Karen Pryor has an excellent puppy starter kit, but I like the DVD Clicker Puppy available at http://store.clickertraining.com/clpudvd.html
The DVD seems to be something that people will watch when they won't read a book. The DVD teaches
* Basics of clicker training puppies (including puppy behavior and management)
* Target Training
* Teach "Sit"
* Teach "Down"
* Teach "High-Five"
* Teach Retrieve and Playing Fetch
* Teaching the Puppy Recall
How To Raise a Puppy You Can Live With - Clarice Rutherford
Retriever Puppy Training - Rutherford/Loveland
Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog - Carol Lea Benjamin
Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence - CarolLea Benjamin
The Art of Raising a Puppy - The Monks of New Skete
How to Housebreak Your Puppy in as Little as Seven Days - Sadie Dal
"The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the New Skete Monks is a wonderful read. They raise German Shepard Dogs and bred many of the foundation bitches and dogs associated with guide dog foundations such as Fidelco. The book has a wonderful, sensible, realistic approach to getting through the first 2 years with a puppy.
If you are looking to pass on a V8 moment in raising a puppy, this is the book to recommend!!!!
Dr. Ian Dunbar has an excellent book entitled Before and After You Get Your Puppy, but his Sirius Puppy Training DVD has been voted Best Video by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers for many years running.
Although written for gun dogs, this book is excellent in training any family pet. Well written, easy to follow steps for crate training, house training, and basic obedience. If you choose to go further there is also info on training to quarter and basic retrieving. Reading this book totally changed my husband's perspective on raising dogs.
