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Ten Natural Steps to Training the Family Dog: Building a Positive Relationship
Picture You finally take the plunge and decide to adopt a dog. But you have no idea how to train it or make it a member of your family. As the weeks progress, the dog becomes increasingly difficult and eventually runs you out of your own bed. Now, the dog sleeps next to your partner and growls every time you approach your significant other. It may sound hard to believe, but that?s what happened to one couple that went to Matthew Duffy, a longtime dog trainer, for help. And just as they took control of their dog and their lives, you can, too! In this book, you?ll How to transform a rambunctious dog into a composed family member The basic training approach needed to achieve your goals The role of distraction management How to understand how your dog thinks How to adapt to your dog?s likes and dislikes And much more! If you are an average dog owner looking for answers, then it?s time to take Ten Natural Steps for Training the Family Dog.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 21, 2010
Let me start off by saying that I am a rescue volunteer/foster home for a small breed rescue in the Louisville area. I also own a Doberman that has made me go grey prematurely. Because of those two situations, I have sought out many, MANY trainers and training techniques over the past 8 years (we're talking everything from clicker/gentle leader trainers to prong collar Doberman exclusive trainers.) I have learned what to do and what NOT to do from all of them. They've helped me turned around some of the most impossible dogs that others wouldn't touch. I am not a first-time dog owner that has never gone through training desperate for answers. I've been to seminars, multiple training schools with my dog, read up on several trainers and their techniques, and from this angle I will be writing my review.
First, I've got to hand it to Matt Duffy for putting his ENTIRE training concept into a book. Why do that if people can read your book and NOT have to come in to seek one-on-one training. For that, my hat is off to him. Second, it's difficult to write an instruction manual for putting together a lawnmower and explaining how all the parts work; but to write an instruction manual on a dog - a thinking, feeling, breathing creature - is next to impossible since they are all so unique.
Overall, I give Matt's book a B+. You can tell he made the book himself, but that's okay because it yields high rewards of complete understanding of his training concept, which is the whole point of writing a book. There's not a whole lot of personal fluff on where he came from, his "story"; just a simple bio and you get right down to the nitty gritty. For that alone I say, "it's about time someone has written a book like this! I just want to TRAIN MY DOG, not read some story!" His book is written chronologically parallel to how a dog owner/handler develops a dog's understanding and expectations of living in harmony with humans. He uses the metaphor of climbing a ladder - one rung at a time. Start with a solid foundation of manners before you start asking the dog for more difficult/stressful tasks like heeling (he teaches the "walk" command instead of "heel." THANK YOU MATT! You've saved a lot of dogs unneeded, ridiculous stress! He lets a dog be a dog in this regard.) The book was very easy to follow, which is good because it is as thick as any instruction manual would be. It took me a month to get through it, but once I finished I felt as if I had a good grasp of Matt's technique in a way that I could easily go back to parts that I may have forgotten and refresh my memory. I want to make a point to say that the the humans in the photos are overly-dramatized so you can get a two-dimensional idea of how to move with/against the dog. The subjects in the book (Matt included) are not truly strangling the dog though it looks like it. (Wonder if he would to a training DVD next? Maybe a DVD to go along with the book?)
Now for the politically incorrect part of my review...about Matt's technique. Matt is a student of the Koehler Method, is a Schutzhund/tracking guy, an ex-K-9 police officer, and his passion is German Shepherd Dogs (some of you may stop reading my review at this point because that tells you everything you need to know.) From my experience, I can tell you this - if you are a clicker trainer that has a happy little Shih Tzu that is interested in teaching a dog the task of sitting, waving, or fetch, this book isn't for you. However, if you have an EXTREMELY intelligent, driven, ready-to-fight Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Chow, or Doberman Pinscher that came from a bad situation (or possibly a bad situation you created yourself, which is the norm) and it's wanting to take your face off "Hannibal Lector" style, Matt is your man.
Being that I'm usually in the thick of it in the dog rescue world (which is full of individuals driven to support groups like PETA because they're sick of how animals are treated, understandably), I've heard bad things about Matt. You either love him or hate him, they say. Personally, I worked with Canadian Master Dog Trainer Sam Malatesta for 4 years. Sam is very familiar with the Koehler technique, but has evolved his own personal technique to be drive-based without the use of pinch or prong collars. If the dog needed the pinch collar, he would try everything he could to avoid it until it was all there was left. Sam does believe in using pinch collars to finish some of the most stubborn dogs (if you own one, you know what I mean) but he never puts a pinch collar on a dog that doesn't know the task at hand. This book suggests a pinch collar right off the bat, which leaves me uneasy, therefore I have to write the next paragraph...
Now that I have met Matt Duffy personally, I can tell you he is a genuine, lovely guy. He's not hot-headed, never gives up/doesn't get tired of a strong-willed jerk of a dog, is probably one of the most positive people I've met, and has a great sense of humor which is called for when an owner is so afraid of their dog (laughter breaks the tension and calms the situation). More importantly, he is brutally honest with you and eases you into reality and if you have a dangerous dog, he will lay out your options. He can read a dog well and is dead-on in his conclusions (which only takes him minutes to derive.) To put an end to the old rumors going around - If you hire Matt to train your dog in person, he will use whatever collar you have on your dog currently and if that doesn't work then he graduates the dog up to the next strongest collar (whatever gets their attention.) His first evaluation is free, and I strongly encourage you to meet him in person to jude for yourself.
First, I've got to hand it to Matt Duffy for putting his ENTIRE training concept into a book. Why do that if people can read your book and NOT have to come in to seek one-on-one training. For that, my hat is off to him. Second, it's difficult to write an instruction manual for putting together a lawnmower and explaining how all the parts work; but to write an instruction manual on a dog - a thinking, feeling, breathing creature - is next to impossible since they are all so unique.
Overall, I give Matt's book a B+. You can tell he made the book himself, but that's okay because it yields high rewards of complete understanding of his training concept, which is the whole point of writing a book. There's not a whole lot of personal fluff on where he came from, his "story"; just a simple bio and you get right down to the nitty gritty. For that alone I say, "it's about time someone has written a book like this! I just want to TRAIN MY DOG, not read some story!" His book is written chronologically parallel to how a dog owner/handler develops a dog's understanding and expectations of living in harmony with humans. He uses the metaphor of climbing a ladder - one rung at a time. Start with a solid foundation of manners before you start asking the dog for more difficult/stressful tasks like heeling (he teaches the "walk" command instead of "heel." THANK YOU MATT! You've saved a lot of dogs unneeded, ridiculous stress! He lets a dog be a dog in this regard.) The book was very easy to follow, which is good because it is as thick as any instruction manual would be. It took me a month to get through it, but once I finished I felt as if I had a good grasp of Matt's technique in a way that I could easily go back to parts that I may have forgotten and refresh my memory. I want to make a point to say that the the humans in the photos are overly-dramatized so you can get a two-dimensional idea of how to move with/against the dog. The subjects in the book (Matt included) are not truly strangling the dog though it looks like it. (Wonder if he would to a training DVD next? Maybe a DVD to go along with the book?)
Now for the politically incorrect part of my review...about Matt's technique. Matt is a student of the Koehler Method, is a Schutzhund/tracking guy, an ex-K-9 police officer, and his passion is German Shepherd Dogs (some of you may stop reading my review at this point because that tells you everything you need to know.) From my experience, I can tell you this - if you are a clicker trainer that has a happy little Shih Tzu that is interested in teaching a dog the task of sitting, waving, or fetch, this book isn't for you. However, if you have an EXTREMELY intelligent, driven, ready-to-fight Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Chow, or Doberman Pinscher that came from a bad situation (or possibly a bad situation you created yourself, which is the norm) and it's wanting to take your face off "Hannibal Lector" style, Matt is your man.
Being that I'm usually in the thick of it in the dog rescue world (which is full of individuals driven to support groups like PETA because they're sick of how animals are treated, understandably), I've heard bad things about Matt. You either love him or hate him, they say. Personally, I worked with Canadian Master Dog Trainer Sam Malatesta for 4 years. Sam is very familiar with the Koehler technique, but has evolved his own personal technique to be drive-based without the use of pinch or prong collars. If the dog needed the pinch collar, he would try everything he could to avoid it until it was all there was left. Sam does believe in using pinch collars to finish some of the most stubborn dogs (if you own one, you know what I mean) but he never puts a pinch collar on a dog that doesn't know the task at hand. This book suggests a pinch collar right off the bat, which leaves me uneasy, therefore I have to write the next paragraph...
Now that I have met Matt Duffy personally, I can tell you he is a genuine, lovely guy. He's not hot-headed, never gives up/doesn't get tired of a strong-willed jerk of a dog, is probably one of the most positive people I've met, and has a great sense of humor which is called for when an owner is so afraid of their dog (laughter breaks the tension and calms the situation). More importantly, he is brutally honest with you and eases you into reality and if you have a dangerous dog, he will lay out your options. He can read a dog well and is dead-on in his conclusions (which only takes him minutes to derive.) To put an end to the old rumors going around - If you hire Matt to train your dog in person, he will use whatever collar you have on your dog currently and if that doesn't work then he graduates the dog up to the next strongest collar (whatever gets their attention.) His first evaluation is free, and I strongly encourage you to meet him in person to jude for yourself.
July 27, 2024
📖 We have used Duffy’s obedience program and are blown away! Whether you have a pup or an older dog, this book is invaluable. Our 5 month-old German Shepherd pup has adapted so much and we are incredibly happy with the results!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews