10 Best Puppy Training Books in 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

So, you’re the proud owner of a new puppy, or you’re about to be! Either way, congratulations! You’re in for a confusing, frustrating, and rewarding time full of poop, love, and adorableness. Training your puppy is a vital aspect of raising a dog. It helps determine their future temperament and your relationship with them for the rest of their lives.

If you’ve been looking for puppy training books, you know that there are so many out there to choose from, so we picked out the 10 best ones on the subject. We hope that these reviews will help you narrow down your options and you’ll find the right book for your needs.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites of 2023

	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: The Complete Guide	Goes over how to find the right puppy How to select a vet and the right food Has corresponding videos on YouTube	Check Price
Best Value		How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond	Features puppy training and how to take care of an adult dog Teaches housebreaking, nutrition, and the best ways to play How to fix problems before they begin	Check Price
Premium Choice		Dog Training for Kids: Fun and Easy Ways to Care for Your Furry Friend	Great for kids to train a puppy Covers basic training and commands Also a great book for adults	Check Price
		The Puppy Primer	Written by a certified applied animal behaviorist and ethologist Teaches you how to have realistic expectations of your puppy Trains you how to be a good dog owner and trainer	Check Price
		Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know	Teaches understanding of puppy behavior Has instructions for basic commands Clear, precise instructions that are easy to follow	Check Price

The 10 Best Puppy Training Books

The best overall puppy training book is “Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution.” Zak George is a popular dog trainer who got his start on YouTube and has starred in two shows: Animal Planet’s “SuperFetch” and “Who Let the Dogs Out” on the BBC. His book goes through the entire process of finding the right puppy for you, selecting the right food, and locating a vet. It has all the necessary training techniques that you can expect—how to deal with housebreaking, barking, biting, jumping, and so on. You can read his book in conjunction with his YouTube videos.

The disadvantage of this book is that it isn’t focused on puppy training; most of it is devoted to finding a puppy (and if you already have one, this aspect will be pointless). Also, his advice is best for someone completely inexperienced with dogs. You might want to look for a more advanced book if you already have a fair amount of experience and knowledge.

The best puppy training book for the money is Cesar Millan’s “How to Raise the Perfect Dog.” Cesar is a well-known dog trainer famous for his “Dog Whisperer” TV show on National Geographic Channel. His book covers training a puppy but will also take you through your dog’s life. It goes over a puppy’s development, housebreaking, nutrition, and how to correct problems before they become problems. The advice can also be applied to a dog at any other life stage.

However, some people have a problem with Cesar’s training techniques, resulting in controversy. It also isn’t exactly a step-by-step instruction book, so it takes extra reading to get the right instructions.

“Dog Training for Kids” by Vanessa Estrada Marin is a fantastic book to give your kids before bringing home a puppy. If you have children, it’s a great way to get them actively involved in raising and training their new dog. The author runs a New York City facility specializing in dog programming for children, so this is her forté. The book covers basic training, housebreaking, basic commands (like sit and stay), and fun tricks. It will give children confidence and help them form a strong bond with their dog by giving them some control in the training process. It is also great for adults.

Unfortunately, this book is pricey, and some people reported that it fell apart when it arrived.

The Puppy Primer was written by Dr. McConnell, an ethologist and certified applied animal behaviorist who has worked with both cats and dogs for over 25 years. She teaches dog owners about having realistic expectations with their puppies. This means understanding the difference between teaching a puppy to sit and wait for food versus sitting when guests come for a visit! It covers socialization, positive reinforcement, the best and worst ways to play, and basic training. Overall, it doesn’t teach you how to train your dog — it trains you to be a good dog owner and trainer.

This book’s only real disadvantage is its relatively basic information. It will work well for beginners, but most people with experience might not learn anything new.

The author of “Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps” is the CEO of the Zoom Room, which uses positive reinforcement dog training and has locations across the U.S. The book offers methods that help you understand your puppy’s body language and behavior, which means you’ll be able to figure out why they’re acting a certain way. It teaches everything from housebreaking and socialization to walking on a leash and how to best puppy-proof your place. The instructions are written clearly and precisely and are easy to understand and follow.

However, it’s best for beginner dog owners because most information is fairly basic. Also, it’s not in-depth and might be too focused on treats for some trainers.

“Lucky Dog Lessons” by Brandon McMillan uses techniques to help any dog or puppy, whether from a rescue or a breeder, become a well-adjusted friend in 7 days. Brandon McMillan is known for his “Lucky Dog” show on CBS, where he rescues “unadoptable” dogs and transforms them in a week. It starts with building trust, leads to training basic commands, and offers solutions to common behavioral problems. It also provides advice on how to train dogs of different sizes.

On the downside, it is a long book with a large amount to read; parts of it are stories from McMillan’s life. Also, many of his training techniques involve the use of different equipment that you’ll need to purchase.

“The Art of Raising a Puppy” was written by The Monks of New Skete, who are actual monks who have been breeding German Shepherds and training all breeds of dogs for about 30 years. This book is more than just a training book; it takes you from how to find a puppy to training, socialization, and general care. They stress the importance of building a strong bond with your dog.

However, this long book doesn’t provide much actionable training, though it does have plenty of stories. It also goes into great detail about gestation and the development of young litters, which most puppy owners don’t need to know.

“Training the Best Dog Ever” was written by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz. She was an experienced trainer who worked with many dogs, including former White House dog Bo Obama and Senator Ted Kennedy’s dogs. Unfortunately, she passed away shortly before this book was published.

The book is designed to work in five weeks with just 10 to 20 minutes of daily working with your dog. It’s designed to help puppies or adult dogs with bad behaviors and habits and undergo basic and complex training. It can also help dogs feel more confident and comfortable overall while out in the world.

The flaws with this book include that it is on the long side and contains many of her own stories, making for an overly long read. Also, the information is a little disorganized because it tends to jump all over the place.

“Puppy Training: How to Housebreak Your Puppy in Just 7 Days” by Ken Phillips is a great book for those struggling with housebreaking their puppy. Here’s an entire book devoted to the subject! It provides clear, step-by-step instructions that should work, even if you have a full-time job. It covers tips to help with housebreaking quickly and issues like accidents still occurring after you’ve repeatedly taken your puppy outside. It also goes over the psychology of your puppy, which will help you better understand them.

However, the book covers a lot of fairly basic information, which will work well for beginners but not so much for experienced dog owners. Also, not every puppy will be successfully housebroken in 7 days.

“Puppies for Dummies” by Sarah Hodgson covers everything puppy-related and more than just training. It covers positive reinforcement, using redirection for problem behaviors, and puppy psychology. It goes over socialization, keeping your puppy in good health, and how to train your puppy toward good behavior. This book should help even if you’re just considering getting a puppy.

However, one of the problems with this book is that it is a bit inconsistent at times. Some instructions are detailed, while the author tends to gloss over others. It also seems to need another round of editing because it contains various typos and grammatical issues.

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Puppy Training Books

You should know a few things before choosing your puppy training book. Our buyer’s guide is meant to give you some food for thought.

Subjectivity

Not any one book will work for every puppy and owner. Some books and techniques will work perfectly for your neighbor and not necessarily for you. Your puppy’s breed is a factor, as is their background. Additionally, not every dog owner will agree with the methods of every dog trainer. Take your time reading through reviews, and look at the synopsis and sample chapters if you can. Just because one book tells you to do something doesn’t mean you must follow those techniques if it doesn’t feel right.

Stories

Owning a dog can give you so many different experiences and stories. Most puppy training books will be full of stories. These can be helpful because you’ll realize that you’re not alone with specific puppy quirks or problems (or successes). But don’t let a long book full of stories put you off if that’s not what you’re looking for. You can skim those sections if you want to get to the “meat” of the training, as long as the techniques are good ones.

Author

The author is everything. Not every dog owner will agree with the author’s training techniques. Many popular authors don’t have any qualifications or actual training certificates, but they do have experience and what works for them (and usually, working with celebrities gets them out there). Don’t get swept away by popularity, though. The most important thing will always be your puppy and whether someone’s instructions actually help you both.

Conclusion

Our pick for the best overall puppy training book is Zak George’s “Dog Training Revolution,” which has great information on training your puppy. It also highlights YouTube videos that you can watch to help round out the book’s information! Cesar Millan’s “How to Raise the Perfect Dog” is well-priced and is designed to train puppies and even take you through your dog’s entire life. Finally, “The Puppy Primer” by Dr. McConnell will teach you to have realistic expectations of your puppy. Plus, she’s one of the few authors educated and certified in dog training.

We hope our reviews have helped you determine which book will best serve your purposes. The right book can help you build a strong bond with your puppy and ensure that that bond will last a lifetime.

Featured Image Credit: Jeanette Virginia Goh, Shutterstock