Winner of the DWAA Maxwell Award for 2013, APDT Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S.)

This book goes beyond any of the other puppy books out there and brings you Brenda's 20 years of experience working with problem dogs as a professional pet behavior consultant. This gives Brenda a unique view of what owners should have done to prevent problems from occurring in the first place. Training your dog should be a shared and fun experience that enhances the relationship you have with your dog. This book will lead you through each "problem" and in an easy to understand step-by-step program will show you how to make big differences in your dog's behavior.

Brenda Aloff on Puppies…
This book goes beyond any of the other puppy books out there and brings you Brenda's 20 years of experience working with problem dogs as a professional pet behavior consultant. Training your dog should be a shared and fun experience that enhances the relationship you have with your dog. This book will lead you through each "problem" and in an easy to understand step-by-step program will show you how to make big differences in your dog's behavior.

Puppy Problems comes with a DVD that shows you exactly how to carry out the protocols in this book. Take a look at the Table of Contents. It is filled with all of those common, but irritating issues that come up in daily life with a new puppy or dog and solutions for each one. The DVD is super and even children can watch the training steps and then be able to follow the steps to gain success with your family pet. (Of course, children will need parental supervision, as well.)

You will learn:
• Create a teaching language so that you and your dog have understanding instead of confusion.
• Learn how to Mark and reinforce behaviors you want to encourage.
• Use the exercises shown in the DVD to build your training skills and have a dog that is well-trained and joyful.
• Solve common problems that almost every dog exhibits at one time or another.

What dog professionals are saying about Brenda Aloff’s Puppy Problems? No Problem!
New book AND IT IS FABULOUS! Everyone who has ever had a puppy, has had problems. What a great source of information and help from a lady who knows.
Pat Hastings, AKC Judge, lecturer, author and producer of the Puppy Puzzle

Finally! A dog trainer and behavior expert who has written a book which doesn't take another dog trainer to interpret! Having a radio show about all things D-O-G, I research every avenue I can find to gather creditable information for my listeners. This book provides comprehensive and reader friendly help for those who are raising puppies or have a new dog that they have rescued. It's fun, factual and full of great illustrative pictures.
Pat Becker, Host of Speak! Talk Radio, producer of PBS Special “The World of Dogs”

Author Brenda Aloff is a professional dog trainer specializing in problem behavior. A large part of her practice consists of dogs that have been referred to her when traditional training techniques have failed. She works with owners on re-socialization of fearful and aggressive dogs as well as teaching puppy socialization, competition obedience, conformation, tracking, back-packing, musical freestyle, and agility classes at Heaven On Arf Behavior and Training Center in Midland, Michigan. She is a member of The Association of Dog Obedience Instructors, Trainer’s Forum and several other breed and training organizations. Brenda travels all over the world giving talks on canine aggression and learning theory.

Click here to view an excerpt.

Dog World Review, February 2012

What reviewers are saying...

THE APDT CHRONICLE OF THE DOG
“What an undertaking this book must have been for Brenda Aloff, for Puppy Problems? No Problem! is a massive reference for anyone interested in learning about dogs. The target audience is the new puppy owner; however, anyone who needs some guidance and assistance with their dogs will find this guide full of useful information. Included is a companion DVD in which Aloff demonstrates general training protocols so that people can see them done instead of simply reading about them. The table of contents makes it easy for the reader to jump right to the appropriate sections to immediate answers to their questions. But I hope that everyone will take the time to read the first section, entitled “Training Myths.” The opening paragraph summarizes the frustrations that so many of us trainers experience: People fail to recognize dogs as individuals and often listen to the advice of so-called experts who don’t really have a good understanding of this fact. Aloff stresses the need to find an experienced and educated trainer. Bravo! The beginning of the book explains puppy development stages and details why each stage is so important in the formation of a well-adjusted puppy. A discussion of crate training, safe toys, playing games and the need for fenced yards is included too. The information is presented in easy-to-understand language and is quite valuable. Then, almost a third of the book is dedicated to training protocols. At this point, the book becoming more advanced and could be very confusing for anyone without training experience. Aloff briefly covers how dogs communicate differently from humans and delves into developing a communication system with your dog. Her explanations are not completely clear. For example, on the DVD, Aloff discusses why collar touches are so important but in the same discussion, she launches into teaching the “be still” exercise and demonstrates how she can roll her dog onto her side. Instead of laying out a step-by-step program for training dogs, Aloff’s approach is disorganized and difficult to follow. Aloff excels when she is visually demonstrating the training exercises on the DVD. However, without prior knowledge of certain terms such as protocols, memory markers, reinforcers and classical conditioning, viewers of the DVD (and the readers) will be confused. Aloff does not explain these terms. Consequently, parts of the book and DVD are not for first-time puppy or dog owners – the supposed intended audience or this book. Additionally, Aloff touches very briefly on corrections and the use of startle noises. These sections are too short and need more explanations. As most experienced trainers know, a great many dog owners do not understand how to use these techniques properly and that time is of the utmost importance. Also, many trainers may not agree with the use of corrections and startle noises. I was quite disappointed that Aloff recommends the use of the word “NO” as an aversive when a dog is doing something wrong. With so much good advice in the book, it was a shame to see this suggestion. As the introduction states, all dogs are individuals, and in keeping with that fact, some dogs may not react well to this kind of aversive. As an example, she advocates saying “NO” if the dog is “thinking about” getting into the trash. Overall, I found this book and the DVD to be poorly organized. For example, in the section on puppy mouthing, Aloff talks about why dogs bite (which is a very different topic from mouthing) and gets into fear biting, pain and resource guarding. These topics should have been moved into a separate section. The end of the book looks at choosing the right breeder if thinking of getting a puppy, temperament testing and selecting the right puppy. Plus there also is a small section on adopting a rescued dog, all good information, although I would have opted to place these sections at the beginning of the book. This book and DVD must have taken a great deal of time and effort to write and produce. Had just a little more time been given to the organization, these references could have been quite impressive.” Chris Shaughness, author of Puppy Mill Dogs SPEAK!