How to Raise a Puppy
A Dog-centric Approach
Preview
Book Description
How to Raise a Puppy moves away from the traditional approach to raising puppies, focused on obedience and control, and instead takes an holistic, dog-centred approach. Drawing on research into how dogs naturally rear their young, and how dogs have evolved to behave and spend their time, it supports a new way of sharing our lives with our dogs. It also offers advice on dealing with some of the common challenges people experience with puppies, and tips for managing adolescence.
A much-needed resource for dog trainers, veterinarians and behaviourists to recommend to clients, this conveys a powerful message to help overcome all too common issues so many people have with their puppies. Packed with practical advice, it offers an overdue "puppy perspective", with respect for a dog as a sentient being at its core.
Table of Contents
How to Raise a Puppy: Introduction. 1. Preparing for Puppy 2. Bringing puppy home 3. Meeting your puppy’s needs 4. Learning Life skills 5. Common concerns for puppy owners 6. Managing relationships 7. Activities to try with your puppy 8. Beyond Puppyhood- what to expect next 9. Turid’s case studies 10. Closing remarks References & Further Reading
Author(s)
Biography
'Dublin-based Steph Rousseau is a dog behaviourist and owner of Steph’s Dog Training. She is also the Founder of Happy Office Dogs, which offers support and resources to dog-friendly workplaces as well as to those considering introducing dog-friendly policies. Her book Office Dogs: The Manual was published in 2019. It has also been published internationally and multilingually. She sat on the Board of the Pet Dog Trainers of Europe from 2017-2020 and since 2013 has worked with hundreds of dogs and their humans in both London and Dublin. Rousseau has spoken at various events around the world, including the Pet Dog Trainers of Europe (PDTE), AGMs in Vienna, Austria, and Durham, UK, and the Dog Symposium in Norway. She has appeared on national television and radio in Ireland, as well as on podcasts and radio stations in America, Australia, and beyond. Prior to dedicating herself to all things ‘dog’ she studied at Trinity College in Dublin and Cambridge University in the UK.
Turid Rugaas is an internationally renowned dog and equine behaviourist, her series of courses for dog and horse instructors known and respected worldwide. In 1984 she set up her own dog school and conducted several studies on dogs, one lasting two years and ending in the success book On Talking Terms with Dogs, still a bestseller in many countries. Following her attendance at the Human-Animal Bond conference in Montreal in 1991, Turid has travelled the world 3-4 times a month, giving talks and seminars, and educating dog trainers in 17 countries. She has written three books which are all still on the market: Calming Signs: On Talking Terms with Dogs; Barking: The Sound of a Language and My Dog Pulls, What Should I do? Rugaas received the Norwegian King Harald’s medal in 2018 for her work with dogs and today she runs a new centre - www.hundelandnordvest.com - together with her daughter Linda.
Reviews
"Deciding to bring a dog of any age into your home and heart is a huge decision. Puppies, perhaps especially, need all the love they can get, and How to Raise a Puppy clearly shows why the only way to teach these deeply feeling sentient beings how to adapt to a human-oriented world is by using force-free, positive methods. This excellent guide should be required reading for everyone who wants to become a trusted guardian for these deeply emotional canines and develop and maintain a mutually respectful, beneficial, and safe friendship."
Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., author of Dogs Demystified: An A-Z Guide to All Things Canine (forthcoming) and coauthor of A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World without Humans
"Rousseau and Rugaas’s How to Raise a Puppy is a gift to dogs and the people who love them. With this book in hand, we can provide puppies the foundation for becoming happy and healthy adults. Armed with decades of combined experience with dogs, the authors not only explain what puppies need but, more importantly, they help us understand why. They challenge some persistent, harmful puppy-raising practices and offer kinder and more effective alternatives. I wish everyone would read this book before making the decision to get a puppy, again after deciding to get a puppy, and then again a few more times after that."
Jessica Pierce, Ph.D., bioethicist, philosopher, and writer. Author of Run, Spot, Run: The Ethics of Keeping Pets and The Last Walk: Reflections on Our Pets at the End of Their Lives
"This ground-breaking book is the answer for so many puppy owners who want to stay away from training methods that cause stress in their dogs, but have been unaware of the positive alternatives. Until now! How to Raise a Puppy is practical, full of dog-friendly advice, examples and background information. It enables the reader to guide their puppy harmoniously into our shared world, while empowering him and acknowledging him as a sentient being. No wonder I read this book with so much warmth and pride, but also relief: 'Yes, it is finally here! The book every pup owner should read.'"
Rachaël Draaisma, MSc, author of Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses and Scentwork for Horses