"There is no such thing as a difficult dog, only an inexperienced owner," Barbara Woodhous

"No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way" is a book copyrighted 1978 by dog trainer, Barbara Woodhouse. Whether you're a dog owner or a trainer, you should read it.

I worked in the public education field for over 18 years, and multiple times throughout my career I attended a great deal of professional development. You probably won't be surprised when I tell you that the pendulum was constantly swinging back and forth between "old" methodologies and "new" ideas.

"The Woodhouse Way" is very similar to the method of training I use with my own dog, as well as my clients' dogs. Praise: Barbara encourages it and so do I. Corrections: Barbara was in support of the proper use of them and so am I. Slip chains: Barbara used them and so do I. Overly sentimental owners: Barbara encountered them, so do I. Barbara felt, "People should understand life from a dog's point of view before blaming him for everything that goes wrong" and I feel the same.

Barbara Woodhouse trained dogs from 1951 to 1988. She trained before "Purely Positive" training, introduced circa 1984 by Karen Pryor, became the "new" idea. Barbara's "old" methodologies took a back seat.

I would encourage you to read Barbara Woodhouse's "The Woodhouse Way", it will open your eyes to the usefulness of slip chains and corrections and to help you understand that if a trainer isn't using "Purely Positive", that's not such a bad thing.

I've seen a purely positive approach fail the kids in our schools and society, let's not fail our dogs. Learning to understand "No" is an incredibly useful life skill.

Happy reading!