5 comments about DogPerfect, Second Edition.

1. This is one of the best dog-training books I've read. I've had my Border Collie for 2 1/2 years and I've read several books, online articles, and even spoke with two different dog behaviorists and still managed to learn several things from Ms. Hodgson's book.
   
   Scold the cookies, not the dog - what a great idea. Your dog gets the idea that the cookies are a bad thing & he should just leave them alone lest he be associated with them. He doesn't want you to think HE is bad, too!
   
   Love it.
   
   Thank you, Ms. Hodgson - I'm happy to recommend your book to everyone I know who needs some advice on living with their canine companions.



2. I bought this book years ago, back in 1995, in it's first edition. Back then, I had a Siberian Husky who was more than difficult to train. I read the book and followed Sarah's advice on how to train my hard-headed and over-active pupil. It worked! Not only did it work, but it worked very well! The techniques in this book only took about 15-30 minutes of my time each day.
   
   In the end, I was able to effectively train my dog, especially house train, in no time! I borrowed out the book and I never saw it again! I was overjoyed to see Sarah has released a second edition. I am getting a new puppy next month, and this is my book. I even found the first edition and bought that one as well! Thanks Sarah.



3. WOW WOW WOW WOW. This Is an incredible book, extremly useful, and funny. It really explains the dog's point of view, and how silly people can look sometimes.-don't take that personbally. If you have a dog or you are a dog trainer this book is a must!



4. Years ago when I worked in the grooming department of a pet store, we sold cases of the first edition of this book to customers who would ask us why their dogs "misbehaved." I thought that book was the best book ever written for dog owners. The second edition is much better.

   The author speaks simply and with the compassion and knowledge that comes from her years of experience with dogs and their people. This book enables people to communicate effectively with the dogs in the household, so there is mutual understanding, and "training" becomes second nature.

   It is useful, informative, easily referenced, and very readable. Even if you think you know dogs, you will learn from this book, and enjoy the reading. It is not overwhelming for beginners, either.

   If you have a dog, buy this book, and then be prepared to have to buy 4 more copies because you keep "lending" it to friends and family.




5. This book seems to be an excellent book for training your dog -- big or small. The author takes you from trying to understand your dog, to simple things you should need to train your dog, the first basic commands, moving on to harder things. At the end the author also outlines a variety of items to discipline your dog if your dog has problems of barking, chewing etc.

   Not only is the book detailed, but set up in a way that you can easily read. Lists are very helpful in this book. The book also has interesting antecdotes about the author's experience with dogs which are separated out so that people who don't want to read them don't have to read them.

   The content is good to help because it doesn't limit your options to one way of correcting your dog, but gives other ideas for those of us who are only a little creative. The book even talks about what games are good to play and has given me a few ideas for games for me and my dog.

   My only problem with the book is the plug for a specially designed leash that the author sells. It does sound like a good leash for a dog that is kept inside most of the time. My dog is mostly outside and so the training with the special leash doesn't look that practical to me.

   I think the best part of the book is the constant encouragement to the dog owners. The author tells us that training a dog depends on our attitude and does everything possible to keep our attitude to be helpful for training our dogs. One of the better dog-training books I have found.

2 comments about Bernese Mountain Dogs (Complete Pet Owner's Manual).

1. This is an affordable, readable book that has plenty of pictures to illustrate the author's points. Information is provided to help you decide whether a Bernese Mountain Dog is suitable for your lifestyle. If you already live with a Berner, the book provides helpful hints about diet, exercise, and health care. I give this a Thumbs Up and I know -- I have lived and loved Berners for twenty years.
   Henry J.



2. Had some useful information and tips on the Bernese Mountain Dog. Easy to read and some lovely photos

5 comments about The Dog Lover's Companion to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Guides).

1. I had traveled to Reston, VA with my dogs to go to the Pet Fiesta while there I picked this book up and used it to travel all over the Washington D.C. area with my dogs. I am so glad that I did because I was not sure what I was going to do after the Pet Fiesta was over and this book opened up lots of options and lots of ideas for future trips.
   
   I advise taking a pen with you so you can write in additional things that you find that may not be listed in the book. While at Old Town Alexandria today we ate at an Irish restaurant that had a doggie menu that was not listed in the book but was a must go to if you travel there.
   
   I loved this book and only wish that there was one for my area.



2. I bought this based on the great reviews, so perhaps it was a let-down because I had high expectations. This is a guide book with a slight dog orientation, but honeselty, I didn't feel like this really gave me much valuable information about living and traveling in the DC area with a dog- other than telling me where parks are (info available on many web sites). The actual dog-friendliness of the parks, and rating system seemed totally off with how I would have rated parks. Seems like they are rated more for person-appeal than dog-appeal.
   
   But maybe I'm just biased as I have a hound and value FENCED off-leash parks above all :)



3. This is one of my favorite books ever. Really. I moved to the D.C. area with my lab three years ago, and while we were used to having dozens of places to go for various reasons or times, I didn't know where to begin to find good places to take her around our new home. This book was a godsend for finding fun places to go, especially because I found the reviews to give a me a very accurate idea of what sort of place we were going, including what sort of "feel" it might have for dog-friendliness. Some of the features of the book I have found extremely helpful are:

   * Birds-eye maps showing where the reviewed locations are in the counties covered (perfect for finding a park near odd places that I might run errands)
   * How strict the leash law is followed (this is a biggie for me -- while the authors point out excellent reasons to use the leash, they very helpfully suggest where we can get away without it)
   * Rough idea how crowded the area in question might be, and how easy or difficult to get to (varies of course by time of day and season)
   * Whether there's a place for doggie swimming

   In my area (Sterling/Ashburn, VA) I've found the book to be amazingly comprehensive for my local and outlying areas, and find that the park descriptions have always given me a pretty accurate idea what to expect. The book covers a wide enough range (including some pseudo-local vacation destinations) that I've used it on countless occasions to find nice stopover while on short trips outside my "home turf". Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys finding varied places to visit with their pups.




4. I bought this book when it first came out for a friend of mine who was moving to Baltimore with her dog. Two years later, I borrowed it from her when I discovered I was moving to D.C. I found it enormously usefull for choosing a dog-friendly neighborhood with good access to parks. The authors understand the basic qualities of a good dog park: safety, space, a group of 'regular' neighborhood go-ers, and access to a good espresso bar for weekend dog walking. Overall, the writers do an excelent job.

   I have only a few complaints. One - due to the impossibility of visiting every park in this populous region more than once, I've found that the park's ratings can heavily reflect the day and time of the visit -- not necessarily what the park is like on a typical weekday at 6pm. Also, some park ratings reflect a nice place to go with a small dog on a leash, you won't necessarily have the same experience with your massive Great Dane tugging at every new smell. The writers also disapprove of dogs being off-leash, and rate more lowly some parks that are true jems for those of us with larger dogs that require more exercise.

   Overall, a great guide, and certainly unique. A must for all dog owners in this area, particularly if you moving to this region.




5. I highly recommend this book to dog owners who love to take their little four-legged friend(s) everywhere. It is well organized and the writing style used is perfect for dog lovers.

   It covers almost all the parks in the Washington D.C., Virginia and Baltimore. Have you ever looked up a park on a map and it looked huge and perfect for your dog, and when you got there, you and your dog were very disappointing with the park? Well, the review for each park is quite accurate. With this book on hand, you can look up a park and find out if it is suitable for your dog before driving there. It covers important information that a dog owner needs to know about the park/area - such as the poop scoop law and the leash law.

   It also contains information (ie. hotel, restaurant, pet stores, etc...) that is very useful for dog owners who like to take their pooches on vacation with them.

   Embedded into the book, you will find dog adoption information. The book encourages suggestions from readers. I've already written to the publisher suggesting to include information on various rescue organizations and local animal shelters - a way to help promote pet rescue/adoption.

5 comments about Communicating with Your Dog.

1. The book teaches many different commands at a few different levels, and as long as you have patience and are consistent with your dog, it really works. My wife and I have a stubborn mini-pin that's notorious for his rebellion, but after working with him for a few weeks using the commands and methods in this book he's become a well-behave gentledog. It's an easy read and makes it pretty easy to jump right in and start with your dog so I recommend it only if you will make a commitment to do the work. You and your dog will be much happier for it.



2. I have several dog training books, but this is the one I lend out to friends who have children, so that the friends and their kids can read it. The idea of using your dog's name as a lead to commands, and nicknames the rest of the time is worth the price of the book. For the 16 years of my Aussie's life, whenever she heard 'Kiri...', she would look at me expectantly, because she knew what would follow would be a command (sit, stay, etc) that she would understand, rather than the 'blah, blah, blah' when I chatted with her. Another great point was training the dog to hand gestures at the same time as verbal commands. For the last two years of her life, Kiri had hearing problems, and the hand gestures really helped there. This is also an interesting read, and not a particularly difficult one either. Appropriate for tweens with good reading skills and older.



3. If you really want to learn to communicate with your dog, this is an excellent book! I agree 100% with the other positive reviews in every way. When I bought this book, I had never trained a dog before. I was not only AMAZED at how quickly I was able to find a common language with my dog, but also at how many of the classic "A-ha!" moments that my dog and I mutually shared. With this book as my guide, my dog not only obtained her Canine Good Citizen Certification, but is now also a fully trained and liscenced Therapy Dog--a great honor and accomplishment and one step down from a working Service Dog! With a common language we are able to communicate wonderfully. Also, many of the commands can be combined to string along a fully functioning sentence which is always fun! I am often asked where I had my dog professionally trained and people are always impressed that I did it all myself. With a reasonable amount of intelligence, patience, and creativity, anyone can teach their dog the basic commands. True, the author is no comedian, but who cares.
   FYI, some of the more advanced commands (such as 'jump') may at first seem 'ridiculous', but I have found when I need to tell my dog that I need her to get up into a car, or onto the scale at the vet, or even just to jump up on the bed to say goodmorning (which she knows she must have permission to do) its a lifesaver. I also can't live without the command 'leave it' (invaluable!) and if you are a puppy owner, the communication 'bells' worked so well for me that housetraining took under 2 weeks! My dog still uses the windchime I have hung on my back door to tell me that she needs to go outside--something I don't always pick up on if I am on the computer. I can't say enough good things about this book!



4. This book promotes a consistant training program for everyone in the fmaily. You see results quickly if you are consistant with your dog. This book is also very effective in its use of positive reinforcement. I never hesitate to recommend it to a friend.



5. This book is the best book I've seen on training a dog to be a great citizen of your home. It's not for the show dog/agility/retentive dog people so humorously portrayed in "Best in Show." This book teaches you, in order, the vocabulary you need to completely control your dog by voice command. This system keeps your dog from becoming confused by different people telling it to do different things in different ways with different expectations. It is absolutely amazing what you can do with your dog once you have taught it the "Twenty Magic Words" vocabulary that this book teaches.

   Don't discount this books short length or seemingly simple language. It's a book about talking to dogs! Of course the vocabulary is simple. If I had to choose only one book on dog training, this would be it. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Illustrated Guide to Sheltie Grooming.

1. Grooming a sheltie is a wonderful way to bond with the animal. They look forward to being groomed, if it is done in a skillful way. Whether your sheltie is a pet or show dog, this is an excellent resource. And, though it will take a little longer, the techniques can be used on rough collies, too.



2. Whether you show your dog, or just want him/her to look like a show dog, this is the book for you. As a groomer, I found the book to be a very helpful resource, and I recommend it to anyone interested in Shelties.



3. This is a very informative book for the "newbie" in the world of Sheltie Show grooming. I don't see it really being for the typical pet owner however. Probably too much detail and more than they would want to know! It is really for the beginner show person, however I would recommend having someone already experienced teach you, do not just go by the book! :-))



4. Just about every aspect of sheltie grooming can be applied to collie grooming. It can be a challenge looking at an ungroomed collie and not knowing where to start. This book breaks down the whole process into manageable pieces...ear trimming, foot trimming, line brushing and more. A valuable reference book to keep near your grooming table!



5. For those of you who are interested in making your sheltie look his or her best this is the book to read. Barb, who is a breeder and handler, takes you step by step through the grooming process. It even works for those of us who do not think we have the nack for grooming. P.S. The art work is great too.

2 comments about Focus Not Fear: Training Insights from a Reactive Dog Class.

1. This is a good book on a topic that needs much more information out there. that being said, it's basically just a diary of her training sessions. She takes you through each training session with her reactive dog class and describes the progress of each dog each day.
   
   Pros: Great to see the ups and downs of each dog. Also nice to see how different dogs needed different things
   
   Cons: If you're looking for things to do with your own dog, there's no apendix that explains the exercises she does. It's sometimes hard to get a good picture, even though there are diagrams. Also, it can be confusing trying to remember which dog was which. In addition, it's very repetitive and doesn't keep one's interest.
   
   Overall: I recommend the book Controlled Unleashed instead.



2. Ali's Focus Not Fear walks you through the classes of a group of dogs over a period of seven months. You get to meet the dogs and their issues as well as their handlers. Then Ali details how the classes went over that time, and the ups and downs that happen over that time.
   
   Training behaviors or dog behaviors are in bold through the sections, so if you wanted, you could skim for those in the training logs. They are also easily indexed in the back of the book for quick page finds.
   
   Photographs! Tons of photos in here and not hard to see black and white ones but full beautiful color ones. Diagrams are also in color!
   
   Ali was our guest author in November 2007 at CSDogBookReview for this book, check out our archives for that visit.

2 comments about Maine Coons.

1. We recently lost a dear Maine Coon cat that had been a friend for 13 years. There is no way to "replace" him, but we missed having no more than 1 cat(his sister) in the house. We found a breeder and now have 2 beautiful Maine Coons kittens that we delight in watching and caring for. This magazine was very helpful in getting us "up to speed" on the ways to handle kittens and their healthy development.



2. Very satisfied with the magazine/book about Maine Coons. Arrived in a timely manner and in excellent condition.

No comments about Weather: The Ultimate Book of Meteorological Events.

1 comments about Best in Show: The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to Today.

1. I am an artist who paints animals - wildlife and pet portraits. I bought this book in hopes that I would have, in one volume, fine art images of dogs: to learn from, to get inspiration from.
   
   This book did not disappoint me. WHile it is not by any means a scholarly work - in other words, it contains no real information on the methods, motives or analysis of the works depicted. It is very well illustrated and has light context commentary about the works and the artists who produced them. The number of color plates is generous, the range of illustrations is broad, well produced and includes little known as well as famous works, by masters from western and eastern traditions, from pre-renaissance through modern times.
   
   I recommend this book for anyone who loves dogs - and for artists who are looking for a compilation reference.

5 comments about Standard Schnauzer (Comprehensive Owner's Guide).

1. Great book. 166 pages , over 200 photos and illustrations. International in scope.
   As a Standard schnauzer owner/operator for 20 years, I consider the best book Ive seen re:SS.



2. I found this book to be a valuable source of relevant schnauzer information.



3. Very presentable book with excellent color photos. The training section is also very good. The constant advertising of the Nylabone (chew toys) however, is quite irritating. Also, the book tends to generalize quite a bit and presumes that you have a puppy instead of an older dog. The health care section makes no mention of health problems specific to Schnauzers such as hip dysplasia and cysts and recommends you take your dog to the Vet for virtually every ailment. Save your money and read the internet if you want info. Or you can have my copy.



4. We are getting a Standard next year, and I thought I knew everything about this breed until I read this book. Very informative, and the pictures are great!! I am very pleased with this book and I would tell anyone considering this wonderful breed to definitly get this book!!



5. Anyone interested in learning more about Standard Schnauzers MUST get this book. It is informative, well written and has some great glossy colour photos of those wonderful Standard Schnauzers.