My husband and I decided to surprise our son with a new puppy for his 10th birthday a few weeks ago. He had been asking for a pet for the longest time, but we didn't feel that he was ready to handle the responsibility until now. One condition we placed on adopting the puppy was that my son would be completely responsible for the dog's care. He would have to take his puppy for walks, play with it, feed it, make sure it had access to fresh water, and train it. To help my son carry out his responsibility, we also bought a couple of dog training books for him to read.

After careful consideration, we decided that dog training books would be a better option than obedience classes for a few different reasons. For instance, we wanted our son to develop a strong bond with his new pet and figured that using dog training books instead of obedience classes would allow him to spend more time with the puppy. In addition, our son would get a bigger sense of accomplishment from teaching his puppy basic commands through techniques learned in dog training books. He would be doing everything on his own and could take full credit for the way the animal turned out. And finally, we thought it would be handy to have dog training books around the house for a quick reference should any behavioral problems come up.

There were so many dog training books at the local bookstore that it was pretty overwhelming trying to sort through all the choices. I didn't really know anything about dogs, so had no idea which trainers or methods were successful and which weren't. Before making a purchase, it was imperative for me to find out more about how to train dogs in general. So I went online to do as much research as possible in the time I had before my son's birthday. Once I had some good information to work with, I felt comfortable enough to choose several dog training books that were appropriate both for my son's age and for the dog's breed. I also decided to buy a couple of the trainer's aids recommended in the manuals, including a special leash and collar.

As I said before, it's been a few weeks since we brought the puppy home. I'm proud to say that my son has been holding up his end of the bargain admirably and is really making progress thanks to the tips and advice in the dog training books. We're sure that he'll continue to do exceptionally well in teaching his pet basic commands and more, and we're looking forward to watching this new friendship blossom!