Book Review | “The Happy Dog Training Journey” – Understanding Canine Behavior, Dog Emotions, and the Human-Pet Relationship through Turid Rugaas’ Philosophy

If a boring daily routine gains a dog, will life become happier? Having grown up with dogs, I thought the answer was definitely yes. After all, both were Maltese—how different could they be? So when I welcomed a puppy home, I never imagined the frustration would be so overwhelming.

That’s when I realized all the beauty and obedience I remembered from puppies actually came from a stable adult dog.

Puppies are truly different.

This article is a collaborative translation by Claude, reviewed by Selena Chen. In case of any discrepancies, the original traditional Chinese version shall prevail.

The Answers AI Can’t Give Are in Books

Although I wasn’t starting from zero, there was still a lot to learn. In the AI era, I’m used to asking LLMs everything first, but AI’s deliberately accommodating answers, hallucinations that look convincing, mixed methods from various schools, and solutions lacking contextual understanding left me very confused—why didn’t following the advice work?

So I frantically turned to YouTube, trying to find “situations everyone encounters” and “contemporary best practices” from trainers and pet owners.

But when AI came up with strange terms like “acute separation anxiety” to explain my puppy’s nighttime whimpering and regression in learning, and I couldn’t find solutions on YouTube, I knew I should return to trainers’ and educators’ most systematic and comprehensive guidance.

Fortunately, I came across this book, “The Happy Dog Training Journey“, along with a few other dog training books, and started to understand my dog daughter.

Dogs Have Emotions—There’s a Reason Behind Every Canine Behavior

Dogs need to be understood… we should consider dogs’ needs and feelings as a premise before planning training, teaching, and guiding them to integrate into our lives.

As mentioned earlier, my family once had a Maltese, so I assumed I understood this breed’s behavioral patterns. But when Ming Lin, author of “The Happy Dog Training Journey“, pointed out the differences between individual dogs, I suddenly understood something I always knew but habitually ignored: “Just like human children are all different, dogs are all different too.”

Understanding this, I still felt anxious and would instinctively scare my dog, fearing she might eat something fatal. When I worried about past mistakes—giving wrong responses at inappropriate times that could cause behavioral breakdown—another quote from the author gave me relief:

Don’t worry about being too late to change, because when you have clear thinking and a calm attitude, behavioral training becomes more effective.

I once thought AI was an encyclopedia for dogs, able to provide solutions to any problem. But when the author used “the meaning of a dog scratching” as an example, along with various intertwined issues (such as behavioral regression and barking problems), to explain the complex possibilities of dog behavior, I realized I couldn’t just “deal with behaviors.”

I understood that, like humans, dogs “have feelings and emotions,” and that each dog’s thoughts can vary greatly. When situations arise, we should consider the feelings or intentions behind a dog’s misbehavior, rather than rushing to avoid interactions we don’t like.

A dog’s subtle signals are a form of dialogue.

Often, conflicts (especially biting) occur because humans don’t read these signals, or read them but choose to ignore them. Trying only to force or control dogs to comply can actually trigger problems.

We usually don’t like seeing dogs make these “behavioral expressions,” and we can’t really accept when they’re unwilling to cooperate. However, know that dogs are also independent individuals with souls, possessing emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, with things they like and things they dislike, just like humans.

In other words, humans should respect dogs’ behavior and, only when necessary, use friendly, humane, and positive methods to help them learn to accept or guide them to cooperate.

When Owners Are Stable, Dogs Feel Secure

I recommend this book because it doesn’t emphasize the recently popular “reward when right, ignore when wrong” positive training method.

The training principles in the book are mainly based on Turid Rugaas, emphasizing “helping dogs learn life skills,” allowing dogs to naturally develop sound physical and mental health while understanding individual needs. Some dogs simply need more time to get to know the world—they can’t be rushed.

And you know what? Sometimes people need rest, too! The author shares a case in the book where they took an exhausted, overstressed owner (too responsible) and brought the dog to a pet hotel until the owner was fully rested before bringing the dog back.

Appropriate rest allows for further practice and creates opportunities to turn obstacles into assistance, improving the human-pet relationship.

📌 Dogs are important, but owners must take care of themselves first to stabilize both worlds. If you don’t know how to care for and affirm yourself, read “Making Self-Love a Good Habit” to find methods for self-repair and life transformation.

After all, pets can sense their owners’ emotions. When owners are tense, dogs become tense too, even connecting to wrong behaviors. Therefore, owner stability is crucial! When we stabilize, dogs feel more secure and are willing to try to understand this world.

Understanding “Better Pet Relationships and Positive Training” Through This Book

“The Happy Dog Training Journey” helps “clueless” owners like me learn to better face our dogs. When I truly understood that “dogs need time and distance,” magically, my frustration and disappointment also greatly decreased.

During the Qingming holiday weekend, when I had to face my weak and anxious dog alone right after her spaying surgery, I was originally very panicked, with emotions stronger than I imagined (feeling too sorry for her). But after reading this book late at night, I suddenly understood what I should do.

• Respect her need for quiet rest and don’t disturb her with frequent check-ins.
• Notice her fear of urinating and defecating due to abdominal wound pulling, which caused tension, barking for help, and even freezing. So I immediately found alternative food (wet food, emphasizing health supplementation, increased water intake, and easier defecation) and actively helped her when she went to the bathroom.
• At the same time, I knew removing the cone could worsen the wound through licking—behavior bad for her—so I found ways to distract her but firmly kept the cone on without spoiling her.
• Prevent her from running and jumping, but use snuffle mats and other static games to relieve her stress.
• Pay closer attention to cleanliness, including eye drops, cone maintenance, and water bowl cleanliness, to make her more comfortable.
• Apply for work-from-home to accompany the vulnerable dog.

I may not have done everything perfectly, but at least both my dog and I were comfortable. I wasn’t as tense as before, full of educational shouting or management, interacting at inappropriate times, or ignoring her dog nature, adding to mutual frustration.

📌 Everything spent on dogs may not return one-to-one, but it’s definitely not wasted.

Thank you to this book for helping me better understand my furry daughter, enabling me to treat her better, and allowing myself to relax, reducing frustration and disappointment, and rediscovering the beauty and cuteness of dogs.

If you’re interested in this book, consider purchasing it through the following channels. I receive 2-3% commission, which supports website operational costs and stray animal organizations.

1. Readmoo E-book Version (color, fixed-layout e-book)
2. Physical Book Version