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I bought this book and was immediately impressed by how it was put together. There's no new-age, touchy-feely mumbo jumbo, just down to earth, common sense knowledge that is immediately applicable, written by people who would know. The monks of New Skete have had 40+ years where all they have done is breed and train dogs, and pray and ruminate about breeding and training dogs, and observe canine behavior. They look at the dog from the dog's point of view and drill into why a dog behaves the way it does. Example: dogs that jump up on people are trying to greet people the way dogs do because they view people the same as they would a dog, and dogs greet other dogs by getting close to and/or licking another dog's face. The monks take a straightforward common sense approach to conditioning a dog toward proper dog behavior, correcting behavior that is less desirable and reinforcing behavior that is.

I bought both of the books from the Monks of New Skeete - "How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend" and "The Art of Raising A Puppy" based on the recommendation of a friend when I got my first dog, a yellow lab. People remark about how well behaved and what good dogs my dogs are. (I later wound up with my Brother-in-Law's yellow lab) I attribute their behavior and well being to what I have learned from these two books. I believe in them to the point where I have bought them and given them to several people who were getting dogs due to how they are written, how the material is structured, and above all else, how easy it is to apply to my own dogs.

A couple of other things that I think are worth mentioning regard talking about how dogs show fear, (prevents getting a "fear bite" where a dog lashes out because it's frightened) how to deal with an overly agressive dog, how to repair damage in a dog that has been abused, and interestingly enough, how to cope when your dog dies - apparently this is something that is avoided by other dog training books and manuals.

I believe in these books so much that I consider them to be the first and best authority on the subject, and if you had to choose only one book to buy when considering buying and raising your own dog, this book would be it.Get more detail about How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend.