Labrador Retrievers for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: Good Book for Labs for Pets
Review: This is a well-written book that would be a good starting point for new labrador retriever owners who are getting their dogs as family pets and are not familiar with basic training techniques. I'd recommend it for anyone who has never trained a dog before, or for one who is not familiar with the more gentle training methods that have become popular over the last several years (because they work!). It serves that purpose very well, even though some readers might find that their "warm and fuzzy" approach goes a bit far. Suggesting that you give your dog a body massage, for example, may seem a bit much for some ... or a great idea for others.

In fact, probably the biggest strength of this book is that it is a solid pet training resource for all breeds. It could easily remove any mention of labrador retrievers and still hold up well.

Perhaps because one (both?) of the authors is a professional dog trainer, the authors are quick to advocate hiring a professional trainer for your dog. They also suggest that busy working people obtain the services of "dog sitters" to take care of the pup during the day. While this may end up being very good advice in some cases, perhaps a better approach is to not buy a labrador retriever in the first place--unless you have the time and open space to train and maintain that sort of dog. Unless you are in the financial position of being able to employ a nanny for your puppy, having to hire an obedience trainer and/or daytime dog sitter is usually the desperate outcome of making a bad decision in selecting your pet. These dogs need to spend time outdoors and time with people.

This is not the best book to buy if you have any intention of hunting with your dog or training it for field trials. There are a couple of very good books on the market that focus particularly on that sort of training. Check around for those.

Although it is a relatively small gripe, the biggest fault that I found with this book is that the resource lists are not very robust. They seem to have been tossed in by the authors (perhaps to fulfill the "formula" of the publisher) as an afterthought. It gives the impression that the authors imparted their own expertise freely, but only grudgingly tossed in a few scraps of information from other sources.

Rating:
Summary: Not just for Labs, and not just for Dummies!
Review: This is a wonderful book, and my *only* criticism is that every time I recommend it to a non-labrador-owning, non-dummy it takes a little explaining! This book is a great primer for all puppy owners of all breeds. I also love Joel's book, "Positive Puppy Training Works". As the director of a large dog training program, these are two of my favorite books to recommend to new owners. The management suggestions keep the dog out of trouble while you're busy installing the training. And the training instructions are very down-to-earth and easy-to-follow.

Becky Schultz, Certified Pet Dog Trainer
Minneapolis, MN

Rating:
Summary: Great if you haven't owned Labs before
Review: We bought this book just before we got our first lab and it has proved very useful, and is a good reference to go back to now we have our second lab. It gives you good information (that works!) on training labs, caring for labs, and making your lab part of the family.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to owners of other breeds, but it's definitely worthwhile if you are getting your first lab, or want to learn about labs.