Ruff Love: A Relationship Building Program for You and Your Dog

I bought this book as I am a fan of this trainer and I have watched multiple podcasts as well. Have done crate games and my training center actually uses her training techniques. I am dealing with a 10 month old Australian cattle dog that is currently going through an adolescent period. I thought this book would be helpful in building the owner canine relationship although I do agree some of the steps may not work for me - I seriously do not get why people in the comments and reviews think that you’re crating your dog 24/7 - no they’re on a leash when they’re not in their crate and when you can’t observe them. It would be just like any puppy you’re raising, you’re not letting it have free run of your house my pup when she is not being watched and pretty much is watched all the time she is in a crate. When she is out, she is on a leash. She’s not given free range, especially currently in an adolescent stage to have bad experiences that may result in issues when she is an adult although this book does go to a bit extreme with some things i.e. I am not able to not have her interact with any dogs as I have a multi dog household and I’m unable to put dogs up. I can mitigate what I can, in my household.

Do not pay any attention to the negative reviews.Why?Because they are wrong.I not only bought this book, I bought it and her training program which is also ABSOLUTELY worth it.And now I help others, those that are willing to do the work, train their dogs.In every field there are the Rock Stars, the ones all the Pros look to as THE leader in their field. Susan Garrett is one of those Rock Stars. And her Rock Star was Bob Bailey, a legendary animal trainer.Susan Garrett has ONE mission when it comes to training — creating the best relationship one can have with their dog — a LOVING relationship. A relationship built on trust.I’ve done everything she says to do.Nothing hurts the dog or causes pain, because not a single moment is spent trying to dominate the dog.There is ZERO punishment or forced behavior like you see with uneducated dog trainers that need to display their dominance over their dog.Nope.The only way you get a dog that trusts you, loves you and responds to you is to develop it over time with positive reinforcement, and consistency with how you engage with your pup.But this also requires guidance. It requires establishing a baseline for the puppy. And, believe me, though it requires consistency it is absolutely worth it.To this day, my pup, now 5 yrs old, loves her crate as much as she loves sleeping with me.Her crate is her safe space, her refuge. That only happens with proper, and healthy, training.Do yourself a favor….buy the book.And…be consistent with your training.Your dog wants to have a healthy relationship with you, but you have to be clear in your communication, and consistent with both your words and you own behavior.This book is about both training the dog and the owner.If you do what she says you will have that relationship with your dog that you’ve always dreamed of having. My dog and I are proof of exactly that. And on a daily basis I get comments that are a reflection of just that.

Amazon doesn't have a description of the book so here you guys go. Hope it helps!

Susan hits another home run. Although my pup has no ingrained issues this book is a compliment to her positive reinforcement training method. No "ah ahs" or "hush". This is all about giving your dog choices. Now yes you limit their choices but if they make the choice then they are doing the learning. No luring..this is shaping behaviors. Any one can do it. There is a puppy section as well. So if you have a dog that did not get off to the best start...here is your chance to help them to be all the dog they can be and to be a great addition to your family that is a pleasure to have around. and Yes you can do it!!

Susan Garrett is the best trainer. Susan will have another book in 2022! Look for it.

The reviews saying that this is book is cruel and promoting isolation are very much off base. It requires the owner to spend a lot of quality time with the dog out of the crate, therefore requires dedication. It is not intending owners to just lock their dogs up in a crate all day. I follow this program with my working GSD and the program was recommended to me by an internationally respected trainer who teaches positive training methods for high level competition dogs. My dog is in no way deprived or isolated by this program. I highly recommend to dedicated owners, especially those with high-drive dogs.

I've found that the rules provided in this book work great for foster dogs coming into our house! However, the reason I purchased the book was to get some guidance for a dog who I have had for three years now. I ended up not sticking with the plan for him just because it was so hard to take away privileges that I had already given him.You just have to have the drive and motivation to follow through with this, and for me, the minor changes I'd like to see in my already pretty wonderfully behaved dog were not worth what would have been a pretty big change in our lifestyle.

It’s hard to tell from the photo but when I receive the book it’s supposed to be brand new and yet it was like somebody had eaten and drop stuff all over it and then smeared it all over the outside of the book and whatever was on it smelled and was kind of greasy! Definitely not the best order ever received.

book was helpful in training our dog

This is a brilliant read from a world famous dog trainer, who can show unbelievable results with her training methods. This book is an eye opener for a pet owner and a “must have“ in the library of a serious Or professional dog trainer.

I'm an experienced and qualified force-free trainer and behaviourist. Another dog owner mentioned this book to me, and, as I have a lot of time for 'Crate Games' by Susan Garret, I ordered this book too.Although the book keeps repeating that 'positive is not permissive' (a view which I very much agree with), there does come a point where you have stripped away so many of a dog's freedoms or enjoyments in life, that you end up with a training programme which - whilst definitely not permissive - is not positive either.By all means, DO completely control a dog's access to environmental reinforcers when s/he is outside the house on walks, through preventing access to other dogs or using a long-line.But stripping away even more freedoms, even inside the house, is (IMO) not only unnecessary, it is cruel.Let's face it, the life of most dogs in the western world today, is hardly that much fun: Left alone for 8hrs a day whilst people are at work, and exercised briefly in the evenings typically on leash. It's devoid of a lot of interest or stimulation as it is.To remove even more interest from a dog's life by crating the dog the whole time you're out (which some would argue is unethical - crating a dog is actually illegal in Sweden); forcing the dog to wear a head collar 24hrs a day (!!!!) - when a head collar is an aversive and detested by most dogs - preventing dogs from getting on the furniture when you don't mind them being on it. (What is the difference in the dog's mind between furniture and dog bed? A sofa is just an extra big dog bed they can sit on with you!) Oh, and tethering the dog to you, 24/7... I could go on...Frankly, this isn't dog ownership - it's incarceration.And before someone says this programme is not for pet owners, it's for performance dogs - I have successful performance dogs and would never treat them like this. It's not necessary for establishing a great relationship with your dog. You don't need to make your dog's entire life sh&t, so that you are comparatively amazing....I'd recommend anyone looking into this book to look instead at the Control Unleashed material by Leslie McDevitt - which will show you how to achieve great control and relationship with your dog (whether performance dog or pet), without these extreme methods of deprivation.

Excellent advice from a woman who really understands dogs. This was very helpful in heali g the relationship Ethernet me and my dog. Highly recommend his.

Just read this book and put it into action, you'll end up with a happy, playful, joyful, well behaved and motivated dog.