Adding a dog to your family is a lifetime commitment.  Many trainers and long-time owners will tell you that a key to raising a dog and being happy together is to make sure you acquire the most suitable dog for you, your family, and your lifestyle.  Too many dogs end up in shelters because owners did not take the time to do their homework first on a breed, or had unrealistic expectations about raising a puppy.  These books can help you explore your options and make the right choice.

CHOOSING A DOG

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From popular authors Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, Paws to Consider: Choosing the Right Dog for You and Your Family will help you choose wisely, providing information on genetic health problems, exercise needs, temperaments for nearly 100 AKC-recognized breeds.  Brian also explores matching your pet to your lifestyle.

If you decide to select a purebred dog, Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer’s Guide has long been a customer favorite.  This book evaluates over 160 American Kennel Club-recognized breeds and many rare breeds in an honest and straight-forward fashion.  Each evaluation includes a black & white photo, who should or should not own the breed, adult size, coat type, amount of exercise and grooming required, amount of shedding to expect, activity level indoors, ease of training, and sociability with strangers.  There is also information on temperament, history of the breed, physical features, possible health problems, and cautions.

Dogsmart will really help you explore your orientation toward dogs.  Then you can apply what you’ve learned about yourself, your dream dog, your environment and your leadership style to training, exercise, nutrition, health care and lifestyle programs that best suit you and your new friend!

Paws to Consider: Choosing the Right Dog
Brian Kilcommons & Sarah Wilson, 1999  #DEG632  $19.51 

Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer’s Guide
Michele Welton, 2000  #DEG203 (pbk) $16.00 

Dogsmart
Myrna Milani, 1997.  #DEG524 (pbk) $13.01 

RAISING YOUR PUPPY

Now that you’ve decided on a breed or a shelter puppy, you need to be prepared for the stages of development your puppy will go through during its first year.  Knowing what to expect makes life easier, and you’ll realize that the developmental stages you see are normal.  You will also be able to do some early training to help your puppy become a happy, well-adjusted family member.

	Before You Get Your Puppy Dr. Ian Dunbar, 2001 (pbk)
	Dr. Ian Dunbar discusses six important doggy developmental deadlines that you must meet with your puppy in order to have a well-adjusted family member. Lists common, predictable puppy problems, provide a timetable for their development, and suggest a variety of dog-friendly preventative measures and solutions. It emphasizes the importance of early socialization, confinement, prevention, reward training, and lure/reward training techniques. House training and biting/mouthing are two of the most important things covered.
ITEM #DTB720 PRICE $7.95

	After You Get Your Puppy Dr. Ian Dunbar, 2001 (pbk)
	Now you have your puppy, the clock is ticking and you need to meet three more developmental deadlines before your puppy is five months old. Covers Household Etiquette; Home Alone; Socialization with People; Learning Bite Inhibition; The World at Large; Homework Schedules, and a shopping list of books and videos.
ITEM #DTB721 PRICE $12.95

How To Raise A Puppy You Can Live With
Clarice Rutherford & David Neil, 1999.  #DTB133  (pbk) $11.95 
Will help you select the right breeder and the right puppy, then take you step by step through your puppy’s first year.  You’ll learn what to expect at each level of development and how to optimize your puppy’s experiences to make him the best possible family member.

Surviving Puppyhood: Teaching Your Puppy the Right Way to Live
Kay Guetzloff, 1999  #DTB643 (pbk)$16.95 
Provides a practical approach to all aspects of owning a puppy.  With the use of photos, narrative, and a fictitious puppy named Einstein, this book shows you the wisest, most comprehensive ways for both dog and owner to survive the adventures of puppyhood, whether you are acquiring your first or your tenth new best friend.

Housetrain Your Dog Now
Krista Cantrell, 2000. DTB651 (pbk) $12.95 
How to make housetraining easy, fun, and rewarding with step-by-step solutions to training dogs of all ages, sizes, and breeds. Learn how to housetrain in just fourteen days; techniques and tricks that make training easier; how to avoid five common training mistakes; how to retrain the resistant dog; solutions to common housetraining problems; how to train city, suburban, and country dogs. Promises an "accident-free" dog in just two weeks, offers hope to many frustrated dog owners by showing that housetraining doesn't have to be a chore but instead can be a bonding process to enhance relationships with their pets.

GET SIRIUS ABOUT PUPPY TRAINING!

Acquiring a dog is a long-term commitment and because you want your new friend to be a happy, well-adjusted part of your family, some early and more formal training is highly recommended.

A long-time favorite, Dr. Ian Dunbar’s Sirius Puppy Training and its accompanying book, How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks, presents a comprehensive obedience, behavior and temperament training program especially for puppies; it also emphasizes family participation, so you can teach your child how to train your dog.

Sirius Puppy Training Book and Video Set
Ian Dunbar, 1987.  #A107 $43.00 

Sirius Puppy Training Video
Ian Dunbar, 1987, 90 Min.  #DTB163 $29.95 

How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks
Ian Dunbar, 1996.  #DTB190 (pbk)$17.95 

GREAT HANDOUTS FOR BREEDERS

If you are looking for something to send home with those new puppy owners, there are several great books now available that will help those new people off to a good start!  All contain a wealth of vital information, but are reasonably priced to make attractive additions to your puppy packets.

Taking Care of Puppy Business
Gail Pivar & Leslie Nelson, 1998  #DTB598 (bklt) $7.95 
A great choice!  It presents positive reinforcement solutions to many common problems that frustrate new dog owners, and deals with major issues such as crate training, housebreaking, exercise, puppy biting or mouthing, establishing a strong relationship.  It’s a gentle approach that gets positive results!
 

Puppy Primer
Brenda Scidmore & Patricia McConnell, 1998  #DTB599 (pbk) $10.00 
Will help you with a wide variety of potential problems, such as overly submissive behavior, home alone issues, and barking.  Make your new puppy owners successful by referring them to this book.

Are you teaching Puppy Kindergarten or beginning pet obedience?  Management Magic is a great hand-out for those beginning owners!  It’s available with quantity prices, too.   If you’re training your new puppy on your own, plan ahead for success and prevent problems before they start by using positive reinforcement to shape and reward the behavior you want.

Management Magic
Gail Pivar & Leslie Nelson, 1997  #DTB537 (bklt) $6.00 

Management Magic – 25 Pack
#DTB538 $100.00 

Management Magic – 50 Pack
#DTB539 $175.00