The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition)

This is a wonderful book. I came across this book after I had purchased my German Shepherd puppy a year ago. My brother is expecting his first German Shepherd puppy in April so I bought him this book as a gift to read before the puppy arrives. I wish I had known about it prior to purchasing my puppy! This book really gives you a different perspective on raising a puppy. I believe that it calms down that uncontrolled enthusiasm that most first time puppy owners have. Everyone wants the perfect dog, we all want to be the envy of all other dog owners because our dog is the most well behaved and best trained. So sometimes we go into the whole puppy ownership thing with unrealistic expectations. Eventually the enthusiasm to create a wonder dog is squashed and is replaced with frustration, anger and the desire to get rid of the puppy! This book really tells you what you can expect for each stage of your puppies life, so that you are not trying to force training beyond your puppies comprehension level. I am expecting another German Shepherd puppy at the end of Feb. and I will be reading this book again in preparation for her homecoming!Believe me, the training experiences that I have had over the last year have been very rewarding. I love the Monks of New Skete books! They make training feel like more of a natural progression in your dogs life rather than a forced response. I feel that I should also mention that the German Shepherd I purchased was sold to me at 5 weeks of age and due to the early separation from the litter, we have had to deal with a lot of issues. But with patience and attention and the help of this and other Monks of New Skete books, my girl is a healthy well balanced and very well trained companion. I know that at least three of her littermates were euthanized due to issues that the owners did not know how to deal with because of the early separation. It makes me sad to know that just the first few chapters may have helped them too.

This book is a very informative look at raisinga puppy. It encompasses dog training andwhat to expect at all phases of puppyhood.It is a very comprehensive list of the all aspects of what you will need to consider toraise a well behaved and happy dog.

Whether you’re raising a litter or adopting a puppy, this book is full of valuable information and helpful tips for raising puppies right. I’m not raising a litter but I read that section anyways because it was so interesting. The book is well written, easy to follow and eye opening into the world of puppies.

This is an excellent book that does really well to set the tone of what to expect and how to get the best out of raising a puppy into a well adjusted dog. It gives great insight into what makes dogs/puppies tick and helps you understand a lot more of the "why" rather than just the "what" of dogs.I am taking off one star because the advice in the book can be a little tough to turn into an action plan in some places. In particular, the book provides some great insight on how to handle the first day and first night, as well as some good tips about crate training. In one section it provides a sample crate training daily schedule of food/play/walks/crate-time, etc. -- In the very same schedule it says that you should be prepared to take your pup out to expel once every 1.5 hours while training, but in another part of the same section says to leave your pup in the crate not longer than "3 hours at a time" -- the sample schedule seems closer to the 3hr rule. This seeming contradiction makes it hard to follow and leaves you feeling like you need to guess or just make up your own mind.The other reason that I'm taking off one star is that while the book provides great insight and advice on various parts of the pup's life and how to deal with different things, it falls short of providing a comprehensive plan that includes tips on how to decide when to transition between phases. An example is that while there is a great set of tips on crate training, there isn't any information on how you determine that you are "done" with house-training.I think the Monk's have the knowledge and ability to take this to what I'd consider a 5-star book, if they tweaked it a bit to address these issues.Overall, this book is a must-read if you want to gain insight into your dog's psyche - which you absolutely should, because you're going to share your life with it. It falls short of being a one-stop-shop, but you can probably close those gaps with a bit of Googling, or perhaps a supplemental book.

I just finished reading this book last night and have learned a lot. With many practical methods and tips, I feel much prepared to welcome our puppy in mid-April. This book will be handy for us to raise a well-behaved puppy.

The book is in very good condition.The hardcover is really classy.Quality of pages is good (although haven't checked all pages).Just received the book, haven't read yet so cant comment on quality of content. Will try to give a review on content too.

This book is great for beginners like me. Has pictures inside and explains things in detail. I enjoyed it a lot.

En inglés, pero para quien se defienda con este idioma el libro representa muchos consejos útiles y mucho sentido común. Sin caer totalmente en el políticamente correcto "adiestramiento en positivo" los monjes de New Skete muestran un método que se ha probado eficaz por varias décadas. Su principal fuente de ingresos es la cría y adiestramiento, dentro de su propio monasterio, de pastores alemanes (los venden por 3.000-3.500 dólares, no precisamente baratos). También adiestran perros de dueños particulares con problemas de comportamiento. Para leer varias veces: es ameno pero hay una gran cantidad de información condensada. Totalmente recomendable.

We just got a staffy puppy and I found this book had tons of information. Worth the purchase