[TessyO]

Can anyone recommend a good book for basic dog training? My new dog Lacey is a two year old black and tan coonhound. I brought her home late last night. Her previous owners gave her up because they didn't have time for her. The classes I was going to enroll her in have been cancelled and unfortunately I live in a rural area without any other options. She is house broken and uses the doggie door quite well. My top priority right now is leash training followed by possibly crate training for the rare few hours I am away from home. Any recommendations on books any of you might have used with successful results would be appreciated.

[labman]

I have long liked the Monks of New Skete books. You can find more info on them as well as a list of newer books and info on crates in the sticky starting at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802

If your dog is at least 4 - 5 months old, start with a good 6' leather
leash and a sturdy slip collar, the metal chain ones with the rings on each
end. You want the shortest one that will go on and off easily. If you walk
with the dog on the left, pull the chain through one loop forming a "P".
Facing it, slip it over its head. The free end should come over the neck to the leash, and the other end should drop slack when there is no pull on the leash. Before 4 months use a conventional flat collar to protect the tender young neck.


Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash
combined with a stern "Bad dog!". You can work up to forceful corrections
with the leash doubled up in both hands and your whole body behind it. But
you don't want to use any more force than you need. One gentle technique I
like is to just stop when he pulls. He wants to go. If you move forward when
the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the
only way to get to go, is not to pull. This is about teaching him not to
pull, not getting somewhere. The man that taught it to me said "If in a half
hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a
lesson.

Still, you may want to switch to a head collar. The leading brands are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dogs head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a
dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks. Do not consider using one
without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.


All but the most recalcitrant young puppies can be controlled before they are 4 months old with the flat collar and patience. If you must have something more with a younger puppy, use a fabric restricted slip collar. These are sort of a cross between the conventional flat collar and the slip collar. Some of them are adjustable, Good for a growing puppy. They have a fabric loop at one end with a metal ring holding the other end in the loop, allowing it to slid back a forth. Find one, or adjust one to where it will go on over the puppies head, but will not tighten up past a snug fit around the neck. Put it on the same way as the metal slip collar. The service dog school my Holly belongs to uses them on all their dogs, puppies and working dogs, except where they must use a head collar.