Good Dog, Happy Baby: Preparing Your Dog for the Arrival of Your Child

This book gets 5 starts from me because it is easy to read and the concepts are easy to apply immediately.I found that the training tactics in this book created a balanced approach of behavior correction coupled with positive reinforcement that get quick results! I couldn't be happier with my dogs' progress (I have four of them all over the age of 9 years)! This isn't the first book that I attempted to utilize to try to get results before the birth of our first baby--the other two books I used focused solely on positive reinforcement, and although my dogs loved the treats, they did not show any noticeable improvement in behavior. I was getting frustrated until I received this book! The author explains that quick and unpleasant corrections are used in the dog world to communicate with one another so why wouldn't we use quick corrections to achieve the same results. Once the message is received by the animal then positive reinforcement can be used to make it a habit. It makes perfect sense and really works!I also need to mention that I had a question regarding a specific technique and reached out to the author via email. I was VERY pleasantly surprised when he responded within 30 minutes! I was truly blown away by his quick response and genuine concern for my ability to apply his training methods. He even offered a telephone conference to answer my questions.This book works and it works quickly! Do NOT buy any other dog/baby preparation book. You will be wasting your time, energy and money!

This book was posted a little over a week ago in a dog book club I admin. It stirred up some conversation but it seemed very few had opinions based on actually reading it cover to cover.I looked it up on Amazon and the reviews were mixed. Many raving on how great it was for them while others blasting it for training material they did not like.Most of those poor reviews admitted they did not even read the whole book.The mixed reviews from 5 star to 1 star sparked my interest to find out for myself.I have no babies on the way but it is as a professional trainer an issue I deal with regularly.First off the cover absolutely is awful in my opinion. I would never permit this closeness with an infant. The cover is highly irresponsible in my opinion.Never judge a book by it’s cover.I have never heard of the author but that mattered little to me. In fact it allowed me to have unbiased read.The content of the book I felt was excellent. There is a twelve step program recommended for all dogs to go through that was put together well.The book outlines the “work” that must be done “before” the birth. The author as a trainer expects the reader to do the work as do we all.There is a chapter on problem behaviors and how to address them.There is a chapter on the actual transition on bringing the newborn home and those first few years.The training approach outlined in the book is most definitely a balanced approach. The author does promote loads of positive reinforcement but also explains the need for correction.This balanced approach will turn away many readers but that is your cross to bear not mine.I found his approach fair but direct and always looking to reward the dog.There is mention in reviews that he promoted alpha rolling… that is totally inaccurate.If what he describes in the book means alpha rolling to you… I’m sorry but you are quite unfamiliar with what a roll really was when it was common place.He uses words like pack, rank, and dominance so beware of that if that bothers you.The emphasis of these words is done in well explained ways and not in a dominant and dogmatic fashion. The words are aimed at the dynamics of a dog and a baby that will soon be a crawling toddler and tail pulling child.Let me add the use of photos in the book were as disturbing as the cover. That part of the book and publisher have me confused. The pictures send the total wrong message to the pet dog owner.Overall, however I really enjoyed the book which was an easy read over a couple days. As with any training book I don’t agree with everything.I would recommend this in the future to clients, friends, and family that are expecting a baby.

I just started reading this book, so I can't give it a perfect score until I read the entire book, but so far I like it. It's easy to read, but more informative then just doing a Google search. I've started implementing a few of the tips and it's going well. I have a very spoiled Pointer dog, who thinks it's normal to snuggle with me even though he weighs 80 lbs. We both love to snuggle, but with a baby on the way, I'm worried about him adjusting to the change. The suggestions in the book look easy enough to implement, with some time and consistency. I will update my review after I have some more time to work with him. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase and would recommend it.

I bought this book for my friends first baby girl since they have two dogs and thought they would enjoy the information it offered. The pictures and the quality of the hardcover was well worth it.

This book resulted almost immediate improvement in my dogs' behavior! I prepared for bringing home my infant with two other trainers who both focused almost exclusively on treat-based obedience training as a sole method to work with my dogs. Despite this preparation, when I brought home my infant daughter from the hospital, both dogs were wrecks with anxiety. I ordered this book straightaway, based on a previous positive experience I'd had working with Michael, and I was not disappointed! He offers a much broader range of strategies and techniques, and they helped my dogs feel confident that they still had a loving place in the family. Their behavior changed in a matter of days! The book is well-organized, and his methods are set out in an easy-to-follow manner. I highly recommend this book for anyone planning on introducing a new baby to the household. It works!

Outdated, cruel and bewildering training techniques. A book advocating punishment as its primary training tool. Inciting dogs into making mistakes and punishing them for this inevitability rather than teaching them any correct behaviour and allowing them an opportunity to do things correctly first. I'm angry that this book exists, and angry at myself for buying it without adequately reading the reviews. Inexcusable.

Best book I have seen! In line with our training philosophy!

I've been preparing for the arrival of my first born by reading this book since I have two dogs, one of them kind of aggressive towards children and strangers. I'm beginning to implement the strategies of this book in order to have a peaceful transition. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Still uses definitions, believes and techniques who are now fully desacredited by science and modern animal behavior ethologist... even when comparing behaviours from wolves, this are also very outdated... this is very old perspective of how animals learn.

Such a shame that a book with some good advice in it has such awful advice too! Too grounded in the outdated 'dominance' model and advocates many aversive styles of training - including support of prong collars and shock collars! I would not recommend this book.I am waiting on a copy of Tell Your Dog You're Pregnant: An essential guide for dog owners who are expecting a baby by Dr Lewis Kirkham which looks like it might be more modern,force free and humane. I hope it proves to be more forward thinking than this book!