Have you ever looked at your dog and thought: “Wow, so zen” ? Well, I’m sure that if you take a moment to replay all your memories about your favorite furry and barky pet, – and overlook all the chewing, barking and leaping around with what seems like an endless supply of energy– you will see that in fact, dogs ARE zen. Here’s why I’m saying this, and you as a dog owner will surely relate: Most times, when your dog was anxious, it was either because you, the owner, were anxious, or, they were afraid of something. After those two situations, most probably, your dog showed no worries whatsoever, am I right?
In this amazingly well written book, Enlightened Dog Training, you will find how your own body language affects the behavior of your dog and how changing it will help you get the results that you want from your pet, and how to “speak” to your dog. Yes, Jesse Sternberg will teach you how to speak to your dog. After you read and start practicing the teachings of Jesse , you will be able to do that, just like he does, and have the results that he has had, or much better results than that the average dog owner has in its daily life, for sure, and if you need any proof, there are case studies of people just like you and me, that tried and got their results almost instantly!
If you are thinking: “This is crazy, communicate with my dog with my body? That’s impossible”, well, I would invite you to re-consider this, because, in the “animal world” body language makes most of the communication process within individuals, and regardless if we are aware of it or not, our bodies are ALWAYS sending signals of what we are thinking, feeling and trying to say.
“It’s easier for a human to learn the Secret Language of Dogs than it is for dogs to learn English (or any other language). “
Jesse Sternberg
This book is very interesting, very interesting indeed because it talks both about we humans, in the sense of being ourselves and how we see things, and, how our dogs see things, and how they communicate. Dogs have a “secret language” and although we, as pet owners may know our pet’s moods, whims and wants most of the time, there is always something that we miss now and then, and the author Jesse Sternberg, explains the signals dogs send with certain behaviors and how to interpret them.
Mindfulness. This book also teaches mindfulness for us and how to control our behaviors, both to better communicate with our dogs, but also how to be better people, and to reach a higher, plainer level of consciousness. It’s almost as if you were becoming a stoic, hahahahaha, all put in such simple tones of narrative that make the reading process so easy and fun, it’s incredible!
A question: Do you have a dog that easily gets over-excited and jumpy? You might have thought: “Don’t we all? Isn’t that the standard of dogs?”, and before I read this book, I would have just agreed with you. I’m sure that sometimes you wish you could just calm your dog down with a single command, and this book will help you in training, teaching, your dog how to be less anxious with ease.
This is a very well researched book, and one can immediately tell that given the solid narrative and direction of the book. The author referrers to other books of known researchers on canine behaviour, animal behaviour, dog training and retells his experiences while researching in order to get the knowledge he has now, and something that truly made become impressed with the work of Jesse Sternberg is the way he can relay information in a way that’s easy to digest and imagine. *claps* Very nice!
This might sound strange, BUT, although, although, this book is talking about how dogs behave and how you should behave with your dog, the premises, the principles of behaviour here outlined, may also be useful in other types of communication, sometimes, sometimes, with other people. You will realize this as you read.
“This is all good and fair, and sounds wonderful, but how about wild, violent dogs? Can you easily turn them into “zen” dogs with these little “tricks”?” Well… yes. You see, once again, most times, dogs are “violent” either because they are scared, want to assert dominance or want to protect something. Dogs are never violent because they are simply violent, unless they are trained to be so. These methods, and ways of communication, will help you help your dog to tune into its own states of relaxation, using the Calming Gestures, The Arc of Protection, “Kung-Fu Finger” and other gestures and commands. It’s all explained in a very simple narrative with examples of wild dogs that were taught how to behave in almost no-time with these methods.
In the end, after all, it’s all a miscommunication problem, and if you learn the secret language of dogs, you will be able to do better communicate with your furry companion.
This book will be PERFECT for EVERYONE that has a dog. Literally. Every single dog owner should buy this book. This is a manual that must come with all puppies and dogs we adopt or buy. If you are a dog trainer, or a dog-walker this book will be immensely helpful, not only for the treasure of information inside, but also because of the simplicity of the language used and the cool illustrations that facilitate the learning process. EXCELLENT job by Jesse Sternberg, EXCELLENT!
Pros:
- Excellently researched book
- Excellent explanations and methodology
- Excellent illustrations that are easy to the eye
- A book based on principles and not hard-boiled exercises
- Lots of practical examples and case-studies
- Each chapter is focused on one aspect and all of them are practical
- Easy to understand narrative
- Easy to understand, picture and apply methods
- A book that is relevant and timeless
Cons:
- The “Alpha” canine concept may be based on the popular “Alpha wolf” thesis.
Scribble's Worth 