If you are looking for a puppy or a dog, then you need to discover the best method to quickly and easily choose and train any dog breed.

Just imagine... coming home and finding no more accidents on the floor ...or having a puppy that heels, sits and stays on command. Would you like your dog to obey your every command? If so, you need to get Choosing and Training Your Dog. It applies to all breeds and ages of dogs. Here are just a few things you will learn.

• Should I buy a dog?
  I raise some concerns about your lifestyle and cost issues and ask some critical questions.

• What type of dog should I buy?
  I discuss the alternatives and help you decide between a designer dog, a cross-breed dog or a purebred dog.

• Should I buy a first-generation or a multi-generational designer dog?
  Clearly explains the differences between the two approaches to breeding designer dogs and the benefits of each.

• What type of designer dog should I buy?
  I explain how to research the purebred parents and decide what type of designer dog will be right for you.

• What questions should you consider before choosing a dog?
  Choosing and Training your Dog raises questions like the following and helps you decide on their importance to your situation.

  • Does your dog need to get along well with children?

  • Are you a first-time dog owner?

  • What kind of coat do you want your dog to have?

  • How much time do you have for walks and how fast do you want to run?

  • How much time and patience do you have to invest in obedience training?

  • Do you want your dog to be a watchdog or be friendly towards strangers?

  • Is someone in your family allergic to dogs?

  • Do you need a dog that you can leave home alone when you work during the day?

  • Are there dogs that can adapt to being companions for an elderly person who don’t need to go outside in inclement weather?

• What type of purebred dog should I buy?
  I discuss the seven major American Kennel Club (AKC) classifications including: Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding groups. The top 10 most popular dog breeds within each of the seven groups are discussed and a photo of each dog is included. That is information on over 70 dogs that will help you narrow down your choice and help you to avoid making a serious mistake.

• I am interested in a small dog. Where can I find a list of all the purebred small dogs?
  All the small AKC dog breeds are listed in three sections: Toy dogs, small Terrier dogs and other small dogs.

• I don’t want to have a heavy shedding dog. Where can I find a list of the heavy shedding dog breeds?
  All heavy shedding dogs are listed in Choosing and Training your Dog.

• My son has allergies and we want a non-shedding or hypoallergenic dog breed.
  Low-shedding dog breeds are sometimes called hypoallergenic and may be better for someone with allergies. These breeds are listed in this book.

• We are an active family and we want a dog that we can take biking and jogging with us. Alternatively we do not want a dog that requires more exercise than a leisurely morning and evening walk.
  High activity dog breeds that require a lot of exercise are listed, so you can find them or avoid them as best fits your lifestyle.

• We have a young family and we have to have a dog that gets along well with young children. What dog breeds make the best family dogs?
  I have listed the best family dogs that should get along well with young children. However, each dog is an individual and poor socialization and obedience training could result in a dog that may not be well-behaved with young children. Supervision of young children is always required.

• My mother wants an apartment-sized dog but can’t take the dog outside for exercise or to relieve itself during wet or snowy weather. Is there a dog breed that will adapt to these restrictions?
  Yes. There are a few small breeds that can adapt to apartment-dwelling and can learn to use a litter box. These breeds are listed in Choosing and Training your Dog.

• I live alone and would like a dog that I can leave alone while I am at work. Is there a dog breed that adapts to being left alone?
  All dogs are social animals who like to be with their owners. However, there are some small, medium and even large breeds that will adapt to being left on their own better than other breeds.

• I understand that most dog shelters euthanize stray dogs that are not adopted after a period of time. Is it safe to adopt a stray dog? How would I go about finding a suitable dog to adopt?
  Choosing and Training your Dog devotes an entire chapter to helping you save a dog’s life and adopting an adult dog. It walks you through the entire process of narrowing the type of dog you want down to 2 or 3 types or breeds and then explains how to find these dogs in an animal shelter or other location. It then goes on to show you how to select the right dog to rescue from the shelter or rescue organization. This section includes a series of tests to perform to ensure that the dog hasn’t been abused and become too shy or aggressive. Finally it provides some advice and techniques to help retrain your adult dog.

• We are in the process of buying a dog, but are first time dog owners. How do we start training our dog?
  Choosing and Training your Dog has a chapter on teaching you about canine instincts and how to train yourself to train your new puppy.

• We have done our research and decided on what dog breed we want. Now how do we find a breeder?
  I will help you find and evaluate a breeder. I will also provide you with questions to ask your breeder and questions your breeder may ask you.

• We want to avoid getting a dog with inherited genetic diseases. How do we ensure we get a healthy puppy?
  It is impossible to guarantee that a puppy is free of inherited diseases, but you can minimize the possibilities. I discuss what test results you should ask to see and questions you should ask your breeder to minimize the probability of inherited diseases.

• Is there a way of picking the best dog in a litter?
  I explain how to select a puppy that is healthy and will meet your requirements.

• We purchased a puppy from a breeder and we pick her up in a week. What should we do to puppy-proof our house and yard and what should we buy before we bring the puppy home?
  Detailed information on puppy-proofing your yard and house is provided in Choosing and Training your Dog. A list of food, toys, supplies and equipment that you should buy ahead of time is also provided.

• What should we do with our puppy the first few weeks after she gets home?
  I provide information on how to manage your puppy including schedules, food training, name training, and crate training.

• What is the best way to housebreak or housetrain my puppy? Should I crate train or paper train my puppy?
  I provide detailed information and techniques on how to housebreak your puppy including the pros and cons of the two most popular housebreaking techniques.

• What and how much should I feed my puppy?
  Advice on types and quantity of food is provided.

• How do I choose a veterinarian?
  Several options are discussed.

• When should I take my puppy to the vet for an exam and puppy shots? When should I de-worm my puppy?
  Questions related to your first veterinarian visit are all answered in detail – including vaccinations, neutering/spading, parasites and other health issues.

• What is the single most important thing I can do for my puppy to ensure it grows up into a happy well-adjusted dog?
  I explain the importance of socialization training and the critical schedule milestones in great detail.

• What puppy training should I undertake over the next few months?
  After socialization training, the next most critical training areas are: grooming training, bite inhibition and other behaviour problem area training, clicker training and collar and leash training. I provide detailed instructions and techniques to employ to achieve success in these areas.

• What is clicker training?
  Choosing and Training your Dog employs the latest training techniques of “click, praise and reward” to achieve breakthroughs in training your puppy.

• When and what commands should I teach my puppy?
  You can’t teach your puppy too much until he is old enough to learn and retain the information. However, I show you how to teach your puppy to heel, sit, stay and walk on a loose leash. This will make your socialization and exercise outings most enjoyable for you and your puppy.

• ....These Amazing Tips and Techniques and MUCH, MUCH MORE!

I have divided this book into two distinct  sections: Choosing Your Dog And Training Your Dog

The first 4 chapters are all about deciding on what type of dog to choose.

The first chapter helps you decide whether to choose a cross-breed, designer or purebred dog. It also explains the differences between first generation and multi-generational designer dog breeds. If you have decided to purchase a designer dog, it helps you decide which type of dog to acquire and helps you research the pure-bred dogs that were used in developing the designer blood line. Finally it walks you through a series of questions that you should be asking yourself before deciding on which type of dog to acquire.

The second chapter provides you with extensive information on all the seven different pure-bred groupings like sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding dog groups. We have also provided a description and photo of the top ten most popular dog breeds in each of the groups. That is a description and photo 70 of the most popular dog breeds.

Chapter 3 is essential to your choice as it helps you decide which factors are most important for you - such as a family dog good with small children or a dog that doesn’t shed and may be good for someone with allergies. A list of dog breeds that meet these critical factors is provided for: small-sized dogs, heavy-shedding dogs, low-shedding dogs, active dogs that need lots of exercise, family dogs that are good with small children, apartment dwelling dogs, and dogs that adapt best to being left alone during the day.

The final chapter in this first part is all about how to save a dog’s life and select and adopt an adult dog from a shelter or kennel. This chapter walks you through the selection and evaluation process in detail – even offering advice on how to test the dogs in the shelter for suitability.

The last 4 chapters are about preparing for and training your dog while it is a young puppy.

Chapter 5 is about training you, the trainer and it teaches you about canine instincts and how to use those instincts to train and manage your dog.

The sixth chapter is all about choosing a breeder and selecting the right puppy from the litter. It includes questions to ask the breeder and questions the breeder may ask you. The chapter concludes with a list of things to do to puppy-proof your house and yard and what equipment, toys, supplies and food/treats to buy before you bring the new puppy home.

Chapter 7 is critical in that it teaches you what to do with your new puppy in the first few weeks to ensure that he will grow up to be a happy, healthy and well-adjusted dog. It teaches you how to successfully implement food training, crate training and house training (housebreaking) and provides you with lots of information on how to go about the most important training which involves socializing your puppy. It also outlines the puppy shots required and the diseases that it protects against as well as walking you through the first visit to the vet to discuss parasites and spaying/neutering of your puppy.

The final chapter is another teaching chapter that concentrates on the newest training techniques of “click, praise and reward”. As well as teaching you how to implement clicker training it teaches you how to implement grooming training, bite inhibition training and collar and leash training – including the all important heel, sit and stay behaviors. Finally it concludes with a summary of what you have learned and what to expect over the next several months.