The Calm Canine Companion Book Series
By Gerry Turner
Raising a dog should be a journey filled with cooperation, mutual understanding, and peace at home. It should not be a constant struggle against your dog’s natural behavior.
Based on over 45 years of practical experience living with, training, and helping owners handle retriever breeds, this four-part book series provides a clear, step-by-step framework for developing a calm, responsive, and reliable companion.
Rather than trying to suppress a dog’s natural instincts, these books teach you how to understand, guide, and constructively channel those instincts into positive behavior.
Explore the Four Stages of Training
The series is deliberately structured into four progressive stages. Each book stands alone as a valuable educational resource, but together they form a comprehensive roadmap from puppyhood to a fully trained adult dog.
Book 1: Preparation (Stage One)
- Book 1: Bringing Puppy Home (Stage One: Preparation)
- How To Prepare Home, Heart and Family For A Puppy
- The Core Focus: Setting the foundation before training even begins.
- What You Will Learn: How to set up your home environment, understand basic canine learning patterns, and establish a lifestyle that encourages calm behavior from day one. It is designed to prevent common behavioral frustrations before they start.
Book 2: Learning (Stage Two)
- Book 2: Dog Training: The Foundations Of Positive Reinforcement (Stage Two: Learning)
- How to Build Trust, Attention And Learning Using Calm, Reward-Based Training
- The Core Focus: Introducing core concepts and opening clear lines of communication.
- What You Will Learn: How to calmly teach your dog what you want using positive reinforcement. This stage focuses on building attention, focus, and an eagerness to cooperate with you, both inside the house and in quiet outdoor spaces.
Book 3: Skills (Stage Three)
- Book 3: Dog Training: Basic Obedience Using Positive Reinforcement (Stage Three: Skills)
- How To Build Calm, Reliable Obedience Using Kind, Reward-Based Training
- The Core Focus: Translating basic learning into reliable real-world behaviors.
- What You Will Learn: Developing essential life skills that every companion dog needs, including a highly reliable recall, polite loose-lead walking, and the ability to settle quietly when distractions are present around them.
Book 4: Behaviour (Stage Four)
- Book 4: Dog Training: Behaviour And Complexity (Stage Four: Behaviour)
- How to Solve Real-Life Behaviour Challenges Using Calm, Positive Solutions
- The Core Focus: Understanding advanced canine instincts and troubleshooting challenges.
- What You Will Learn: How to look at advanced behavior, manage high-energy natural instincts (especially in retriever and working breeds), and gently correct issues like over-excitement, resource fixation, or adolescent regressions.
Independent and Unbiased Guidance
Please note that these books are available as independent publications via Amazon (Kindle & Paperback Editions).
When you purchase a book through the links on this page, it supports the continuing operation of this free advice website. As outlined in our strict editorial charter, my commercial book sales will never influence our independent product reviews; my goal is simply to give you the most honest, practical help possible to enjoy a happier life with your dog.
