Books by Annie Phenix
Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs
Help your dog recover from fear, anxiety, and aggression with Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs!
This professional and practical guide gives hope to dog owners trying to eliminate aggression, barking, timidity, fear, and reactivity in their dogs. A wide range of cruelty-free and positive behavior training methods and exercises are provided with step-by-step instructions and illustrations to rehabilitate problem behaviors. Also included are real-life case studies from dog owners detailing the extreme measures they’ve taken to manage their dogs’ behavior around others, and interviews with top trainers, behaviorists, and veterinarians.
With detailed sections covering an array of topics and how-to instruction — from the five must-have skills your dog needs to learn to the top five ways professional trainers change unwanted behaviors — this resource covers a ton of ground to help your dog develop and live a better life with you.
The Midnight Dog Walkers
The Midnight Dog Walkers became a favorite book with trainers and behaviorists worldwide in 2016. The book was nominated for a Maxwell Award by the Dog Writers’ Association of America and was reprinted many times. The book is now available on Kindle and can be found in select online stores such as Thrift Books.
This title is full of practical, easy-to-understand advice from one of the top trainers in the United States. This book includes 30 years of insight Annie has learned with extensive, hands-on training of every kind of dog. She shares stories from her own life with difficult dogs as well as many success stories from her clients. Annie has also interview the brightest luminaries in the dog world and the book contains science-based, accessible information that can immediately help owners with difficult dogs. Interviews with and information from include Dr. Karen Overall, Dr. Jessica Hekman, Dr. Nick Dodman, Dr. Jean Dodds, Dr. Jaak Panksepp and more!
Author Statement on Kim Brophey
“I wrote my new canine behavior book – Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs (CompanionHouse Publishing) in the fall of 2021. My book was published July 2023. In this book, I had the enormous privilege of interviewing 16 world-class canine behavior experts. I chose these experts carefully and included only those canine professionals dedicated to working with animals without any need or desire to use pain, force, fear or intimidation.
Because of events that have occurred after the book was written and submitted to the publisher, I have felt the need to remove my recommendation for all graduates of Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S. course as completely force free certifying professionals. I can no longer recommend all course graduates in good faith as Ms. Brophey has apparently been certifying trainers who choose to use pain and force in training dogs in the form of painful shock collars and other cruel tools and protocols. She has commented on social media numerous times that she endorses learning from such professionals and she shares her platform with them. I do not agree on a professional level that we have anything of value to learn from trainers who opt to harm animals in the name of training as I and many others in the profession have no desire or need to learn how to train dogs with aversive tools. There are many highly qualified force free professionals who have completed this course but now owners must choose who they hire with great care and research.
Years of concrete scientific studies back my strong, (and career-long) adamant belief that positive reinforcement training is the fairest, most efficient and kindest method of training. I have never endorsed or condoned force in training animals and I never will. I apologize to my readers that I recommended the L.E.G.S. course as one that I considered safe for owners to work with those certified trainers.
I have completed the L.E.G.S. course myself and I do highly endorse the course itself as it focuses on the welfare of dogs and, of course, welfare for dogs includes not harming them. Ms. Brophey’s interviews in my book and my overview of her L.E.G.S. program in the book do meet ethical requirements for being included in this force free publication.
I stand behind all of the other experts and recommendations in the book as being committed to the ethics of a force free practice.”
— Author Annie Phenix, September 2023