The Canine Strategies Workbook (PDF Version): For People Who Love Their High-Energy, Fearful, Willful and/or Reactive Dogs

"Your dog may hide in the laundry basket in the closet because she's scared of your three-year-old son, because she's not feeling well, or maybe just because she likes the smell of your laundry. She might bite and tug at your pant legs because she wants to play, because she wants to be fed, or because she is scared of legs. Should she be corrected, redirected or reassured? If you respond to a behavior with no understanding of why the behavior is occurring, you run the risk of creating problems instead of solving them. Punishing a scared dog doesn't make much sense - neither does rewarding an aggressive dog - and so being able to understand the instinctual and emotional motivations behind your dog's behavior would be extremely helpful when determining how to address her undesirable behaviors..." (Excerpt from Chapter 1)

Here's the question: "Am I solving the right problem the right way?"
Many trainers and authors tell us what to do based on what they believe to be "best", but without understanding the dog, the owner, the family and the situation, how can any one approach solve all problems? It can't. What we should do is not always the same as what we are willing to do, what we are capable of doing, or what will actually be effective with our dog and our family.

The Canine Strategies Workbook is less of a dog training book and more of a psychological and behavioral troubleshooting guide. If you want to teach your dog to beg and roll over, you might enroll in a training class. If you want to help your dog with fear, reactivity, obsessive behaviors or hyperactivity, this is a resource for you. The goal of The Canine Strategies Workbook is to provide an understanding of what is happening, coupled with options on how to address these situations in ways that work for you.

Why a workbook? It's interactive. It takes you out of your head and into the world. The exercises are designed to get you involved in the process. The relationship you have with your dog is unique and should be treated as such. The workbook approach helps you explore that relationship. Theory is fine; theory plus execution is even better.

The strategies and approaches contained in the workbook may be especially helpful with dogs that have been rescued or re-homed from shelters or foster situations. Often, it is impossible to know what the dog has experienced earlier in life, but being able to recognize and possibly reprogram the situations that cause the dog to experience stress may be able to greatly improve the experiences and relationship for dog and owner.

The Canine Strategies Workbook breaks from many dog training / dog psychology books insofar as it is does not follow the model of Applied Behavioral Analysis. Instead, consideration is given to emotional direction and intensity. For those who find ABA too clinical, this more emotional / intuitive approach may be a better fit.

Chapters-

Preface: Tickle, Momo & Olive
Introduction
About This Workbook
Chapter 1: Emotion, Direction & Intensity
Chapter 2: [My Dog] Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
Chapter 3: Body Language
Chapter 4: Preconditions
Chapter 5: Energy-Obedient Over Behavior-Obedient
Chapter 6: Our Role In The Relationship
Chapter 7: Confidence - Dogs That Make Good Decisions
Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Become a Dog Detective (Situation-Feeling-Behavior)
Chapter 9: The Debate Over Positive Reinforcement & Pack Leader
Chapter 10: Not Carrot or Stick, Carrot and Stick
Chapter 11: The Power of Positivity
Chapter 12: Disagreements
Chapter 13: The Importance of Timing
Chapter 14: Putting it All Together
Chapter 15: Choose Your Battles
Bonus Chapter 16: Dog Geometry
Bonus Chapter 17: Miscellaneous Tips & Tricks

Please note: This book is available in two versions - standard (better for readers who prefer flowable text) and PDF (better graphical experience). Content is identical.