My mom recently purchased your book for me - she had seen you on the Oprah show and knowing my passion for my "babies" (and all animals!) she knew she had to get me the book. I absolutely LOVED it! I have told every person who intends on buying / adopting a dog, anyone who has one - they HAVE to get your book. We are in South Africa and I am not sure how easily available it is (my mom purchased my copy in the UK) but I have even told our local veterinary hospital they need to buy the book and encourage their clients to do the same. They have expressed interest in it and I have offered to loan my copy to one of the vets. I visited the USA for the first time in December 08 (took the book to read on the plane!) and have vowed that my next visit to the states will include a visit to the Loved Dog. Thank you for sharing your insight and knowledge with us in your book - it's by far the best literature on dog behaviour / training that I have ever come across. Kind regards

This is a story about Coax, the oddly named Miniature Schnauzer. Coax belonged to Phil, one of the guys who works on this website. When Phil and Coax first met, it was instant love between them. Phil had been looking for a Schnauzer, like he had when he was a boy. He wanted a lot from the dog. Because he was in college, he wanted a dog that was calm around lots of people. Because he knew he had a lot of love to give, he wanted a dog that would return his affection. Because he was busy, he wanted a dog who was intelligent and could entertain himself. Phil knew this was asking a lot of a little schnauzer, but Phil knew, the moment he saw Coax, that this was the little guy. But, he had no idea what to call him.

Phil drove back to his house in Urbana, Illinois, cradling the puppy in one hand and steering with the other. All the while, he tried to come up with a fitting name. But, no matter how he tried, he couldn't come up with anything that fit. This was a special dog and he deserved a special name.

When Phil finally got back to Urbana, his roommate, Steve, was waiting for him. Steve was always a big Neil Young fan, and he suggested, "Powderfinger, like the song by Young." So, for the first two weeks, Phil and Steve tried to convince the puppy that his name was now, "Powderfinger." But despite the puppy's powder-white paws, the name just didn't fit.

One day, Steve and Phil sat across from one another in their kitchen, trying to come up with a name for "Powderfinger" that was better than "Powderfinger." "Plato," Phil suggested. "The computer system or the philosopher," asked Steve. "Aristotle?," asked Phil. "You'd saddle your poor dog with a name like THAT?!," Steve retorted. And, so it went for some time as the two young men each offered ideas that the other soundly rejected.

Then, all of a sudden, Steve looked from the kitchen through the open door of his bedroom. An alarmed look came upon his face as he shouted, "Phil, YOUR DOG!" Phil looked through the door and there was the puppy, as puppies are often wont, chewing and pulling on a piece of guitar cable. Phil looked to the end of the cable to find out what was anchoring it in place. To his terror, he realized that the end of the cable was attached to Steve's 1969 Gibson Les Paul. "Get away from there!," Phil shouted. The puppy, recognizing that he was in some trouble, let go and tried to run, as only puppies will, backwards. Needless to say, it didn't work well and he went tumbling backwards over his back legs. Meanwhile, Phil and Steve went back to arguing over a name.

Perhaps ten minutes later, still arguing with Phil, Steve glanced back through his bedroom doorway. "Damnit, Phil! Your DOG!!!!", he shouted. Phil looked where Steve had been looking only to see a doubly-determing puppy pulling on that darned cord. Now, it should be explained that Phil and Steve were both creative college students on a budget. The idea of forking over $10 for a decent guitar cord flew in the face of all that was just and holy, so they would buy bulk coaxial cable, guitar jacks, and solder and build whatever cable they happened to need at the moment. Without thinking, Phil shouted, "Get away from that coax!"

Steve asked, "What did you call him?" Phil paused, trying to figure out what Steve was talking about. "I didn't call him anything," Phil demanded. "Yes, you did," Steve demanded right back at him with a devilish look in the eye. Now clued in that there was something afoot, Phil thought harder. Oh no, he thought. "There was no comma there, that was not a name, I told him to get away from the coax, I did not name him," Phil futilely protested. "Besides," Phil argued, "what kind of a jackass would name his dog...." And, then, without a decent argument to stand on, Phil finally succumbed to the inevitable. "I'm the kind of jackass who would name his dog 'Coax' just because it makes a good story. Damnit!"

Phil and Coax lived together for the next fourteen years and Phil will tell anyone who asks that it was Coax's absolute and unconditional love that helped him survive when Steve got mad and split, when final exams seemed impossible, when the LSAT seemed a stupid idea, when the Bar Exam made finals seem like a joke, when Laurie dumped him during the exams, and during just about every terribly sad occassion for the next fifteen years of Coax's life. Phil still misses him deeply.

My husband and I bought your book on CD as well as the Loved Dog book after I saw you on Oprah. We listened to the CDs in long car rides and it was the first book he has read in about a decade! We are so proud of our 15 week old St. Bernard, Stella, and we can not believe how consistent we have been with her loved dog training. At 8 weeks, she could sit perfectly and one week later, had "lie down" mastered. Since then, we are just showing off every day to our friends and family. We spent many hours with her and cant thank you enough!!!!! We are spreading the word of your training techniques to so many people and my husband is the loudest voice! My husband was so inspired, he may change careers to training / pet spa and vacation center.

~Rachel and Jay Porter, Massachusetts

Thank you so much for visiting Pepperdine University on January 31, 2008 and speaking to my Animal Behavior class about your great work with dogs. This was an excellent opportunity for my students to see learning and memory paradigms move from theory to practice. The students remembered your presentation all semester and often integrated what they had learned into other aspects of animal behavior. The highlight was when you were describing operant conditioning and shaping behavior as you were demonstrating these processes before our eyes with a student's puppy you had never before met!

Your teaching techniques are soundly based upon known learning methodology in the psychological field. What is also impressive is that your approach each dog with a biological-psychological and social lens before implementing a learning strategy. By taking into account a dog's breed, personality, social experience as well as identifying the dog as part wolf and toddler, you are able to shape behavior naturally while making it a positive experience for both dog and human.

I also really appreciate the time you took to answer all the student's questions. the interaction allowed the students to think beyond the direct information and apply it to their lives and experiences.

You are very much appreciated by me, the students, faculty and administration of Pepperdine university. You and your work are a strong asset in the local community as well as the city of Los Angeles. i hope that you will continue to visit us again soon. Please let me know if there is anything we can do to assist you in the future.

Sincerely, Michael Folkerts, Pd.D. Associate Professor of Psychology

Thank you!! Winston Churchill was so happy tonight

He was very playful and silly when we got home, so I know he had a happy, fun day. It means so much that he's so well cared for at day care - thank you!!