The Loved Dog

The Loved Dog : The Playful, Non-Aggressive Way to Teach Your Dog Good Behavior by Tamar Geller

I was at the library and was in the process of walking to the circulation desk when I saw this book sitting on the "New!" shelf.

I found this book to be a good read. The author pinpoints various "games" to teach a dog the manners we want it to learn. I have tried a few of the methods so far and perhaps with a little more practice we will be able to train Emma using these techniques.

One thing we did start doing while reading this book is feeding her after we eat ourselves. I have noticed that Emma no longer gulps down her food in seconds and sometimes she will even take a break for a while then come back to finish her food. My guess is that she is no longer worried about Mommy and Daddy being so hungry that they will eat her food. I also have gotten her to sit until her food dish is in its spot and wait until I say "go eat" before she will step towards the food dish. If she steps before my command, then I take the food dish off the floor and again tell her to sit and stay. She is getting better. I think this method is helping her realize who is Alpha in this house, and it's not her!

Anyway, I thought the book was well worth picking up from the library, and if you have a dog, I suggest you do too!