Please scroll down for contents and to read excerpt. Who said a puppy doesn't come with an instruction manual?
Newly revised, this perennially popular guide to everything you ever needed to know about your new puppy is now a more invaluable resource than ever. First use the authors' safe and effective tests to determine your dog's temperament: strong-willed, shy, high-energy, outgoing, calm, aggressive; then use their personalized techniques to begin your training. Soon you'll be on your way to a rewarding and loving relationship with your new dog. You will also get the lowdown on:
• Where to get a puppy (and where not to)
• What to do and buy to prepare for your puppy's homecoming
• How to create an immediate bond of trust between you and your puppy
• How to paper train and housebreak your puppy
• How to correct behavioral problems like spot soiling, furniture chewing, begging, jumping, excessive barking, and biting.
Complete with updated training techniques and an all-new section of profiles of the twenty-five most popular breeds, this fully illustrated guide is an essential source of wisdom, information, and inspiration for any dog owner or dog owner-to-be.
Contents
1. Your Puppy's Beginnings (breeders, pet shops, shelters, back yards)
2. Bonding With Your Puppy
3. Unravelling the Mysteries of Your Puppy's Personality (Five important tests, how to give them, results, personality types.)
4. Shopping SPree: The Stuff You Need
5. Dog Behavior: Why They Do What They Do
6. The Puppy Owner Quick Fix Problem Solver (begging, whining and crying all night, chewing, running out the door, puppy crazies, not eating and a whole lot more)
7. Housebreaking Your Puppy
8. Paper Training
9. Training Your Puppy (how-to's for basic commands)
10. Personality Profiles of the Twenty-five Most Popular Breeds
(Excerpts from Chapter Three)
by Mordecai Siegal & Matthew "uncle Matty" Margolis
The Five Most Important Tests Your Dog Will Ever Take
If you already have your puppy, it's urgent that you find out who he is and what he is like so you can determine what kind of dog he will most likely become. Most people go about getting a puppy as though they were on a TV game show. "Should I choose door number one, or take what's behind the curtain?" Few people would make a guessing game out of buying a house or a car, but that is often what happens when they purchase a creature that is going to live with them for fifteen years and influence their lives in a major way. Few people know how to go about selecting a puppy correctly unless they've been taught how. Especially if you are not able to understand your puppy's pedegree (assuming he has one), are not able to examine his parents for temperament, or are unsure of the source of the dog, it is of great importance to understand his personality so that you can deal with him successfully and avoid as many problems as possible.
Puppies are fun. They climb, they tumble and they lick everything in sight, including your toes and your ears. But it's difficult to predict how they will behave as grown dogs unless you understand something about their temperaments from the start. Even young puppies have specific personalities, or temperaments, and handling them should be based on their individual traits if you want them to develop into enjoyable dogs. Every puppy is a surprise package with a specific kind of dog waiting to hop out once it's unwrapped. The five tests in this chapter will unwrap the package and solve the mystery of your puppy's real personality. This will take the guesswork out of handling the dog properly. The results of these tests will enable you to understand what kind of dog you really have and adapt your approach to his needs. When you know what you're doing, you can make your dog's everyday experiences -- with you and everyone else -- pleasant and as problem-free as possible. Please note that when we use the terms temperament and personality, we mean the same thing.
These tests will also be useful in solving behavioral and social problems that all puppies have, such as pulling you down the street, piddling on the floor, or begging for food at the table. A dog's ability to learn is affected by his personality, which in turn, should influence how you train your dog or solve his behavior problems. Dog training is based on the proper applicatin of instructions, praise and corrections. How to apply these techniques should be determined by the dog's personality. This is an important point.
For example, if your puppy has a shy personality and you scold him severely for housebreaking accidents, you may do more harm than good. Harsh treatment may stop a shy dog from soiling in the kitchen, but it could cause him to uncontrollably wet the floor everywhere else whenever he sees you. This could also prevent him from ever developing a happy, loving relationship with humans. We often create new problems by the way we solve an exiting one. Do not win the battle and lose the war. Understanding your puppy's personality makes all the difference.
Copywrite 1992-2002 by Mordecai Siegal and Matthew Margolis.
