Team Dog

September 15, 2014

After 12 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL, Ritland quit to found his own company to train dogs for SEAL teams, as chronicled in the New York Times best seller Trident K9 Warriors. Here he extends his techniques to the family dog.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015

The Navy SEAL brand expands: add canine instruction to the fiction, diet, and workout books. Ritland, former SEAL team member, military working dog trainer, and, lately, best-selling author (Trident K9 Warriors), shares his force-free methods. He stresses how owners should carry themselves and writes convincingly of the importance of body language in the human-dog relationship. Included are chapters on canine perception, choice of the right animal, care and maintenance, and solutions to problem behaviors. The training (with clicker) section is relatively brief. Writing in the way of a commando, Ritland gets in and out quickly, an approach that has benefits and drawbacks. On the one hand, his no-nonsense style may embolden timid owners to become leaders their dogs will respect and heed. On the other, Ritland's rush--he provides "quick" charts and summaries, he's wary of getting "bogged down in too many details," and declines to offer a bibliography, noting that "plenty of resources are available online or at your bookstore"--seems to contradict a central SEAL tenet: mastering the details. VERDICT The dog-training shelf is becoming crowded with differing philosophies, but this title offers a distinct angle, the "command and control" some owners might be seeking. [See Prepub Alert, 8/18/14.]--Robert Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.