Best books for a novice puppy owner

[aleto]

I've seen people on here recommend "Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey and "Life Skills for Puppies" by Daniel Mills. Are these very similar or is it worth buying both? Also, we would like to crate train our puppy. Is there information in these books on crate training or is there a book that anyone would recommend that would explain the process to us?

[moosemama]

Personally I prefer 'Life Skills' to 'Perfect Puppy', as a lot of people find the PP quite prescriptive and restrictive, whereas LS is a quick, easy read, jargon-free and a really good introduction to the basics you need for your dog to grow into a well-rounded, well-socialised dog.

Either are very good at teaching the basics and will give you the basic information you need though.

For some advice on crate training I'd recommend watching the Kikopup videos There's loads of useful information on her website too here.