yorkipoo and just got a baby Yorkipoo. It's so much fun training them and you end up with a great companion.

I bought the audiobook and am about to buy a physical copy for reference. In this book, Victoria gives vital insigh of dog psychology which explains her reward based training method. Ever wonder why aversive training tends not to work for long? Or in some cases makes the dog worse? Victoria explains why. She also gives straightforward training instructions.However, she does not micromanage the training with exact hand positions, which side of your body the dog should be on, etc. like other books do. If you want a book that will tell you exactly where to stand and what to do with your hands, you will prefer Dog Training for Dummies. Just skip the parts that encourage aversive training. If you want to see Victoria's training in action, watch her TV show called "It's me or the dog." (US version. UK version has outdated methods and her training has evolved since.)

I recommend this for anyone considering a puppy. Unfortunately, people don't often research when deciding to get a dog or not so getting this after getting a puppy was sort of like reading half the book and knowing that it was too late to use the info. I love Victoria Stillwell and her methods of positive training, but this book was not as helpful as others she has written.

Found it helpful

This book is very well written. However it is not solely a training book. The majority of the book describes psychology and how the dogs brain works. There are some sections that are based on the opinion of a positive trainer and were written with emotion rather than objectivity. There is a very small portion of the book that actually teaches you a few training techniques. I rated it 3 stars because I bought this book in hopes to learn how to train a new puppy, but will have to go elsewhere to find more training information.

This had a lot of information about how dogs think and that type of stuff but I found it really lacking in training information. Maybe i just didn't take the information in correctly. I already believe in positive reward training but I'm more literal and would have liked more things explained as a do this not that.

A better title for this book should be "a basic guide for raising a puppy" or "an introduction to raising a puppy". This book held a lot of fluff and lacked any real substance on raising a puppy. This book is best suited for people who are interested in raising a puppy, but have no prior experience. (Which is needed) If you grown up with a dog and/or have prior experience, then this book might not be for you.

Great resource for dog owners - from first weeks through adolescence. I would highly recommend.

Lots of handy hints and tips for the new puppy owner and by Victoria Stilwell no less.....how can I go wrong lol

Love it!

It is a lot of information on the how's and whys of dog behaviour, which is really interesting to me. It might not be to someone who just want to know what to do to train the pup. That is also covered and I think knowing the roots of behaviours in canines is helpful in understanding the training process.

I have a Whippet puppy and found this book to be well written, informative and helpful. Victoria comes across as an excellent trainer with very kind and caring training methods. Most importantly IT WORKS. My puppy is improving in leaps and bounds..literally! Thanks Victoria. What a star!