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If you’re looking for the best dog training books, you may want to consider Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution.
It’s full of excellent training tips, FAQ’s and their answers (this was my favorite part), and overall dog care advice.
Plus, his personality and obvious love for dogs makes it a fun read that will get you excited to train and care for your dog!
In this post, we’ll break down the top pros and cons of the book, plus identify who it’s for, and who it’s not for.
I’ll also share a story about how this book specifically helped me with raising my dog, Oliver.
Let’s dive in!
(P.S. I’m not sponsored by Zak George or any other company, so you can be sure this is a non-biased review.)
Pros
Pro #1: He really knows his stuff (and he’s a good teacher)
Zak George is one of the most popular dog trainers in the world and for good reason: he really knows what he’s talking about!
He not only knows how to encourage a dog to behave in a certain way or obey a command, but also how to do it in a loving way that makes the dog want to obey you.
This helps strengthen your relationship with your dog, as opposed to forcing him to obey by force or fear, which will hurt your relationship with them.
Plus, everything in the book is broken down into small steps, which makes it easier to digest.
Pro #2: There are several “Ask Zak” sections where he rattles off answers to FAQ’s
This was my favorite part of the book because he addresses specific questions that he gets asked (many of which I had myself!).
The book is a good mix of general principles and specific tactics, and these “Ask Zak” questions are super helpful
If you’re experiencing difficulties with some aspect of raising your dog, Zak likely addresses it in these sections.
Pro #3: It covers a lot
This book isn’t just about training; it covers everything from choosing a dog and bringing them home, to basic care and common health problems.
No matter what stage in the dog owning journey you are, this book will be able to help answer your questions.
Pro #4: He obviously loves dogs and working with them
Here’s a quick story:
My dog, Oliver, was a little under a year old when I was reading this book.
Like most one-year-old puppies, he’s adorable, but very mischevious and wild.
One day after it rained, he was running and rolling around in the mud in the backyard.
Then he came in the house and started doing muddy zoomies before I could clean him off.
It could have been easy for me to get frustrated at him at that time, but Zak’s message of love and understanding of your pup helped curb that frustration.
Instead, I wrangled him in, wiped him off, gave him a big kiss and let him continue his happy zoomies.
Cons
Now before we get into the cons, I want to preface them with this: some of the cons stem from my personal preference, and aren’t actually bad things about the book.
Con #1: It covers a lot, but doesn’t go into detail in some aspects
Although “it covers a lot” is in the pros list, I did find it necessary to mention this in the cons list, too.
Like I said, it covers nearly every aspect of owning a dog, but because there is so much to know, some sections were lacking detail.
For instance, I was really looking forward to the tricks section, but in the book, he only covers five tricks.
I was hoping for more in the book, but the good thing is that there are tons of videos on YouTube of him showing you how to teach your dog tricks.
3 Things To Teach Your Puppy [VIDEO]
Con #2: It was more of a dog owners handbook than a training book
This is piggy-backing off of the previous con, but for a book that was called “Dog Training Revolution,” I expected it to be all about training.
Instead, only about half of the book was about dog training.
The other half covered topics such as choosing a dog, bringing them home, and basic health and care for them.
It reads more as a dog owner’s manual than a dog training book, which leads us to our next point.
- If you’re looking for a dog training course, check out this Brain Training For Dogs review
Who This Book Is For
If you’re about to get a new puppy, just got a new puppy, or want some basic care and training tips, you’ll love this book.
It covers pretty much everything you need to know.
You’ll learn:
- How to choose a dog
- What to do when you bring them home
- Basic dog care needs
- Training principles and specific tactics (like crate training)
- Troubleshooting bad behaviors
- And much more
Who This Book Is Not For
This book is not for someone who wants to really go deep into dog training.
It covers basic training principles and fundamentals, a few tricks, and things that you’ll want to train your puppy to do (like walking on a leash, crate training, etc).
If you’re looking to nerd out on dog training, I’d recommend going to his YouTube channel and search for what you’re looking for specifically, or find another book.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an overview of how to care and train for your dog, you’ll love this book.
Zak George’s infectious love for dogs will help encourage you to be more patient and loving with your dog, and his teaching will help you know exactly what to do while raising your pup.
You can get his book from Amazon here.
Have you read this book?
What did you think?
Let me know in the comments below!
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Zak George has never trained a dog in his life its all about sales end of. The dogs in his videos take next to no notice of him no eye contact nothing. No matter what the problem it’s about giving the dog treats (sales). There are far better trainers out there who will give you better results & a better dog. I can’t even stomach to watch any of his YouTube films to the end its sickening.
Thanks for sharing your opinion!