Recommended Reading?

[Jamie & Odin]

OK, if I could ask for some opinion/feedback from experienced sport enthusiasts on the following list of books:

"Schutzhund: Theory and Training Methods" by, Susan Barwig and Stewart Hilliard

"Schutzhund Obedience: Training in Drive" by, Gottfried Dildei and Sheila Booth

"Schutzhund Protection Training" by Gary Patterson

"Training the Competitive Working Dog" by Tom Rose and Gary Patterson

This is a beginning list, any recommendations more than welcome! Recommendations on videos are great too. Thanks!

[laurlitt]

We have all those in our collection... I also like Gary Patterson's 'Beginning Tracking' book and Ivan B's 'Advanced Schutzhund'...

[valdes43]

I'm just listing the ones I have actually read or viewed.

Schutzhund Protection by Gary Patterson at the time I read it was a good book. My views have differed with experience so I couldn't really tell you if I would still like it as much as I did.

Der Schutzhund by Helmut Raiser is very good. Small but meainingful book.

Schutzhund Obedience by Gottfried Dildei and Sheila Booth is a very good book. So are his Basic and Advanced Obedience videos. Sheila Booth's Purely Positive is definately worth a buy.

Advanced Schutzhund by Ivan B. is an excellent book. Just not a foundation book, it's an after foundation book. Very good though!

Excelerated Learning by Pamela Reid is very good. Even though She's not into schutzhund she does do competetive obedience and understands that all training cannot be all motivational the entire time (proofing phase). This is a book that explain's a lot of the "why's" in dog training.. which brings me to my next book.

"How Dogs Learn" this is a book about the "why's" too. It goes over training techniques through the years. And how things started from the lab and made it's way on to real life. (not schutzhund either) but goes into how dogs learn. It'll help you determine is techniques you are going to use really make sense. Certain techniques work because they produce results but may not necessiraly be fair to the dog.

Dog Encyclopedia (not sure if its the exact name) by Roger Abrantes is a very good reference book. He's a follower of the Konrad Lorenz, a pioneer in the subject of aggression.

As far as videos:

Foundation of competition obedeince by Joanne Plumb 1 &2 are excellent.

Foundation of competition Tracking by Joanne Plumb is excellent.

Focus, Drive, and Grips by Bernard Flinks is awesome.

Stewart Hilliard Protection videos are great.


This list can go on. These are my favorites. I can probably fit a couple of more but my mind's going blank. That should keep you busy for a good while. ;)