Every dog owner must make a choice: Do you want a fearful and submissive pet, or do you want a happy, joyful, and well-mannered member of the family?

Tamar Geller's mission in life is to teach her cruelty-free method of "life coaching" for dogs and their people. Her revolutionary play-training uses mutual understanding and respect -- and puts an end to outdated methods that rely on physical exhaustion, choke chains, prong collars, dominance rollovers, or stressful aggression of any kind.

A former Israeli intelligence officer who witnessed the horrors of military dog training methods, Tamar went on to observe wolves in the wild. She discovered that wolves educate and socialize their cubs with games, bonding, and body language, not dominance or punishment. As a result, she developed teaching systems that address a dog's authentic nature, part wolflike and part toddlerlike. Learning can be a positive experience that dogs enjoy and look forward to, and we can actually make it fun for our dogs to listen to us and behave as we want them to.

Tamar's insights have brought dog training into the twenty-first century, and her groundbreaking techniques have won the approval of the Humane Society of the United States, for which she is a longtime advisor. Her celebrity clients include Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Courteney Cox-Arquette, Owen Wilson, and the Osbournes, and she has appeared as an expert on the Today show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Animal Planet, and more.

In The Loved Dog, Tamar gives you all the instruction, insights, and tips you need to teach your dog good manners, as well as to troubleshoot specific problems and unwanted behaviors. She helps you and your dog learn a common language, resulting in a loving, respectful relationship that will bring you years of joy and companionship. Tamar's play-training approach is so gentle, even children can get involved.

Whether you use Tamar's methods to raise a puppy or teach an old dog new tricks, you'll love The Loved Dog.

This is a well organized, clearly written presentation of specific dog training principles and methods that will have great appeal to any true lover of all animals. Tamar Geller's expertise is grounded in her experience with an intimate observation of the dynamics of wolf behavior and it is blended with a heartfelt devotion to respecting the animal as a being deserving respect. Though it is about dogs, it would actually behoove many parents of humans to read this book and apply the concepts described here to their child-rearing practices, particularly when it comes to identifying and rewarding desired behaviors.

The Loved Dog is a thoroughly informative and enjoyable read.

I have had dogs in my life for 40 years- but I found out I never knew what I was doing until I read this amazing, beautifully written book. If you have a dog, RUN- do not walk- and buy this book. If it opens up your eyes about dog training like it opened mine- you AND your dog will reap rewards far beyond the cost of the book or the training DVD(order that too!!! Very Importabt!!) Ms. Gellar's knowledge is tremendous and very easy to follow. Never again will your dog be jumping all over your guests or eating your shoes or barking incessantly! I hate to sound so over-the-top; but it's just that good. Try it yourself and find out! (You won't be sorry- I can promise you that!!)

Tamar Geller hits the right balance between assertiveness and traditional reward based conditioning. You can truly tell that this remarkable woman loves dogs, and loves what she does.

This woman spends more time talking about how great love is, wallowing in her own self pity, whining about her abusive parents, and name-dropping her "celebrity" clients than she does offering useful advice about training dogs. If she sounds crazy, it's because she is. It's no wonder her mother tried checking her into a mental institution when she was a child. Don't bother with this book. You'll only be wasting your time. I wish I could give it 0 stars.

Although there was a lot of Hollywood-style name dropping, and a ton of treat-giving, the book was a pleasant read of the author's life story. Most of the dog training info can be found on-line for free, though, so you might want to try that out before buying this book.