10 Dog Training Books Dog Lover Should Read [2023]

There are a ton of dog training books around.

To make your selection process easier, we have listed the 10 best dog training books that cover various periods in a dog’s life and specific needs.

For example, what to do when you have to housebreak your dog as soon as possible.

We’ve selected different options for the best dog training books, and this is the top 10 of the best options. You’ll find reviews on each below, and the pros/cons. If you know what you need, here are the quick links to the books:

1. Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: The Complete Guide – Best Overall Dog Training Book
2. The Art of Raising a Puppy – Best puppy training book
3. How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days – Best for Potty Training
4. Puppy Training for Kids – Best for Kids
5. 101 Dog Tricks: Step-by-Step Activities – Best for Dog Tricks
6. Training Your Own Service Dog – Best for Assistance Dogs
7. The Beginner’s Guide to Dog Agility – Ideal for Agility Training
8. At the other end of the leash
9. Cultures clash by Jean Donaldson
10. Don’t kill him, Teach him!

With positive reinforcement training, you can teach your dog a lot of cool stuff. Even if the dog is not one of the smartest breeds. My dog loves eggs and bacon:

What is the best book to train a dog?

The best dog training book is Zak Georges Dog Draining Revolution. He is a well-known trainer and the 240-page book contains everything you need to know. House training, crate training, leash training, socializing and working with reactive and aggressive dogs. He also covers other dog owners’ questions about health and food.

What are the 7 basic dog commands?

There are the 7 basic commands that every dog should learn. We have created a free online dog training course that you can join to teach your dog. We stick to the most important things and in our dog training classes you will learn the following:

• Teaching Your Dog His Name
• Sit
• Come When Called
• Stay
• Lie Down
• Teaching Your Dog Not to Jump Up on People
• Teaching Your Dog to Heel

You can sign up for the course here:

What is the first thing you should train your dog?

You should teach your dog his name. This seems so simple, but we make a lot of different noises during the day and when we interact with our pets. Use the dog’s name specifically for getting attention. Actually teaching the dog its name will make it much more effective tool.

Training your dog is important to make sure not to become a part of dog bite statistics. Next, we list the dog training books by category for your various needs:

Turn Your Dog into a Genius

Develop your dog’s “hidden intelligence” to eliminate bad behavior, and create the obedient, well-behaved pet of your dreams.

1. Best Overall Dog Training Book:
Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: The Complete Guide

Zak George is a well-known dog trainer known for his YouTube channel and ads on Animal Planet. His book Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: The Complete Guide to Raising the Perfect Pet is one of my best picks for the best dog training manual because it provides a new interpretation of how to breed the perfect puppy.

This 240-page book covers all the basics from toilet training, leash training to aggression. It also provides much-needed advice on dog ownership, such as when to take your furry friend to the vet and how to choose the right dog food. George offers a personal and friendly approach to dog training, rich in advice on decoding and dialogue with your puppy.

Zak George’s book is far more complicated in terms of procedures than technical training material. That’s why we chose it as the best overall in dog training books. It touches every topic and is a superb choice for a new dog owner or a veteran in need of a refresh.

Reviewers especially like the positive reinforcement tips and the “talking dog” tips through body language.

 

2. Best Puppy Training Book:
The Art of Raising a Puppy

Bringing a new puppy home is an exciting time, filled with kisses, cuddles, and lost sleep. The Art of Raising a Puppy by Monks of New Skete is a must-have for any new puppy owner. With nearly 800 5-star reviews as everyone talked about its great impact on dog raising, this book is written by a community of dog-loving monks who know their stuff.

Authors fills all 352 pages with expertise in training, loving, and caring for a new puppy, as the monks draw on their over 30 years of German Shepherd puppy breeding experience. He will help your puppy adjust to his new home and give you advice for every stage of his life.

Internet reviewers Note How Well Written “The Art of Raising a Puppy’ It’s commenting that it reads like a story full of extremely helpful advice. While you can go through it in a day, most owners bookmark lots of passages and add that they keep coming back for advice and answers.

 

3. Best for Potty Training:
How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days

Whether you’re struggling to housebreak your new puppy or need to potty train a new rescue dog, How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days is an invaluable book. This dog training book, written by Pet Expert Shirlee Kalstone, will help you train even the “less trainable” puppies. It also provides tactics for all types of home training, from housebreaking to litter training to paper training. You will find potty schedule suggestions, accident management tips, and tips on the right way to strengthen your puppy.

How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days has an enthusiastic fan base, with reviewers delighted with its miracle advice, they say “this little book works like a charm – seriously.

You will not believe how simple it can be. Do what it says, “stick with it, and all will be perfect before you know it.” Although housebreaking can be a slow and sometimes painful practice, Kalstone will help you with your puppy training, regardless of age.

 

4. Best for Kids:
Puppy Training for Kids

Everyone knows the age-old tale of the kid who asked for a puppy and never took responsibility for his new friend. The good news is that you can let your child take care of the training with this precious and intelligently designed book.

This title from Collen Perlar, Barron’s educational series is written especially for kids and aims to teach them how to care for, train, and grow their new four-legged friend. This will help your kids learn the basics of clicker training, socialization, and healthy exercise. The 96 pages are heavy with photos, allowing children to view rather than read a heavy textbook with long blocks of text. This makes it on of the best puppy training books for kids.

Online reviewers say it’s a “must-have” for any child who adopts their very first dog. They like that it is easy to understand and digest for children of middle age and under.

Check out the dog harnesses you can use when training your dog.

 

5. Best for Dog Tricks:
101 Dog Tricks: Step-by-Step Activities

Now that your potty training is over, keep your dog mentally strong and engaged by teaching him tricks. 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance is the ultimate guide to teaching your dog every trick in the book (literally, in this case). It has plenty of color-coded guides for its 101 tricks, each marked with a level of difficulty and the necessary “prerequisites” your puppy should know beforehand.

The tips range from simple sit, go and stay, to the more advanced (but incredibly clever) “get a soda from the fridge.” Beyond being helpful, teaching your dog tricks can help keep active puppies engaged and stimulated, making them less likely to create destruction.

If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop for stuff, 101 Dog Tricks is one of the dog training books for you. Reviews say it has everything you need to turn a lazy dog ​​into a trick machine.

 

6. Best for Assistance Dogs:
Training Your Own Service Dog

Getting a service dog can be a long and expensive process. Training Your Service Dog by Lelah Sullivan is a guide for teaching your dog skills to help him become a great pet. Sullivan is a retired service dog trainer who covers the fundamentals of training a dog for various disabilities. While we recommend going through a licensed service dog agency for most needs, Sullivan’s book can help those who need a little extra help around the house and don’t have the extra funds to pay. Get an official service puppy. The author also has a Facebook group that she frequently visits for advice and suggestions.

Online customers say Sullivan’s book is the most comprehensive guide to self-training a service dog. Owners say their puppies behave better, in crowds and in public, and they can follow a variety of commands after completing the steps.

 

7. Ideal for Agility Training:
The Beginner’s Guide to Dog Agility

A Beginner’s Guide to Dog Agility by Laurie Leach is a great place to start if you want to train your puppy for agility competitions. This 256-page book covers topics from creating your own agility obstacles to the in and out of clicker training. Agility competitions can be fun for you and your pet and provide a bonding experience that both of you enjoy. Reviewer says this book is ideal for someone who has no experience with agility training and wants to explore it with their motivated puppy.

 

8. At the other end of the leash

An Applied Animal Behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years’ experience wrote this great dog training book. Everything about the dog behavior! The author explains in a pleasant way how differences in behavior between dogs and people, and communication failure often lead to behavioral problems.

Dr. Patricia McConnell reveals a revolutionary new perspective on our relationship with dogs—sharing insights on how “man’s best friend” might interpret our behavior, as well as essential advice on how to interact with our four-legged friends in ways that bring out the best in them.

Online reviewers say this book shows how to learn to talk to your pet so he can understand you; it is essential for coexistence to improve.

 

9. Cultures clash by Jean Donaldson

A new and revolutionary point of view that helps to understand the relationship between humans and dogs. Based on positive dog training!

The author focuses on understanding canine thinking to facilitate training and how operant conditioning works in this training. With examples and practical guides, you can put into practice the theories to correctly educate your dog.

Online reviewers say it’s a book that teaches how to train dogs without resorting to punishment or violence. They also reviewed saying Jean Donaldson knows her stuff and as a professional dog trainer and that they hold the book in high regard.

 

10. Don’t kill him, Teach him!

Karen Pryor’s art of teaching and training promotes the use of positive reinforcement in training! The author focuses on explaining the importance of not using punishment in training and instead always using positive reinforcement with the dog and behavior modification techniques. This type of training is like a game for dogs and offers excellent results.

A reviewer says as a professional zoo animal trainer, she has given and recommended this book to dozens of people. In the zoo community, they train animals with this method of operand conditioning, which is more ethical and effective than the traditional training that the vast majority of dog trainers and horse trainers use.

 

Get the dog training books to fit your needs!

In most dog training books, you will find effective training techniques and tips, but some go further.

By reading these books you can learn more about dogs’ thinking, understand why some actions are performed and not others in training methods. You will also know about the clinical disorders of dogs, what are their emotions and intelligence.

You will discover tips to achieve a calm and happy life with your dog and achieve maximum well-being for pets.

In short, you will get to know your dog better, and you will strengthen your relationship.

The smarter your dog, the more she will enjoy the time that you put into training your dog.

Have you been wanting more?

These are other dog training books of great authors on canine behavior and training: James O’Heare, Jean Donaldson, Jaime Vidal “Santi,” Barry Eaton, Kay Lawrence, and Linda Tellington-Jones. You can check their other dog training books, too. If you are interested in going deep read our article about how to become a dog trainer.

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Cover image by Andrea Piacquadio