This exciting dog training book is based on the original techniques of Hollywood dog trainer and Animal Planet’s Good Dog U host, Joel Silverman. In What Color Is Your Dog? Silverman presents his groundbreaking color-coding technique, developed over his thirty-year career training dogs for film, television, and commercials as well as working with killer whales in Sea World. By determining what color is an owner’s dog, he is able to recognize and then enhance his dog’s behavior, following the techniques outlined in the book.
Silverman’s advice for new puppy owners is to develop a strong, trusting relationship with their puppies in their first thirty days. He shuns traditional concepts of beginning the puppy’s lessons as soon as the puppy comes home; instead he proposes that new owners spend time having fun, building trust, and enjoying the first month of the relationship. By increasing the dog’s trust and “like” of his owner, the dog becomes more willing and eager to please and work with his owner/trainer.
The main gist of the book comes from Silverman’s color system in which five basic canine personalities or temperaments are assigned colors. With the descriptions of the five colors in hand—Blue (a fearful, rather skittish type dog), Green (a more or less bashful pooch), Yellow (the ideal, easygoing companion dog), Orange (excitable, but relatively under control dog), and Red (the hyper, high-strung dog that bounces off the walks as soon as bark)—an owner is able to determine which color best matches his dog’s temperament and approach the dog’s lessons accordingly. The dog owner’s goal then is to move his dog as close to the middle of the color spectrum (Yellow) as possible by using the training practices outlined in the book.
Silverman devotes a full chapter to each of the five colors, explaining what makes each color type tick and how owners should best handle such a dog.
The second half of the book focuses on training tools and techniques and teaching specific cues (sit/stay, stay, come, and no). There is also a chapter for the puppy owner giving helpful advice on special techniques to use for puppies.
