Good Owners, Great Dogs: Are you a good owner?

So many dogs are given away, taken to the shelter, or put down due to their owner’s negligence. Too many people buy that “cute little puppy” without giving a thought to just how much work a dog can be, especially if they develop a behavioral problem. Most problems that cause people to give up on their dog are easily correctable, but they just don’t know how to do it. All of that heartache could be avoided if the owners only knew about Good Owners, Great Dogs by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson.

I received this book as a present during the Christmas of 2000. My boyfriend had recently taken home a new German Shepherd pup and I was helping to raise him. We both wanted to make sure we did everything we could to help him grow up to be a well-behaved dog.

I love dogs, I have been around dogs my whole life, and I know how much work they can be. They are a HUGE responsibility, but one that I hope I will never be without. In Good Owners, Great Dogs, the authors make no qualms about telling you how much work a dog is. They also explain many methods as to how to make your life with your dog more enjoyable.

The training methods used in this book are all based on positive reinforcement. What that means is that the dog is rewarded for good behavior, rather than being punished for bad behavior. Anyone who has studied Psychology will know that positive reinforcement is much more effective than punishment, as well as more desirable for the one on the receiving end!

One thing I enjoyed about this book is that the methods are easily adapted to clicker training. Clicker training is a method that relies extensively, if not exclusively, on positive reinforcement. It is also highly effective. If you have your dog clicker trained, don’t avoid this book because it is not clicker orientated. Most, if not all, of these methods can easily be used in conjunction with the clicker.


The authors take the obvious approach and start at the beginning, describing to those with no experience with dogs what a dog will be like. They then go on to talk about dog communication, and how to choose a dog. They also talk about what places to avoid when getting a puppy – with a much-needed description of the horrors of pet stores and how they support puppy mills.

They also tell you everything you ever wanted to know about training your puppy. They lead the reader through the puppy’s life into adulthood, giving good tips all along the way. They also give solutions to common problems and address mistakes people often make when training their dogs.

My favorite section of the book is in Part 4 – “Understanding and Solving Canine Problems”. Many behavioral problems are addressed, explanations of what causes these problems, how to prevent them, and how to correct them when they are already in place. For example, dogs with separation anxiety are dogs who will total the house while their owners are away. The owners come home, see the mess and yell at the dog. This doesn’t teach the dog anything because the damage had already been done, and all that has happened is now the dog is afraid of the owner and doesn’t understand why they are mad at him. The next day when the owner leaves, the dog is even more nervous, chews up the house, and knows the owner will yell again when he gets home. There is even an example in the book of a dog owner who had this problem, and their trainer told them to beat the dog with a newspaper and yell at it when they came home and the house was a mess. This of course made the dog worse, and the trainer deemed the dog untrainable. Using a different method, the one described in the book, the dog is now behaving much better.

Many of the methods described are very easy to follow. Some do require a lot of patience and persistence on your part, but they are all simple in concept. Remember that it is easier to prevent problems than to correct them once they have started.


So many people get dogs without knowing what they are getting into. They raise them with little knowledge of how to properly train a dog. Even adult dogs that seem hopeless can still be helped, it’s all a matter of knowing how to do it. If you or anyone you know has a dog or is considering getting one, I strongly urge you to get this book. It is not just recommended by me, I was quite pleased to see that our vet also holds this book in high regard; they sell the book in their office and often play the tape of Mr. Kilcommons showing how to properly train your dog. Veterinarian approved!


~~~Thanks for reading!~~~