Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

by David Weston, Ruth Ross

Offers advice on training a well-behaved dog, discusses canine behavior, and tells how to handle problems such as jumping up, house training, car sickness, aggression, digging, barking, and chasing

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[ThDogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not particularly complex, a little outdated but honestly for a 32 year old book this is pretty good even in year 2024. David and Ruth were way ahead of their times.

I think this is a good book to give to a child, a pet owner or a beginner dog owner. It covers a lot of the basics in a neat and efficient way. I particularly like how each problem chapter was structured with a description of the problem, common causes, preventive techniques and then cures (both training and management).

Alternatively, this is a good book to give to someone who is too harsh on their dog and struggling to train basic skills, as it has lots of easy simple step-by-step processes to help them succeed.

My favourite chapters were the ones on resource guarding, jumping up, recall, chase and management. I did learn some new steps to making resource guarding/impulse control exercises easier for dogs to succeed at, go figure!

I found the aggression chapter thankfully brief, as he addressed only mildly reactive behaviours and was firm in recommending professional trainers for true aggression.

I found his views on anxiety and medications the most objectionable, as it seems he holds the belief you can reward anxiety. Thankfully this was only a paragraph here and there outside of the entire book, so it did not harm the overall educational tone.

Overall, pretty solid book despite its age.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of dog behavior and easy to apply helps for modifying poor behavior of your canine.