Best puppy training resources

[basildonbond]

We are hoping to get a puppy this summer (one of the retriever breeds) and although I grew up with dogs we haven't had a dog in the house for ten years since dd was born

Dd is v keen and v responsible and wants to make sure the puppy is extremely well-behaved so I thought we could both start our homework by doing some reading on good training techniques

So I'd love some advice on current training methods, good resources and what to avoid, plus if anyone has any recommendations for puppy classes around Tooting or Streatham that would be great (will obviously ask vet and local dog owners as well)

Thanks [busmile]

Positive reward based training is what you look for and run like the wind if anyone suggests pack theory! I love clicker training and they pick things up so quickly. I was amazed.

I love Kikopup on youtube.

thanks fan

any ideas of good books to look at?

I read a few books but didn't find anything half as useful as the kikopup videos. Nothing stands out as memorable.

I used the book Perfect Puppy (see Amazon). It was brilliant. It's based on positive reward training and covers most things.

Pamela Dennison's "Idiot's Guide To Positive Dog Training" is excellent. Sophia Yin has written a book called something like Perfect Puppy In 7 Days, which I haven't read but which will be excellent if it's anything like the resources on her website. Gwen Bailey wrote Perfect Puppy and it is often recommended here, but I reread it recently and it is let down badly by a very poor basic understanding of dog learning and behaviour.

Kikopup is fab, and the APBC have some great articles on their website. In short you need to be careful to avoid anything which talks about packs, alpha, wolves etc. Dogs are dogs, not wolves, so they behave like dogs, not wolves. Science backs this up :)

I can recommend classes in Wim but migt be a bit of a pain. Look for ones run by an APDT member. You can search for members on their website.

Another vote for clicker training, it's great fun for the whole family...and the dog. APDT members are usually decent trainers.