Does anyone know of a good book about dog training?

This is a subject where some videos will be better for the basics and books may be better for a more detailed study of underlying theory.

Go to your library and see what they have for free. My library had Paul Owens and Monks of New Skete videos and a number of books. All of these are substandard but at least I was able to become familiar with those methods at no cost to me.

If you get a puppy, you have a ton of puppy stuff to learn, a lot of which won’t apply to a grown dog. You also have to wait before applying a lot of adult dog stuff like formal obedience training because a puppy is like a baby or toddler and you have to have different expectations for their level of obedience.

With a puppy, the first subject you should learn about is crate training because this will be indispensable in your puppy’s first year of life or longer. Not only is it the best way to potty train, but it is really the only way to housebreak the dog and make it a house dog. Without the crate, your dog will most likely end up in the yard or outside kennel run. You can use a leash, ex-pen, or puppy gates to transition your pup to more of the house over time but the crate stays essential for when you can’t keep an eye on the pup.

Some of the best materials I’ve found are from Leerburg but I would caveat that they don’t have all the best ideas — rather they have enough good ones and they are adept at putting it on video and the web. I would recommend their videos: Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 months (for a puppy), Basic Dog Obedience (for a puppy or adult dog), and Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet (this is about living with your dog and basic issues like jumping and barking which are not parts of formal obedience — sit, down, stay, come, heel etc.) They have a fair video on Remote Collar Training for Pet Owners (it could be a lot better but I haven’t seen a better one anywhere). They also have a video on Dealing with Dominant and Aggressive Dogs (hopefully you don’t find yourself there and probably if you start right with the “Your Puppy…” and “Establishing…” videos, you won’t.

I’ve heard good things about Ian Dunbar but I haven’t reviewed all his stuff yet. I can say that when you get serious about obedience training (once your puppy grows up to say 6 or 8 months) you will want to check out videos from caninetrainingsystems.com (available from other retailers also). For training, these videos are far better than what Leerburg puts in their basic dog ownership videos (which are not intended to be full blown training schools). Whether you train for competition obedience, schutzhund (obedience, tracking and protection), agility, herding or another sport, CTS produces the videos from the top experts and world champions: Ivan Balabanov, Gottfried Dildei, Anne Marie Silverton, Barbara Cecil, Joanne Fleming Plumb etc. Leerburg’s Michael Ellis videos might compare but the ones with Ed Frawley don’t. Ed has long experience but he doesn’t have the understanding or accomplishments of these others in the area of training. But to be fair, the world champion competitors are not going to take the time to explain something like crate training or leash walking.

CTS also has the Ian Dunbar video series on training companion dogs. I haven’t seen them but they cover topics like leash walking, jumping up and basic obedience. They are a bit dated (18 years old) but they could be good. For sure they would address the topics of interest to you whereas a video on Schutzhund competition training you’re going to have to take the theory and re-apply it to a pet.