Books, books, which training book to choose?

There are hundreds upon hundreds of dog training books out there. Some are exceptional, giving marvelous insight into a dog's mind. Others are marginal, in that they offer unrealistic methods, means, and goals. Most fall somewhere in between.

Erin and I have about 200 books dealing with dog training and behaviors. We've looked over almost all of them and have actually read about half. The techniques described within their pages run the gamut from total praise and positive reinforcement trainings to those that proscribe total dominance and pain type training. The printed dates of the books in our library go way back to the 1920's all the way to present day releases.

One night, while scanning the shelves for an idea to help me get Betty C.'s dog Dusty to work for her, it dawned on me that each and every one of our books assumed one thing in common. No matter what they espoused you do with and for a dog, no matter how you were supposed to accomplish a goal - they all assumed the reader / dog owner had full use of his or her arms. It suddenly became painfully obvious to me that all I knew of dog training was based on me being able to use my arms and hands.

You see, Betty and Dusty have been a pet project of ours for several months now. Betty was born with no arms and, together, we hope to get her one year old German Shepherd, Dusty, to one day assist her in her day to day life. I've been able to get Dusty to work wonders with a leash attached to my right foot. He sits, stays, downs, and comes near perfectly for me. However, we're at an impasse transferring that obedience to Betty. I'm extremely reluctant to tether Dusty to Betty's foot, lest he pull her down. I have searched all over and have been unable to find any resources to help me out. It would seem that just about every dog trainer / author out there assumes that every dog owner is fully armed.

If this be the case, what other assumptions are in these books? One author / trainer assumes you have the patience and understanding of Job. Another assumes you have all the hours in a day to work and train your dog. And yet another assumes the dog's owner has the strength and fortitude to completely dominate the animal. Each author writes about the method that best suits him or her. They reference the 'perfect' method to the dog or dogs who were perfect for that method.

Please keep this in mind when reading up on a particular method of dog training. Read each passage with a grain of salt, almost as if you were reading a cook book recipe. Feel free to ignore what you don't like or can't do. Temper and adjust what you do like or try out a completely new idea with the understanding that it may or may not be right for you and your dog.

Try not to lay blame on your dog if and when a technique fails, but rather, realize that the method used may not be suited for you and you dog.