Short answer: On paper, the best puppy training book for most new owners is The Puppy Primer. Behaviorist Patricia McConnell co-wrote it. Want more depth? Try Sophia Yin’s Perfect Puppy in 7 Days or Ian Dunbar’s Before & After Getting Your Puppy.
A puppy training book is a step-by-step guide to raising and teaching a young dog. Pick one built on positive reinforcement. Is your real problem a busy house that can’t stay on one plan? Our kit for that sits after the books.
Quick picks
- Best short first read: The Puppy Primer
- Best if you learn from photos: Perfect Puppy in 7 Days
- Best to read before she comes home: Before & After Getting Your Puppy
- Best friendly all-rounder: Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy
- Best if you already watch his videos: Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution
- Best step-by-step exercise manual: Puppy Start Right
- Not a book, for a busy house in the first 14 days: First 14 Days Kit
It’s 11 p.m. You have three browser tabs open, a puppy asleep on your foot, and a cart with four books in it. One review swears by treats. Another says treats spoil dogs. You just want to stop guessing.
Search for the best puppy training book, and every list names different titles. Pick one with the wrong method, and her first weeks go to advice that behavior vets warn against.
You haven’t ruined anything by reading the wrong blog. That’s fixable tonight.
Full disclosure: We make and sell the First 14 Days Kit, listed after the books. We earn nothing from the books. None of the links below are affiliate links.
Sources include AVSAB, the AKC, the Los Angeles Public Library and each publisher’s own book page.
What are the best puppy training books, side by side?
Six books by vets, behaviorists and trainers, plus one household plan that isn’t a book.
| Pick | Written by | First out | Price we saw |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Puppy Primer | Patricia McConnell, PhD, CAAB, and Brenda Scidmore | 1996 (2nd ed. 2010) | $9.66 ebook |
| Perfect Puppy in 7 Days | Sophia Yin, DVM | 2011 | $19.95 |
| Before & After Getting Your Puppy | Ian Dunbar, veterinarian and behaviorist | 2004 | $11.24 to $19.16, by format |
| Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy | Steve Mann | 2019 | No publisher price found |
| Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution | Zak George with Dina Roth Port | 2016 | $18.00 paperback |
| Puppy Start Right | Kenneth Martin, DVM, and Debbie Martin, RVT, VTS (Behavior) | 2011 | $24.95 print, $9.99 ebook |
| First 14 Days Kit (ours) | Dr. Michael Northcutt, PhD | Not a book | $24 once |
1. The Puppy Primer: best short first read
Patricia McConnell is an ethologist and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. She co-wrote this with Brenda Scidmore. Its second edition adds more on positive reinforcement and realistic expectations, per Dogwise.
It covers sit, down, come, heel and stay, plus house and crate training and adolescence.
Price: $9.66 for the ebook there.
Good for: a first read you can finish fast. At 117 pages, it’s the shortest book here.
Watch out for: The second edition dates from 2010. Short means fewer pages on any single problem.
Our read of the listing: the easiest place to start.
2. Perfect Puppy in 7 Days: best if you learn from photos
Her publisher describes Dr. Sophia Yin as a veterinarian and animal behaviorist. She was known for Low Stress Handling. The book follows her work with her dad’s puppy, Lucy.
It has 176 pages and over 400 photos. Chapters include potty training, her Learn to Earn program and socialization.
Price: $19.95 on the book page.
Good for: owners who learn by seeing it done.
Watch out for: The title promises a start in one week, not a finished puppy.
From the description: a vet’s whole first-week plan in one book.
3. Before & After Getting Your Puppy: best to read before she comes home
Dr. Ian Dunbar is a veterinarian and animal behaviorist, per New World Library. The book page credits him with moving puppy training toward toys, treats and games.
It combines his two puppy manuals into one 240-page hardcover. Its six milestones include errorless housetraining and bite inhibition.
Price: $11.24 to $19.16, depending on format.
Good for: owners still choosing a puppy, or the week before pickup.
Watch out for: It first came out in 2004. Check the edition date before you buy.
Going by the contents: a clear timeline of what to teach, and when.
4. Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy: best friendly all-rounder
His OverDrive listing names Steve Mann as founder of The Institute of Modern Dog Trainers in the UK. His book covers recall, puppy biting, separation anxiety, jumping, body language and clicker training.
A US ebook edition came out in 2024 from Mango Media. One owner on The Labrador Forum says it “covers all the basic puppy stuff” and calls it force-free.
Good for: first-timers who want a warm, plain guide.
Watch out for: It started as a UK book, so you may see “lead” for leash.
Going by the topics: broad, and easy to dip into.
5. Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: best if you already watch his videos
Penguin Random House calls Zak George a YouTube star and Animal Planet personality. The 240-page book covers housetraining, biting, leash pulling, chewing and tricks. Topics link to videos on his channel.
Price: $18.00 for the paperback.
Good for: owners who want to read it, then watch it.
Watch out for: That page lists his video and TV work, not a behavior credential.
Where it fits: a bridge between a book and free videos.
6. Puppy Start Right: best step-by-step exercise manual
Kenneth Martin is a veterinarian. Debbie Martin is a veterinary technician specialist in behavior. Karen Pryor Clicker Training sells it as a positive approach without punishment.
Exercises include focus, a place cue, recall, loose-leash walking, “drop it” and “leave it,” with step-by-step photos.
Price: $24.95 in print, or $9.99 as an ebook, in October 2026.
Good for: owners who want a manual to work through, one exercise at a time.
Watch out for: The seller pitches it to trainers and puppy class instructors, not only owners.
Worth knowing: the shop sells it in class packs, so it pairs well with a puppy class.
How do you choose the best puppy training book?
Start with the method. Then pick a length you’ll finish.
Why pick a positive reinforcement puppy training book?
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior says evidence supports reward-based methods for all canine training. It also finds no evidence that aversive training is necessary.
“positive reinforcement training is neither a bribe nor a gimmick.”
Stephanie Gibeault, MSc, CPDT, writing for the American Kennel Club
Then match the book to your week
- Puppy not home yet? Before & After Getting Your Puppy.
- Home now, and you’re tired? The Puppy Primer. It’s short.
- You learn from pictures? Perfect Puppy in 7 Days.
- You want exercises to work through? Puppy Start Right.
- You’d rather watch than read? Zak George’s book, or our best puppy training app picks.
- The house can’t agree on rules? See our kit, after the books.
For when to teach what, see our puppy training schedule.
Tip: Read the publisher’s description before you buy. Look for “reward,” “positive” or “without punishment.” If it talks about corrections or being the boss, keep scrolling.
What are the red flags in a puppy training book?
Alpha and dominance talk, and any step that hurts or scares her.
AVSAB’s How to Choose a Trainer guide lists red flags for trainer websites. Watch for the same words in a book’s description.
- “Boss,” “alpha,” “pack leader,” “dominant/submissive” or “obey”
- Prong or shock collars, leash jerks, or rolling a dog onto her back
- Rattle cans or water spray bottles
- “Balanced training”
- Punishing or correcting unwanted behavior instead of teaching a replacement
AVSAB’s dominance position statement says dominance theory shouldn’t guide behavior work. It warns that even non-physical punishment can trigger defensive aggression if she feels threatened.
One good book can be one of your two trusted sources. Check its method before you read page one.
What about Cesar Millan’s puppy book?
How to Raise the Perfect Dog is by Cesar Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier. It came out in 2009, and the paperback runs 320 pages. We didn’t rank it.
In 2016, AVSAB published a response after an episode of his show Cesar 911. It recommends a trainer who uses reward-based training.
Where do the experts split on puppy books?
The top-ranking article picks books on how dogs learn. Owner forums pick puppy manuals. AVSAB cares most about method.
| Source | What they recommend |
|---|---|
| High Tail Hikes, the highest-ranking article page for this search | Five general books, like Karen Pryor’s Don’t Shoot the Dog and Jean Donaldson’s The Culture Clash. None is puppy-only. |
| Labrador forum owners | Puppy books: Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy, Pippa Mattinson’s The Happy Puppy and Gwen Bailey’s The Perfect Puppy |
| Los Angeles Public Library | A mix, from colorful family reads to technical books for future trainers |
| AVSAB | Method over title: reward-based training for every skill |
High Tail Hikes picks The Culture Clash. It says the book “makes a rock solid case against the use of punishment” in training. If she’s home now, we’d read a puppy book first. Save the how-dogs-learn books for quieter nights.
Can you get a puppy training book for free?
Yes. Libraries lend puppy ebooks, and one dog sports school gives one away.
- Your library. The Los Angeles Public Library keeps a puppy training reading list of ebooks, each linked to OverDrive.
- The AKC’s own books. That list includes AKC Star Puppy and The American Kennel Club’s Train Your Puppy Right.
- A free puppy ebook. Fenzi Dog Sports Academy offers Growing Up FDSA as a direct PDF download. Its instructors wrote it for a sports puppy’s first year.
- Free AKC articles. Its expert advice pages are free, and its positive reinforcement page offers a free tricks eBook.
Tip: Borrow it first. If you’re still opening the library copy after a week, that’s the one to buy.
Do you need a puppy training book at all?
Not always. A reward-based class, your vet’s handouts or a free library copy can cover the basics.
A book helps when you want one plan instead of fifty opinions. It can’t watch your puppy, or get your partner to read chapter three. In a busy home, people often end up using different words and rules.
Not a book, but… the First 14 Days Kit, for a house that skips chapter three
Printable schedules, a shared log and cards, so the whole house runs one plan. It is not a training book.
You read the potty chapter. Your partner never opened the book. One of you allows the couch, and one doesn’t.
It has schedules for 8, 10, 12 and 16 weeks. It adds one potty log everyone initials and one name on night duty. A setup page asks four questions and picks your schedule. Setup takes about five minutes.
Six bonuses come with it, including a Potty Planner for every phone.
Price: $24 once. No subscription.
Good for: houses where more than one person feeds, walks or takes her out.
Watch out for: One buyer calls it “plain schedules and logs” in a review on our page. There’s no chew chapter and no video course. It’s built for puppies 8 to 16 weeks old. Pair it with one of the books above.
When should you call a trainer or vet instead of reading?
When you see fear, anxiety or aggression. A book can’t assess that.
AVSAB says to contact a veterinarian with advanced behavior knowledge, a vet behaviorist (DACVB), or a credentialed behavior consultant. For everyday mouthing, start with our guide on how to stop puppy biting.
What should you do this week?
- Pick one book above, or borrow one.
- Read the house training and crate chapters first. Our crate training guide covers the first nights.
- Practice one skill a day in short, happy sessions.
- Agree on one word for each cue, as a house.
Progress looks small at first. By Sunday, you’ve read one short section and practiced its skill most days.
Puppy training book FAQ
What is the best puppy training book on Reddit?
There’s no single winner. The r/puppy101 wiki keeps a book list. Its puppy-raising section leads with Yin, Dunbar and McConnell, three of our six. On The Labrador Forum, owners named Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy, The Happy Puppy and The Perfect Puppy.
Is there a good puppy training ebook?
Yes. The Puppy Primer ebook was $9.66 at Dogwise on October 23, 2026. Puppy Start Right was $9.99 as an ebook. New World Library sells Dunbar’s book as an ebook too. Libraries such as the Los Angeles Public Library lend puppy ebooks through OverDrive.
Should I read a puppy training book before the puppy comes home?
If you can, yes. Dunbar’s Before & After Getting Your Puppy is built for that. Its first milestone is your own doggy education.
Can I trust puppy training book reviews?
Check the author before the stars. AVSAB’s trainer guide says to look for education from science-based, humane programs. Credentials alone don’t guarantee quality, it adds.
What is the 10-10-10 rule for dog training?
It’s a potty memory aid from Earth Rated, a pee pad and poop bag brand. Offer a potty break about 10 minutes after waking, 10 after eating, and after about 10 minutes of active play. Most books on this list cover house training too.
How we put this list together. In October 2026, we read page one of Google for this search, including owner forums and store collections. We confirmed every title, author, year and page count on the publisher’s or seller’s page, or Open Library. Our verdicts come from each book’s description and contents, not hands-on use. We checked method claims against AVSAB and the AKC. Nobody at LoveMyPuppy is a veterinarian or a certified trainer.
Sources
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB): position statements on humane training, dominance, Cesar Millan and choosing a trainer
- American Kennel Club (AKC): Positive Reinforcement Dog Training, by Stephanie Gibeault, MSc, CPDT
- Los Angeles Public Library: Puppy Training reading list
- High Tail Hikes: 5 Dog Training Books That Changed My Life
- Earth Rated: How to Train a Puppy to Use Pee Pads, including the 10-10-10 rule
Book details come from each book’s publisher or seller page, linked in its section, and Open Library. Owner picks come from The Labrador Forum.