The Perfect Puppy

Book excerpt: Highly regarded dog behaviorist Gwen Bailey shares her proven system of training a puppy. Gwen Bailey's bestselling puppy care guide has helped hundreds of thousands of owners throughout the world raise a problem-free dog. It is now updated with the latest findings in canine behavior and a completely new user-friendly design, and answers many of the questions she has received from dog owners since the first edition. The Perfect Puppy teaches new puppy owners how to raise a well-behaved dog. Bailey's aim is to show puppy owners how they can influence their puppy's behavior for the better, and how to mold his future character. She uses her proven system of training a puppy using only positive rewards-based methods, coupled with a lot of play and fun Full-color photographs show how to housebreak a puppy, how to teach it to obey, how to prevent biting, chewing and other problems, and to generally be a good canine citizen and a beloved member of the family. She provides step-by-step training, a valuable socialization plan, and games that incorporate learning. The contents include: The raw material - how breeds affect behavior A puppy's view of the world The new family, life with a puppy Developmental stages Socialization Housetraining Behavior control and leadership Toys and games Preventing biting, aggression, chewing Handling and grooming Good manners and learning to be alone Training your puppy Adolescence and beyond.