The fictionalized ‘story’ format did not work for me at all. Amid bland corporate language, the story is cloying and saccharine (and enough with the Journey references, geez!). I didn’t like spending time with the Emily character. Her motivations and decisions didn’t make much sense to me and there were a lot of inconsistencies. I couldn’t get past how deeply weird that this is a fictional story that the author writes about himself.

I found the creative writing format poor and got in the way of the content significantly. When I read dog training books, formatting is critical for me. I like bite-size so I can dip in and out and revisit sections; I don’t want to have to wade through narrative prose to find the info I want. Even the summaries at the end of the chapters didn’t help because the context is all in the ‘story’.

In terms of the content, it was a real mixed bag. I found some of it a bit ‘pack mentality’ and weirdly hierarchical which didn’t land; sorta like if aggressive corporate leadership techniques were applied to pets. There was a controlling ethos to it that made me uncomfortable. Some of the advice was good (crate training, the advocacy part of guardianship, consistency) and I’m a huge advocate for compassionate, trust-based training; but, I didn’t find I learned anything new here, which was disappointing. This book isn’t subtle: it’s basically a long-winded, repetitive advertisement for the author and his business.

This is the first book I’ve encountered on this platform that wouldn’t download to the NetGalley app. Having to read this as a PDF in a browser window was profoundly annoying. While I can usually read a book in a few days, this took me weeks!

Between the writing, style, and format, I didn’t have a good time with this.

A very insightful book about all areas of dog training. I was particularly interested in the chapter on how dogs greet/react to visitors in their home. I’ve read about a range of ideas and tips, but this is one that makes sense and is logical. The chapter summaries are clear and concise, making this book very user-friendly.

It was reassuring to see how the relationship between Emily and Buddy developed. Lots of useful information here, highly recommended!

I am fostering a dog and working on her commands and helping her adjust. She was abandoned and never was socialized.

I felt this would be a great book to have because I believe in positive reinforcement and training.

Beyond Treats: Revolutionary Dog Training for Lasting Behaviour Change: A Story-Based Force-Free Compassionate Dog Training Guide by George Tran is a good resource to have and provides practical and easy to implement training.

The book follows the journey of Emily, a dog owner overwhelmed by her pet's challenges. Through her story, I was able to learn how a leadership-based method brings lasting change without relying on force or outdated techniques.

This really is a compassionate guide that empowers me and my dog to address behavior problems by fostering respect and building a strong bond that goes beyond treat-based rewards. The book provided real and valuable tips and techniques.

I would recommend this book.

I know treats are a great training tool but not all the time. This book and way of communicating with dogs makes sense and I learned a lot of valuable tips. I believe that the methods will work maybe not straight away but nothing is a instant fix it takes time and consistent training. I am looking forward to working with my dogs and building a deeper understanding and bond.