Katz on Dogs: A Commonsense Guide to Training and Living with Dogs

A single guy living in the city, I adopted a retired racing greyhound a couple of months ago. I had lived with a couple of dogs before (not my own) and long wanted one for myself. This feeling intensified this year, and I got myself into a situation to bring one home. I was fortunate to bring home a dog who was already well socialized with people, large dogs, and even had some experiences with cats, and was good on a leash. As she and I adapted into life together (aided by a good guide to the breed and particular situation of retired racers), things were OK. But they weren't great. Although she was food motivated, she gets distrustful and resists situations where there are treats involved at the same time I'm trying to grab or hold her. This has made some grooming difficult, and also some basic training. She charged her food bowl, beginning to eat before it was fully set down. Initially, this either annoyed or frustrated me. And since she was good on her leash and good with people and fairly good around most animals (especially larger ones), I wondered if that was good enough. But something in my mind felt like it wasn't. Yet none of the training material I looked at really felt like it addressed our situation - our moods, upbringing, etc. I came across a column by Jon Katz online (which was taken from this book) which basically said it's dangerous to put too much of our own emotions onto our dogs - to think that they're mad at us for going to work, for example. Being reminded that my dog was just a dog, no matter how lovable or personable she can be, was the nudge that I needed. Shortly after reading that article, I saw this book at the bookstore and picked it up. This book does not provide any grand theory on dog training. It will not teach you how to teach your dog to sit, shake, or roll over. But it is an extremely helpful book because it teaches us - the humans - the importance of training. Training, according to Katz, is how we help dogs navigate our big and confusing world. Training is ongoing. A six week course or one week of focusing on 'sit' is a good thing, but it doesn't end there. Our dogs need boundaries, and they're often looking to us to figure out how to get through situations. Untrained dogs are the ones stealing food from the table, jumping on guests, and so on. It's our responsibility as dog owners to recognize this, including its impact on other people (people met on the street, visitors to the house, etc). Throughout the book, Katz relays many stories about other dog owners and their successes, failures, or successes wrested from what seemed to be certain failure. Most of these stories convey the message that it's important to understand the animal, the breed, and so on. They also convey that there are probably many modern society thoughts that are just wrong. Crates, for example, are not inhumane - dogs are den creatures and often do fine when they have a small safe space that they can go to. Just because we might not l

Katz has a wonderful relaxed style, both with the written word as well as with his dogs. He's a pleasure to read (substantive and entertaining) and the advice he's gleaned from his experience is at times commonsensical but it's always practial and important. The basic idea he gets across about "theory of mind" and the thought processes we imagine dogs have is the most important. I thoroughly recommend this for anyone who has a dog--It's a fresh, easy read and Katz is a good teacher.

Last year I spent a considerable sum of money having a professional trainer work with my beautiful but extremely strong-willed border collie, Mac. I wish I'd had a copy of "Katz on Dogs" before I hired someone to do what I now believe I could have done -- and enjoyed doing -- on my own. What I love about this book is the confidence Katz gives you to be innovative in your training methods so you can shape behavior that works for your dog and your living situation. What my border collies love about the book is that they're getting a lot more treats these days as I put into practice what Katz preaches: training should be an on-going process throughout your dog's life.

This book is not only extremely helpful and informative; it is also a rollicking good read. Filled with humor and affection for all animals (and most people, though this is more challenging) KATZ ON DOGS provides an honest and clear-eyed roadmap to your relationship with the soul who may turn out to be the love of your life. Even if you don't agree with his every word, it's a great read and full of respect for both dogs' "Otherness" as well as their extraordinary ability to love us. --Sy Montgomery

Jon Katz has for years now been writing books that are insightful, funny, and moving; this one is all of that, but also very practical. I've had dogs for a long time, and I wasn't really in the market for a training book. But looking it over, I found myself thinking about some of these issues in a new way -- there are some very practical tips in here. Not just on the basic stuff like housebreaking and walking, either, but also more generally on how to train your dog to be calm and responsive and pleasant to live with (while still understanding that dogs are dogs, not children). And the strategies here are nicely down the middle of the line between too harsh, like some training tactics can be, and not firm enough. This book is more than just a how-to guide, though. As with Katz's earlier books, it's also got a lot of interesting points to make about the role of dogs in society, what the dog-human relationship is and what it should be. Much more thought, not to mention good writing, obviously went into this than goes into most books in the genre.