I purchased my book at Borders book store in Montana and am enjoying your book, it is very easy to read and with it being broken down into the different chapters with specific concerns and your Q & A sections are very helpful. If you have a specific concern you can go right to that section of your book. I am only on pg 51 as I just purchased book a week ago, but I have skimmed to certain sections to get quick questions answered on how to deal with specific problems. Thank you!!! I have a problem with my 6 month old Boston Terrier, french bull dog cross. She is a poop eater. The vet has had me try Forbid powder on her food, we have tried a squirt bottle to catch her in the act, she is very fast and almost seems to scout out the yard looking for poop to eat, any training ideas to try?? SOS
Julie’s Answer: Hello,
Nice to hear from you! I’m sorry you are having this problem with your dog; I know it can be a frustrating one. Because the cause of this behavior is not fully understood, techniques to resolve it are also not totally understood and seem to depend on the particular dog. How many times a day do you feed her? It could be that she is hungry so she can benefit from increasing the number of times she eats per day. If her weight is a problem, spread out the amount of food given to several smaller portions, but not necessarily increasing the daily intake.
Some believe dogs that eat their poop do so because it is an attention seeking behavior-a way to get social interaction with their guardian-even if it is scolding-which may reinforce the behavior. If this could be your dog’s reason, then your dog would benefit from more time with you. Others think it could be a nutrient lacking in their diet, therefore changing to a higher quality dog food may help. Frustration and/or anxiety can also be the culprit and increasing your dogs daily exercise can help as well as offering more daily mental stimulation.
If 4-BID doesn’t work, try asking your veterinarian for other possible products to add to the food. What works for one dog may not work for another. Other possibilities:
1. Sprinkle cayenne pepper or a product called Bitter Apple directly on your dogs poop, so that when he eats the poop, he has a bad experience. All poop your dog can get to would need to be treated.
2. Prevention: Every time you take your dog outside to eliminate, keep her on leash and if she tries to eat the poop you can clap your hands, or shake a can with beans in it to stop the behavior and then immediate give a toy and praise for taking the toy. You’ll be redirecting the behavior, without scolding.
3. Minimize her chance to get to the poop by keeping the area cleaned up. Observe her pooping, then immediately clean it up.
Remember, punishment does NOT work. Your dog might interpret it as attention, even if it is negative. Also, punishing her after the fact is even worse. As you’ve read about in the book, she won’t understand what you are punishing her for even if it was just a couple minutes before. Instead, she’ll start to mistrust you and you don’t want that.
I think the information I provided is a good place for you to start. I look forward to hearing your response.
All the best,
Julie
Thank you Julie for your quick response, much appreciated.
Good ideas to start with, we will let you know how things go.
She is a very energetic puppy, so maybe smaller portions more frequently, the vet said for her breed we should be careful not to over feed her. She is a french bull dog boston terrier X, only 8 LBS. She is coming along nicely on leash and does love to go for walks.
Thank you for all of the other advice we will try everything and send you an update.
Imagine Life With A Well-Behaved Dog
By Julie A. Bjelland
The author gives explicit, positive advice on tackling any problem you may have with your dog. Bjelland tells you how to change your communication with your dog so that you will have “stress-free, unconditional love for years to come.” She also has a web site so you can contact her, and donates a portion of her profits to help dogs. This is a must- read book that can help your dog as well as other deserving canines.
Reviewed by Nancy Allen
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Bay Woof May Issue:
WHY OBEDIENCE MATTERS
When obedience is done well, dogs feel good about themselves because you are giving them sincere praise and reward for accomplishing something.
Editor’s Note: This piece is excerpted from Imagine Life with a Well-Behaved Dog by Bay Area trainer Julie A. Bjelland. © 2010 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Griffin. The book can be purchased at your favorite independent book store or online at www.webdogtrainer.com.
The human world is a pretty complicated place for dogs, and a lot of the things they do in their natural world you don’t want them to do in yours. Dogs in the wild often leap all over each other in greeting, which is why dogs have that tendency to jump on you when they are excited. But this behavior doesn’t work for you, especially if you have a big dog. In the wild, some dogs urinate to show the other dog they recognize his dominance. That’s natural in their world, but not on your new carpet.
There are a lot of things in the human world that are not normal in the dog world.
Dogs normally explore the world and don’t do well staying in one place all day. They are not left alone for long periods of time in nature because they normally live among other dogs in groups. Therefore, it is understandable that your dog will do best if you can try to match his “normal” environment as much as possible in your human world. That involves
lots of exercise, new sights and smells, less time alone and more time with you, time to play with his dog pals, and an environment with a calm, clear, natural leader with rules that are consistent so he can understand them. Dogs in an environment more like their natural one do better and have fewer behavior problems.
We all have busy lives and it’s hard to fit a dog’s needs into our schedules. However, if you don’t make adjustments, essentially you create more problems for yourself. Skipping the daily walks might feel like it gives you more time, but you risk returning to a shredded couch or an unhappy neighbor who listened to barking all day.
If you think about it, every need of your dog’s is actually good for you, too. He needs exercise and so do you; he needs time with you, and you need his loving companionship. So how exactly do you communicate your human needs to your dog? By teaching him obedience! Obedience is more than just teaching your dog to sit, lie down, or come when called. It is a way to actually communicate with your dog. Even if you do not plan on showing your dog in a competition, teaching him obedience is valuable in many other ways.
Jumping can be controlled through teaching obedience. Since dogs listen to their “leaders” in nature, if your dog considers you to be his leader, he will listen to you. Obedience accomplishes that.
People who practice obedience with their dogs are leaders in their dog’s eyes. This means that your dog respects your judgment and wants to do what you ask him to do. It also means he loves you more! This is important. Some people fear that using obedience with their dogs is unkind in some way. But positive-based obedience techniques, like the ones described in this book, are actually fun. When obedience is done well, dogs feel good about themselves because you are giving them sincere praise and reward for accomplishing something. This makes your dog happier and teaches him what you’d like him to do.
Nothing in dog training happens instantly. It takes practice, but it is worth every minute you put into it. Your dog will be happier, because a better-behaved dog gets to spend more time with you. You’ll be happier because you’ll know how to control your dog’s behaviors in a way that works for everyone. Wouldn’t it be fun to go to the off- leash park with your dog or go camping without a leash and feel confident your dog will stay near you and come when called? This is accomplished through obedience training. Or maybe you live in a city and want to pass by other dogs and sit calmly with a friend at an outdoor café while your dog happily lies next to you. This is also possible through obedience.
Obedience takes practice and, most important, it takes consistency. If you are clear with your dog and ask the same thing of him every time, he’ll learn really quickly. But if you sometimes allow him to jump on you when you are too tired to stop it, and other times you get angry and yell at him to stop, you create confusion — sometimes he can jump and sometimes he can’t. If you make a clear rule that jumping on you is never allowed, your dog will learn it quickly and stop doing it.
I believe that if you understand why you should do something, you are more likely to do it consistently. My goal throughout this book is to teach you why you should do one thing but not the other. Once you are consistent, learn my techniques, practice your timing, and praise genuinely, you’ll discover a marvelous thing: Your dog listens to you!
From Bay Woof: http://baywoof.com/1005.obediencematters.shtml
By Kristine Alpi, William Rand Kenan Jr. Lib. of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh — Library Journal, 4/15/2010
Those who wish their dog were better behaved can skip the chapters on preparing for a new dog. Detailed contents demonstrate that the three-step program of getting ready, starting, and advancing training is a way to sequence activities to avoid overwhelming dogs or their human companions. Bjelland, who trained for Guide Dogs of the Blind, counsels owners on feelings of frustration when things don’t go as planned and offers one-on-one guidance via her web site (www.webdogtrainer.com). Her coverage of behavior modification and fun things to do with your well-behaved dog is basic because a number of other books are devoted to these topics. Well-chosen black-and-white photos supplement the text. VERDICT Life will be better for readers who heed Bjelland’s advice. The strength of this book is the practical, user-friendly motivation it provides for owners, to shape both human and dog behaviors.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6725443.html?industryid=47110
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Reviews:
Library Journal:
Life will be better for readers who heed Bjelland’s advice. The strength of this book is the practical, user-friendly motivation it provides for owners, to shape both human and dog behaviors.
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The American Dog Magazine calls my book, “a must- read book” :
The author gives explicit, positive advice on tackling any problem you may have with your dog. Bjelland tells you how to change your communication with your dog so that you will have “stress-free, unconditional love for years to come.” She also has a web site so you can contact her, and donates
a portion of her profits to help dogs. This is a must- read book that can help your dog as well as other deserving canines.
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A Happy, Healthy, Holistic Way to Train
This book impresses on every level! Julie Bjelland has infused clear-cut, easy-to-follow canine training steps and tips with a refreshing positive psychology approach. A truly holistic work, her book is extremely user friendly, detailed without being at all tedious, and delightfully personable - the reader is gently but confidently led through all the training measures and many other valuable topics in a style that reflects the author’s own calm, sincere manner. Whether you’re looking for a puppy, re-training an adult dog, or considering saving a senior pooch, this book is entirely appropriate. Julie Bjelland leaves no stone unturned, no corner darkened in her book, including step-by-step guides to training various behaviors and even tips for adoption. As a current adoptive parent of a puppy, an adult dog, and a senior canine, I was in dire need of addressing all my doggies’ various needs and only this book covered all those bases for *all three* of my dogs. I find myself referring to this book over and over again because its content so useful and so easy to use! The training guides and tips alone are worth the purchase, but there is so much more valuable information that truly makes this book a gem! If you want an experience far more positive versus punitive, more holistic versus one-note, and more loving (yet successful!) versus whip-cracking, then this is the best buy on the market for you and your pooch!
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Family fun: Behavior training
By KIM BROWN World Scene Writer
Tulsa World Newspaper
How to have a great dog
According to a survey from the American Veterinary Medical Association, 53 percent of dog owners say their furry friends are considered part of the family.
And we certainly treat them that way, which can lead to some behavior problems.
Author Julie Bjelland hopes to fix those quirks with a positive approach in her new book, “Imagine Life with a Well-Behaved Dog: A 3-Step Positive Dog-Training Program”.
The experienced dog trainer offers help for the most common doggie behavioral issues: jumping to “greet” guests, chomping on shoes and furniture, and letting them walk you.
Bjelland said she wanted to come up with a way to train your dog at home using the same approaches expensive dog trainers use.
“You can actually teach your dog to listen to you,” she writes. “Having a well-behaved dog really isn’t complicated, but it does take patience, practice and consistency.”
In the book, Bjelland focuses separately on adult dogs and puppies and has designed a program, which stems from her popular Web site, www.webDogtrainer . The book is designed so you can read about a particular training method, then follow up online by asking her a question.
Her best advice is the simplest: “When you are calm, your dog becomes calmer.”
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This book is *outstanding*! SO user-friendly, covers SO many truly important, relevant topics, and is clear and precise and yet still a fun read! I recommend it for anyone who has or has ever thought about having a dog - puppy, adult, or senior! Thank you for sharing your valuable insights so publicly, Julie!
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I loved your book-wish I had it with my first dogs.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book–very easy to understand.
This book is perfect for the average dog owner who wants an easy to read, easy to understand book that will help them have that “well-behaved dog” or for the person who wants to learn more advanced training. After reading this book, I almost felt like I could train any dog! It has good step-by-step instruction that makes sense. The author’s approach is kind and gentle, but firm as well. You will get great results if you follow her instruction. This is a book every dog owner should own. From just the family pet to a more advanced obedience training, it has it all. You will not regret owning this book. And, the author’s offer to answer questions on her website, gives you even more personalized help. You will love it! I think it is so good, I plan to give it to my friends, who own dogs, as a gift.
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Excellent book for beginning and experienced dog owners
This is a well written easy to follow dog training book. I particularly like how the author spends time in the beginning talking about how to match one’s personality with their dog’s personality. Other dog training books I’ve tried have talked about being an assertive leader for your dog, but haven’t talked about how a passive personality and a dominate dog personality will clash. This author makes it clear that if you are a low energy and passive person you’ll be happier with an older dog and one that is also passive or shy, and your dog will be happier too.
She also spends a good amount of time explaining how much exercise is required for a dog and challenging the reader to examine if his/her lifestyle is compatible with having a dog. She also makes several good points about how one’s level of activity should match the dog’s level of activity. Particularly if you are gone all day and don’t have energy for an active dog, you’d do better with an older dog. She makes a great case for adopting older dogs which has really made me rethink the myth that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
The training section is easy to read and the steps are broken down so that they are easy to follow and implement. I particularly like her reminders to remain calm, clear, and consistent. The book has lots of real life cases and how the author has helped people overcome issues with their dogs. I find these extremely helpful in understanding why my dogs behave as they do and how my fears, anxieties and emotions impact their behavior.
Particularly helpful in this book is that the author gives lots of examples of how we inadvertently reinforce negative behavior by giving in to our dogs. Many of the dog books I’ve read talked about being the leader, but this author shows how we undermine our leadership in our house and elsewhere and what we can do to get it back. A good example is how when your dog wants something and barks we give it, then we end up having a dog that barks excessively because we’ve always given them attention or the reward when they bark. She gives some very good ways to stop such behavior by redirecting the dog and leaving the room, and making the dogs wait until their calm before giving them food, and attention.
All in all I found the book VERY helpful. We have 3 dogs of various ages and I’ve seen a dramatic change in our dog’s behavior when I remember to be calm. The book has made it clear to me how we have confused our dogs by our family members giving in and not being consistent and now that we have started to work together as a family on being consistent with the dogs it has helped a great deal.
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I liked your holistic positive approach…your [book] description sold me…I originally went to buy a Cesar Milan book but your description seemed to be my style..Also posted you on my facebook on best dog books I have read…
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An easy read packed full of helpful content!
Solid book. I loved it! It is well organized, well outlined, well written, and packed with great content. The book has an introduction and 9 chapters as follows:
0. Introduction: About the book, me and my dog
1. Adopting a dog
2. Preparing for a new dog
3. Step 1: Getting ready for obedience
4. Step 2: Training begins
5. Step 3: Advancing your training
6. Behavior modification
7. Special situations
8. Fun things to do with your dog
9. Conclusion: Let’s save lives together
The book includes a 3-step positive dog-training program. The author is a professional dog trainer who has impressive credentials as dog trainers go. And she has loads of experience doing what she talks about in this book. Besides being a published author on the subject, she is also the creator and owner of an online coaching service you learn about in the book. The book and the author’s Web site seem to be partners in helping wanta-be dog owners and actual dog owners become better pet owners.
It is hard to believe, but this book is a “one-size-fits-all” kind of book. Regardless of who you are, what breed of dog you have, what age of dog you have, or what activity level of dog you have, this book will help you be a better owner and your dog be better behaved. You not only learn what to do, but why you are doing it. And for me, that is the best kind of training or coaching that can be delivered.
The information contained in this book is consistent with dog training I have experienced in the past. When I was age 10 my family adopted a Hungarian Puli that was 6 months old at the time. My folks promptly enrolled my dog and me in a dog training class offered at the local YMCA. I was actually too young to enroll (age 12 was the cutoff), but an exception was made for me. My dog won the class dog show competition (final exam), and went on to compete in a dog show or two thereafter. Smokey (my puli) was my first dog. And what a joy he was.
So if you are thinking of getting a dog, or already have one that is not well behaved, then I highly recommend this book. It is an easy read packed full of helpful content. 5 stars!
PS. The author offers in the book to provide email counseling to purchasers of the book. Just a half-hour counseling session normally would cost more than the price of this book. What a deal!
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I read this book and through the exercises not only did I better train my dog, but it helped me to develop a closer bond to my dog. I definitely approved of the positive approach in training the book uses as well as enjoyed the personal touch the author gives the book by talking about her own dog experiences. My dog got rid of some bad habits (like chewing my son’s stuffed animals) and together we developed some good habits like playing games like “Find It” together. I have become a “dog lover” through this book and me and my dog have developed a mental as well as emotional connection. I could definitely see myself adding another dog to the family in the future (and I may even consider a senior dog as I never before realized their wonderful companionship potential). Great book. I recommend it for people who want to develop an even closer relationship to their dogs!
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Imagine Life With A Well-Behaved Dog, A 3-Step Positive Dog Training Program, by Julie A. Bjelland (St. Martin’s Griffin 2010) is available in bookstores now.
Want an Autographed Copy Directly from the Author?
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