useful books

[CherryT]

Hello everyone
I am a Newbie.  My much loved cocker spaniel Lucy died at the end of May - she was 15 and had had a lovely life but I miss her very much and the house feels very empty.  I am just starting to look for a new little girl to join our family.  Can you suggest any useful books for me as it is a long time since I have done things like potty training etc?  The book I bought when we got Lucy is really quite out of date now and there seems to be so much new stuff about.  I went to the library and took a book out called New Dog by Bruce Fogle and that seems very helpful.   Do other members think this is a good book?  What would other members recommend these days for someone who might need to brush up their skills and knowledge on having a new puppy in the house?  (I haven't got one yet but I hope it won't be too long!, have to be calm and do all my research properly and wait for the right one to come along which is very hard!)

This is a great forum - the only thing is, it is very addictive and you can spend hours on it!  Will be interested in your answers. best wishes to all.

[lollie]

I'll be watching this topic, I was going to ask the same question myself. There is a sticky with some books listed on it, but it would be nice to hear personal recommendations.

Sorry to read about Lucy   

Xx

[ollie nathan's mum]

Welcome to COL, yes it is very addictive, who needs books when you have COL! Only joking. I can't recommend a book but I'm sure someone will come along.

[JennyBee]

The one I'd definitely recommend is the Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. Not a training book as such but in my eyes a must read for any dog owner

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Training by Pamela Dennison is another good book I've read.

Ignore any that talks about dominance/pack theory (ie the Dog Whisperer!) or that suggest using aversives in training

[CherryT]

Thanks lollie, and thank you for the welcome message ollie nathan's mum.  Thanks JennyBee - I think this is going to be interesting, it is going to be fascinating reading peoples' views of the different books available.  I quite agree with you, any training should always be done with praise, you can say no quite firmly but they are only little and they don't know what they are meant to do.

[jaybee]

Ian Dunbar 'before and after getting your puppy' I read from cover to cover before bingley came home. It can be a little overwhelming though, got lots of hints and tips from this that we applied to puppyhood.

I believe Gwen Bailey comes well recommended too.

Reading around is great, but in many ways it is like having a baby in the house. There is no one size fits all training routine so to speak, so it's a good idea to read what you can and pick and choose what fits and will work well with your life and your dog.

Welcome to COL! X

[CherryT]

Thanks Jaybe - I partly want to update myself, but mostly want to read ANYTHING about cocker spaniel puppies whilst I am looking for my new little girl!  This is such a great site and a lovely virtual community to be part of - actually, it is not only virtual as a lot of people seem to meet up.  I hope I can meet up with some people that also have puppies when I eventually find mine.

[Helen]

for all things cocker:

Cocker Spaniel: An owners guide by Jane Simmonds
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cocker-Spaniel-Owners-Guide-About/dp/1906305293

and

Cocker Spaniel:  Best of breed by Derek Shapland
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=derek+shapland+best+of+breed

(which has a lot of COL cockers pictures in it    - Jarvis is on page 102  )

[Lily Freya]

Just ordered the Jane Simmonds' book.  Can't wait to read  it.  It came highly recommended.

Welcome to COL.......and we'll look forward to welcoming your new addition to the fold too.  I have an eight week old blue roan (Gracie Mae) who joined us  yesterday.  Also have Ollie and Luis.

Good luck. Xxxxx

[piph]

The one I'd definitely recommend is the Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. Not a training book as such but in my eyes a must read for any dog owner

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Training by Pamela Dennison is another good book I've read.

Ignore any that talks about dominance/pack theory (ie the Dog Whisperer!) or that suggest using aversives in training

I really enjoyed reading the Dog Whisperer and I thought that the pack theory made a lot of sense several years ago when we had our first retriever, and seemed to work well, although our retriever bitch never showed any signs of wanting to be dominant anyway. That theory was fashionable then, but, has been discredited now, I assume.  Why is that?

[8 Hairy Feet]

Not cocker specific but I enjoyed;
On talking terms with dogs,
Calming signals
by Turid Rugaas.
A small book that explains dog body language
steffxxx
she also has a website, linky here;
www.canis.no/rugaas/

[Helen]

The one I'd definitely recommend is the Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. Not a training book as such but in my eyes a must read for any dog owner

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Training by Pamela Dennison is another good book I've read.

Ignore any that talks about dominance/pack theory (ie the Dog Whisperer!) or that suggest using aversives in training

I really enjoyed reading the Dog Whisperer and I thought that the pack theory made a lot of sense several years ago when we had our first retriever, and seemed to work well, although our retriever bitch never showed any signs of wanting to be dominant anyway. That theory was fashionable then, but, has been discredited now, I assume.  Why is that?

That is a whole new topic - if you look on the behaviour board you'll find plenty of threads relating to Dominance theory (and the Dog Whisperer) and why these methods have been totally discredited 

[**purpleprincess**]

I found Ian Dunbar's before and after getting your puppy really helpful, I've also got the Cocker Spaniel, an owner's guide which I really liked.

And of course the forums!!!

[piph]

The one I'd definitely recommend is the Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. Not a training book as such but in my eyes a must read for any dog owner

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Training by Pamela Dennison is another good book I've read.

Ignore any that talks about dominance/pack theory (ie the Dog Whisperer!) or that suggest using aversives in training

I really enjoyed reading the Dog Whisperer and I thought that the pack theory made a lot of sense several years ago when we had our first retriever, and seemed to work well, although our retriever bitch never showed any signs of wanting to be dominant anyway. That theory was fashionable then, but, has been discredited now, I assume.  Why is that?

That is a whole new topic - if you look on the behaviour board you'll find plenty of threads relating to Dominance theory (and the Dog Whisperer) and why these methods have been totally discredited 

thanks Helen - I'll have a look

[lisalh]

I have gone through 4 copies of the Gwen Bailey book as I kept passing it on to friends for them to read as I liked the style in was written in, simple enough to understand without talking to you like you are a complete idiot but intelligent enough that the OH actually read bits of it too!!

Good luck with the puppy search and condolences on the loss of Lucy