This book is very easy to follow and a pleasure to page through. The photo’s are fun, and make it a good pick for kids, who might not enjoy reading directions, as you can pretty much just follow the pictures. It includes hand signals and verbal cues, a lists of previous tricks to be mastered, and skill level. Whenever I run into a problem I go to the ‘trouble shooting’ section in the margin next to each trick, and it always has anticipated the snag and offers a helpful solution.

So far my chihuahua can sit, lay down, beg, shake hands, twirl, and roll over!! Not bad for a breed known for being yappy and being carted around like Cleopatra in handbags! I have had the book for about 5 months. We work all the tricks every night after her dinner. It’s her ‘school’ and she loves it! I think she has become more confident since we started training. I know she feels very proud of herself when she does it right.

I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 5 / 5

There’s also no mention of using a clicker in the steps, which I think would make it easier to teach some of the tricks…for instance using shaping if you have a dog who doesn’t automatically mouth toys.

Though it is a pretty book, I don’t recommend it as anything more than a picture book. It does have some good ideas but a better training book is “The Only Dog Tricks Book You’ll Ever Need.” I’m glad I bought both of them at the same time so I’m not stuck with this book by itself, though it seems fine with other books so I’m kind of neutral on it I guess.

Edited to add…the more I read this book the more I dislike it. Maybe I’m just stupid but I fail to see how pushing my dogs nose down teaches him to bow. Meanwhile shaping accomplished it in a week. Wish I had known the methods employed before buying this. Just a warning to anyone with similar concerns. Maybe I’m just crazy but I do wonder about the rave reviews here.
Rating: 2 / 5

Second – - its a fantastic reference book… and the idea of thinking “tricks” instead of cut and dry obedience I think is great for both the trainer and the dog. Though most of the tricks do have elements of obedience to them, they are presented in a way that makes training your dog more fun and lightharded and you’re not thinking, “good dog”/”bad dog”/”leash correction” – - In fact, I like the way the author not only has troubleshooting tips for each tricks, but will even give some ideas how difficult the trick is, what tricks need to be learned first, and how long it takes some dogs to learn. – - Also, all descriptions use simple, practical and effective language… The descriptions match up with the photos and the points are gotten across in a way that communicates the ideas to you and teaches you to teach them to your dog.

Finally… buy a third copy because… some dogs *cough* have tendencies to nibble on certain people’s reading material, especially when allowed in the bed. (o.k. that’s an obedience issue.)

As for the tricks, they range from basic sit/stay/rollover agility type tricks – - to classics like “bring me a beer”/”bring the newspaper” as well as a few parlor tricks/routines. The book also explains standard hand signals as well as commands.

Incidentally – - there I would like a refund for 2 of the tricks. One involves the human doing a handstand, the other a cartwheel… Trust me, if you’re the “bring me my beer” trick type, you won’t be doing those two…

All in all, this is one book that lives up to its own hype! Highly recommended!
Rating: 5 / 5