Sounds too good to be true, but the theories are sound and were all reinforced by the animal behaviourist we saw at our vets (and paid £50 to see!).

It is not about yelling, hitting, restraining etc - it is about controlling access to resources. You control the resources (food, attention, toys, access to sofas etc), and you control the dog. It also helps give you realistic expectations about your dog and his behaviour.

We have trained a strong-willed English Springer Spaniel from 8 weeks old. He learned his commands very quickly with this method, and we curbed normal aggressive "puppy" behaviour like constant biting during play.

It took a lot of persistence, but only over a short period of time, so well worth the effort. And we feel so much better for not smacking his nose and yelling at him all the time - which didn't work anyway and actually made him more aggressive.

Love your dog - take the time to train him the right way and you'll have far fewer problems in the future and a much happier household.

We found the use of the "clicker" as advocated in this book as optional - we were able to manage his training the same way without using it. So it is up to you - you just need to see which way brings the most success.

There is a lot of time in this book hammering home the "theory" behind the method and why it works, with the latter half of the book going into more detail about how to apply it. You need to understand the theory in your head first before you try to apply - so don't skip it!