Rating: 
Summary: One of the most thorough books I've ever seen!
Review: Morgan's book is one of the most thorough books I've seen written on training dogs in Competitive Obedience. He explains every thing you could possibily want to know about training each and every exercise, including the why and how.This is especially important since clicker training is so new to the competitive dog arena. An excellant job and well worth the wait!
Rating:
Summary: Not To Be Missed
Review: This book is a MUST for anyone interested in dog training. It is very detailed and FULL of very useful information. I have tried the suggestions with my dog - a Cairn Terrier and she has improved incredibly. From beginning to advanced training this book has it all. Thank you so much Morgan Spector!
Rating:
Summary: Very detailed explanations & very useful ...
Review: This book ought to be read together with Ms. K.Pryor's 'Don't Shoot the Dog' ... Ms.Pryor's explains the theory and how 'clicker' training had its beginnings ... Mr. Spector explains how 'clicker' training is done ... Having read most of the clicker books sold by Amazon and now into my first year of training my Beagle & Labrador ... I think this is probably the best so far ... Certainly this book contains the most detailed explanations & instructions as to how 'clicker' should be carried out. Mr. Spector even goes so far as to explain why he uses certain words and expressions in his book ... To derive the best benefit, this book has to be read carefully (and its a substantial book) ... The book opens with an introduction to operant and positive reinforcement training methods, and makes a comparison between these 'newer' training styles and the more traditional training methods. Drawing from his own experience, Mr. Spector then suggests the various stages of training for the dog ... Unlike many other authors/trainers, he begins with teaching the dog to 'target' rather than the usual 'sit, stay & heel' ... innovative to say the least ... and it works. The book covers just about everything a dog & owner needs to learn, including off-leash and distance training. The strength in this book lies in the clear and detailed explanations for each training stage and training method ... It allowed me to consider what Mr. Spector was saying, to consider his reasons & rational of his advice; and this in turn helped me understand Mr. Spector's methods more fully ... All of which makes for more effective training of my dog ... Although this book is very much designed for taking a dog through Obedience trials, there is much here that will benefit every dog owner ... even one who only wishes his doggie would stop jumping on his guests ... Wish there were few more illustrations or photographs though ...
Rating: 
Summary: A good book but for show and competition.
Review: This book ought to be read together with Ms. K.Pryor's `Don't Shoot the Dog' ... Ms.Pryor's explains the theory and how 'clicker' training had its beginnings ... Mr. Spector explains how 'clicker' training is done ... Having read most of the clicker books sold by Amazon and now into my first year of training my Beagle & Labrador ... I think this is probably the best so far ... Certainly this book contains the most detailed explanations & instructions as to how 'clicker' should be carried out. Mr. Spector even goes so far as to explain why he uses certain words and expressions in his book ... To derive the best benefit, this book has to be read carefully (and its a substantial book) ... The book opens with an introduction to operant and positive reinforcement training methods, and makes a comparison between these 'newer' training styles and the more traditional training methods. Drawing from his own experience, Mr. Spector then suggests the various stages of training for the dog ... Unlike many other authors/trainers, he begins with teaching the dog to 'target' rather than the usual 'sit, stay & heel' ... innovative to say the least ... and it works. The book covers just about everything a dog & owner needs to learn, including off-leash and distance training. The strength in this book lies in the clear and detailed explanations for each training stage and training method ... It allowed me to consider what Mr. Spector was saying, to consider his reasons & rational of his advice; and this in turn helped me understand Mr. Spector's methods more fully ... All of which makes for more effective training of my dog ... Although this book is very much designed for taking a dog through Obedience trials, there is much here that will benefit every dog owner ... even one who only wishes his doggie would stop jumping on his guests ... Wish there were few more illustrations or photographs though ...
Rating: 
Summary: Thorough, messy and a fundamental shortcoming
Review: This book was chose to be on the prestigious 'DogRead' as a book selection of the month. We only do 12 books a year and this was July 2001. The author comes on line for the whole month to answer questions on the book. It was very well received by our 3000 member email group. The author was very knowledgeable and easy to understand even though also very in depth. treshell owner DogRead
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Rating:
Summary: DogRead book of the month
Review: This book was chose to be on the prestigious 'DogRead' as a book selection of the month. We only do 12 books a year and this was July 2001. The author comes on line for the whole month to answer questions on the book. It was very well received by our 3000 member email group. The author was very knowledgeable and easy to understand even though also very in depth. treshell owner DogRead
...
Rating: 
Summary: Not for beginners!!!
Review: This book was way too technical for me. All I wanted was book that gave me the basics of clicker training and a how to guide for very simple tasks. This is definitely not for the beginner or nonprofessional.
Rating:
Summary: A good book but for show and competition.
Review: This is a good book, but if you're using it to teach a few tricks to your dog, try a book that using verbal commands, or try Pryor's "Clicking with your dog".
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is a great book. Totally, utterly complete. I am very pleased. It is like a text book for a clicker trainer. Great job.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough, messy and a fundamental shortcoming
Review: This is a thorough work on clicker training, and the theories behind it. As such, it certainly makes worthwile reading for those with a serious interest in clicker training. And, more generally, for those whishing to understand modern humane dog training methods that are based on behavioral science. As others have noted, the book may not be well suited for the impatient novice, and it definitively isn't a simple 'how to' book. I find that the text is heavy not only due to the substance, but unfortunately also because the discussion tends to be lacking in clarity. The work would in my opinion benefit from compression and some reorganization. Although otherwise a thorough discussion on the subject, I find it has a fundamental shortcoming in the basic assumptions: Spector only considers using food rewards in clicker coniditioning, and simply discourages against using other types of rewards. While this is probably fine for training dogs that have a keen interest in food, it cannot work well with dogs which simply aren't very interested in *any* kind of treats. Moreover, in order to motivate dogs with a strong prey drive to work with very high intensity, a prey object, such as a ball, tends to be the ultimate reward. Using food treats (or a clicker associated to the treats) simply doesn't tend to motivate such a dog to work that hard. I believe that variying the type of reward (or correction, even) depending on the phase of the training of the particular movement, and the general character of the dog and perhaps also the trainer, would be more effective. I find that Susan Barwig's methods for Shutzhund training are well suited for the dogs with a strong prey drive that typically excel in this sport.
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