Beyond Basic Dog Training: New

Diane Bauman's book is one of the best books in its genre. It is not at all surprising that the author's a winning trainer of up to four breeds in obedience trails. The recommendations in this book, like its title, go beyond basic training (clicker or otherwise), taking owners one step further into tweaking and polishing oftentimes assumed basic but nonetheless important commands like HEELING for dogs. Its succint chapters make it convenient for the reader to pause and assimilate some of best (but not necessarily the easiest for less experienced handlers like myself) tried and tested methods to teaching dogs how to think and even preempt(!). The book's only drawback is one that is purely aesthetics (lack of colored photos) but one that is overcomed by the author's highly motivational style of writing. This is a book for owners with an aim to cultivating a deeper relationship with their dogs via the systematic construction of a repertoire of common vocabulary. While I have no wish to put my three dogs through obedience trails, Bauman's book still scores very highly in the must-read list of dog training books as it will help anyone who's keen to hone their skills in dealing with their dogs in a loving yet firm basis. 5 stars for readability, effectiveness and excellence in being in a league of its own!

This book is well written, well thought out, and addresses the needs of many kinds of dog owners! There is frequent use of show dog terminology, but, other than that, I found this book a great supplement to dog training. It describes this experienced trainer's methods for ending up with a great relationship with your dog as well as a happy, well trained dog. Anyone who actually cares about their dog's mental and emotional health will benefit greatly from this book, whether you want a show dog or simply a well trained animal. The author is well-read and cites other works where appropriate- it's just a wonderfully put together reference.

Too many people seize on brand-new, so-called "modern" training methods, such as clicker training, as being automatically better than "old-fashioned" methods that use both praise and correction.This is unfortunate, because so many of the "old-fashioned" methods (not only of raising dogs, but also of raising children) work wonderfully in producing respectful, confident, happy dogs (and children!). Newfangled is not automatically better.Diane Bauman's method is tried and true, and the dogs I've used it with have been my happiest, most confident, most respectful dogs. Which is really no surprise, since dogs understand and appreciate an owner who provides both positive consequences for good behavior, and negative consequences for bad behavior. It is precisely that clear-cut contrast between the two that allows your dog to make the right choices.Just because you correct misbehavior doesn't mean you *aren't* using positive training techniques. This terrific book is packed with positive training techniques. You can use it with confidence -- your dog will learn happily from it.

Beyond Basic Dog Training is a well-written book filled with practical advice. Every page screams with common sense in dog handling. Most importantly, the author's attitude is hard to beat. Diane L. Bauman, through the text, proves herself to be humane, experienced, and serious about dog obedience training.The author parts company with most other dog trainers when she says that a dog obeys not because the dog wishes to please its master. Rather, she says, the dog obeys only when the dog finds that obeying is in its best interest. Additionally, the author emphasizes that the best way to train a dog is to train it so it UNDERSTANDS the commands. To make sure the dog understands, the handler is taught to "proof" each exercise. Instead of being taught patterns that may fail when distractions are present, the "thinking" dog will perform, because the dog KNOWS what it is supposed to do.Finally, Diane L. Bauman's record of achievement as a dog trainer must be highlighted. Among other awards, her Golden Retriever, Charo, retired from dog obedience competitions with six perfect scores of 200, and is a three-time Gaines Superdog winner.

Diane Bauman is not only a great dog communicator, but also a great human communicator. I do obedience work with my Rottweiler, Mattie, and most of the obedience books on the market are difficult to understand and implement. Diane speaks directly to handlers of all ages and degrees of experience, in language that everyone can understand and examples that apply to almost every problem faced by trainers. I also enjoyed the photographs illustrating certain techniques. This book caters to dogs of all sizes and shapes. I was impressed with Diane's simplistic approaches and found that there definately is a big difference in having your dog understand what he/she is doing as opposed to just performing because of the enticement of bait. After implementing the strategies and techniques in the book, I found that the main reason for Mattie's non-performance was because I was giving her the wrong signals. I found that we worked wonderfully as a team once I got things straight. I think that this book should be every dog owner's bible, because so many dogs end up in the pound because we don't know how to talk to them. If only every dog owner would take the time to read through and implement the simple steps outlined in Diane's book, our dog pounds would be empty and what a wonderful thought that would be. Mattie and I are on our way to getting an obedience title and we wouldn't be if not for Diane's great insight. I was amazed at how quickly Mattie's performance changed. It doesn't take long, because if you love your dog they can't do enough to gain your praises.