The Loved Dog

The Playful, Nonaggressive Way to Teach Your Dog Good Behavior

By: Tamar Geller, Andrea Cagan

Narrated by: Renée Raudman

Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

More than 15 years ago, Tamar Geller began her career as a dog trainer by observing a scientific study of wolves in the wild. She realized that the socialization and parenting techniques they used to raise their cubs were rooted in bonding, communication, and play - not in aggression, dominance, or punishment. If people used these techniques when training their dogs, she realized, there would be no need for prong collars, choke chains, or any kind of physical or verbal aggression. She realized we can make it "fun" for our dogs to listen to us and behave as we want them to.

Tamar went on to train the dogs of many celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Courteney Cox- Arquette, Nicollette Sheridan, Owen Wilson, the Osbournes, and others. Her nonaggressive methods are so revolutionary that the Humane Society of the United States approached her to be a consultant, and she now teaches animal behavior at Pepperdine University.

In The Loved Dog, Tamar shows anyone how to childproof a dog, teach him vocabulary, use treats the right way, play "tug of war" to build trust, make it fun for him to come when called, teach him not to jump on people, and much more, using only playful bonding and positive reinforcement.

©2007 Tamar Geller (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"The Loved Dog method is nothing short of a revolution. Tamar Geller shows us a pathway beyond punishment, and reminds us that understanding and respect are the key words in dog training in the 21st century. Now these common-sense and humane principles are set out clearly in a single, accessible volume." (Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO, The Humane Society of the United States)

Lamely Woo-woo

The narrator manages to convey perfectly the exquisite, whiny moralizing of this book's tone. Listening to it, I couldn't help but think I was hearing the same ungrounded Los Angeles mindset that has celebrities promoting anti-vaccination FUD.

Compassion is an essential element to living with and relating to any domestic animal. But there are more scientific (and common sense) ways to approach dog training.

90% Of this book is about the author.

It's a five hour exercise in narcissism. And the actual training is based on old outdated science like the alpha dog theories.

Maybe better read but a terrible listen

Two hours into this book I was still waiting for something about dog training. Then it just went on with a lot of stories about her own dogs and her encounters with celebrity dogs for what seemed like forever. Heavy on reward/treat reinforcement. Heavily critical of other methods, which I found to be a bit of a turn-off regardless of whether I thought she was right. After listening to her bash her family for the first hour or so of the book, and then go on to bash other trainers/training methods, it just seemed to be a lot of "me! me! me!" Seems to me that if a person has confidence in their technique it should stand alone without having to drag down the competition. As for airing the family's dirty laundry - that had nothing whatsoever to do with dog training, so I don't know what that was supposed to be about, except perhaps to garner sympathy. Didn't work on me. Just made me a little uncomfortable. It may be a better hard copy, where you can just flip past all the filler and drama, and focus on the method, but it wasn't a worthwhile purchase for me at all. Not well written, an abundance of irrelevant material, no new techniques; unless you have no experience with dog obedience at all, you've probably heard/tried all of this before.

Outdated

What would have made The Loved Dog better?

The author has outdated information. Her claims are based on subjective observation not objective scientific research. There is plenty out there right now so she has no excuse.

Would you ever listen to anything by Tamar Geller and Andrea Cagan again?

Probably not.

What didn’t you like about Renée Raudman’s performance?

Sappy voice!! really!??

A Waste

If you want to piss away 6 hours and learn nothing, this book is for you.

Too much personification

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Not speaking on behalf of the dogs.

Would you recommend The Loved Dog to your friends? Why or why not?

Not likely. There are an abundance of training books out.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Renée Raudman?

Yes, very soothing voice.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the very specific examples she gave of her techniques. She personified the dogs constantly and many people have a problem treating dogs like people. She went so far as to quote dogs thoughts and feelings. I think this is a huge mistake! The book was ok but I wouldn't recommend it.

too much personal feel sorry for me p

Would you try another book from Tamar Geller and Andrea Cagan and/or Renée Raudman?

Sorry, I wanted a book about dog training, not the authors personal story about child abuse, the holocaust, parents dysfunction, etc.