2 comments about If Your Dog Could Talk.

1. Dr. Bruce Fogle is my favorite animal behavioral author. I've read and reviewed books by the good doctor before and he always seems to provide me with a good deal of insight into my pets in a way that I can understand. If your dog could talk... is no exception.
   
   The subtitle for this book is "A training guide for humans". Basically, this text is meant to teach us humans what our dogs are really thinking. Far too often, we infer human personality to our dogs' actions. For instance, we assume Puddles is peeing on the furniture because she's angry at us. The thought that she's in heat never enters our mind. Similarly, when Sparky jumps up at us when he greats us, we think he is being aggressive or showing his lack of training. Really, he just wants some regurgitated food like his Mommy used to provide (yuck!).
   
   If you have a dog, know a dog, or are planning to get a dog buy this book. The insight you will gain will be invaluable. I guarantee you'll spend a lot more time enjoying your friend and a lot less time freaking out because you aren't sure what he or she is thinking.



2. This Doctor writes well, knows dogs as a vet and dog owner and is a real researcher. He's much more reliable as a source of real information than those that make up their own guesses about why dog behavior occurs. When it isn't known, he says so. This is my first dog, and the books by Bruce Fogle are very informative. The other books, particularly "The Dogs Mind" delve into brain anatomy and genetics to explain dog behavior.They are so differant from us, and yet so similar to us, as he makes so clear.

No comments about Cat Tales: Snippets on Life from Our Favorite Felines.

5 comments about Trail Riding: Train, Prepare, Pack Up & Hit the Trail.

1. This book is an excellent guide for an A to Z overview of taking a horse out on the trail. I only wish i had read it sooner!
   Makes a great gift for the beginning trail rider.



2. This book was great to read. I learned alot from it and will continue using it as a training reference guide for my 13 yr. old Quarter Horse & my 4 yr. old Paint.



3. Trail Riding by Rhonda hart Poe is more then just what the title indicates.
   She takes you from getting ready to ride through the Trail Rider's Survival Guide and much more in the process. With only five years involved with horses and a few hundred miles on trails she leads you through every phase of trail horsemanship.
   
   There is not adequate space here to pass along how much I learned and will use in the future "on the trail". Ms Poe covers everything from tack and gear for the trail to preparing you and your horse, whether you ride for pleasure or in competition.
   
   Married to a true "Horse-Lady" with more then 20,000 miles on trails I suspected it was my inexperience until after she read the book. She enjoyed it and indicated that she had picked up a lot of tips that she had never thought of. That's from a woman who has a bookshelf full of books on trail riding.
   
   The book was very educational and fun to read with a lot of information for beginners and experienced riders alike. I have no doubt that I will be a better trail riders after my first read and intend to read it a few more times. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to be a better horseman, whether on trails or around the pasture.



4. Trail Riding: Train, Prepare, Pack Up & Hit The Trail is an in-depth compendium and guidebook especially for horse owners and horse riders. Written by horse owner and "The Gated Horse" magazine editor Rhonda Hart Poe, Trail Riding covers everything from how to use necessary trail tack and gear, to proper training, vices to avoid (in both rider and animal), survival tips for worst-case scenarios, advice for performing well in competitive trail riding, and much more. Black-and-white illustrations and numerous sidebars filled with tips, tricks and techniques round out Trail Riding, a definitive guide, which is enthusiastically recommended for riders of all skill and experience levels.



5. This is a wonderfully informative book.
   Rhonda covers every topic you could possibly think of and will answer questions you may not have realized you had.

2 comments about The Canary: An Owner's Guide toa Happy Healthy Pet.

1. Diane Grindol has written another useful and interesting book for the bird owner's library - THE CANARY. This little book is a good basic volume with diet, grooming and other health care tips including a section on various ailments such as mites, cysts, and canary pox. In various sidebar sections Grindol includes a recipe for pellet muffins, the benefits of formulated diets and and how to turn seeds into nutritious treats by sprouting them. Her sections on cages and cage supplies, as well as perch choices are probably cover some of the most important aspects of canary ownership. Apparently, canaries can become ill if they sit on the same sized perches all day.

   I did not find this book any more useful than the Barron's handbooks on canaries although it does include a few different features. My book is a hardback and will probably last longer than the books with paper covers. This book includes many charming photos as do the other books I purchased - however, two of them show a canary with a Siamese cat, which made me wonder about the advisability of letting a cat so near a canary, even for a photo op. The book includes a description of the most common canary, the `German Roller' which apparently has the most beautiful song. A useful feature of this book is the list of Internet sites you can visit if you really want to investigate canaries in detail.




2. This is a great book for any canary lover. Before I read this book I did not know much about this animal other than seeing him getting chased by Sylvester. Diane writes wonderfully, you will be through with the book before you know it! Clearly an expert in the field, her love for these birds is obvious as you read this book. Whether you own a canary now, or are just thinking about getting one, you must get this book!

3 comments about Dogsteps: A New Look.

1. If you have never had the opportunity to view a video by Rachel Paige Elliott, this book is the next best thing. An added advantage is that you can always go back and look up a question about gait.

   The diagrams are easy to understand and descriptions are clear. Ms. Elliott is reasonable and knowledgeable in her judgment of good and faulty gait.

   I learn something new every time I open up this book. It is a great gift for your "doggy friends" and junior handlers.




2. I own the origional 1973 edition of this book and was delighted to find it has been put back into print. I found this book invaluable when I was fist beginning to show dogs. It was a great help in understanding what I was seeing in the show rings and the why of that movement. I feel anyone who wants to show dogs would benefit from this book. I have loaned my personal copy to many people new to the show rings and all of them have said it was very helpful.

   Visual aids when looking at gaits are a must. These are well done and the text is easy to understand. I really like the drawings and think they are the key to what makes this book so great for the begining handler or breeder. Even though I have been in the Dog Fancy for over 30 years I still take it out and look occassionally!




3. I was anxious to buy ths book when it came out because of the authors reputation and the scarcity of information about canine movement.

   I was disappointed. The book is extremely simple. Filled with line drawn animals of modest detail. Some pages have drawings and almost no text. Some observations made by the author go completely unexplained. A drawing will be proclaimed to describe a undesireable movement but no drawing is given showing correct movement so you are left to wonder what the point of the information is.

   Some of it is good, but most of the book is for those who haven't read any other book on canine movement.

No comments about Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine.

4 comments about Polar Bears.

1. This book is truly fabtastic, a recommended read to anyone. Just pick open the pages and read, nothing complicated with it as it is written extremely well.
   
   Enjoy.



2. I really enjoyed this book. I originally bought it for research on a project but i was soon reading it for my own enjoyment. Polar bears are my favorite animal and this book gave me some amazing information and beautiful pictures. I would definately recommend this book to anyone.



3. This is probably one of the best book available on these amazing, intelligent, beautiful creatures. Don't believe most of what you read or hear about bears because they are not the killers that people have made them out to be. The reviewer "Howard Tuttleman' is an idiot! How you coud claim to know anything about these amazing creatures and then make a comment about the weapons and tools that it would take to bag one is beyond me. Just read "Polar Bears: Living with the White Bear" to better understand how peaceful and safe these animals are. Howard I wish someone would 'bag' you and I get so tired of stupid people like you even opening their ignorant mouth. I've spent alot of time observing brown bears and researching them so I have to deal with all the hype and myth surrounding brown bears as well. I've stood feet away from numerous brown bears and have never had a problem. It's all about knowing how to talk "bear". It also helps if you're actually more intelligent than the bear and as people like Howard have proven that isn't very common these days. Howard go back in your cave and keep you uneducated opinions to yourself. Stop the agressive ignorance!



4. This is a truly outstanding book. It is extremely well written and the photography is world class. The reader will come away with a broad outline and understanding of this magnificent animal.

No comments about Psycho Kitty: Tips for Solving Your Cat's "Crazy" Behavior.

5 comments about The Pleasures of Their Company: An Owner's Guide to Parrot Training.

1. Everyone with a parrot really needs to know how to communicate and train their companion bird. It will benefit everyone concerned. This book is excellent and easy to follow. My amazon loves to put his rings on spindle, wave hello while saying hello on cue, puts quarters in piggy bank, high five, and more. I learned how to teach him these tricks through practicing the guidelines in this book.



2. This book, the third by Bonnie Doane, is a must for the new parrot owner or for those who have had a parrot for many years. I found this book to be an excellent guide when I first got my new parrot. I made sure I researched every book I could when I first acquired my two-week old baby parrot, and this book was one of my favorites. I found it very helpful in the training & learning process of handling my parrot as it matured and got older. There are chapters on obedience skills and training techniques for adult parrots, as well as how to work with baby birds, speech training, and trick training. There are 12 chapters filled with helpful advice that you should definitely be aware of.

   I highly recommend this book. You should check out her other two books, "My Parrot, My Friend" and "The Parrot in Health and Illness." These are excellent books for your bird-related library in my opinion.




3. This is an excellent book on the behaviour and training not only of parrots, but also macaws, cockatoos, budgerigars and other members of the parrot family. I have a 3 year old Hyacynth Macaw called Gervaise who has benefited enormously from my purchase. He never ceases to amaze me with his intelligence and agility. He is building up an impressive vocabulary and can do tricks like ringing a bell and eating seeds from my bumcrack. The fun's not all Gervaise's - as the title suggests, their company really does provide the owner with a great deal of pleasure, and this book can really enhance that pleasure.



4. This book is very well written and can easily be used as a reference guide as well. This book lacks only in one aspect (colour photos) of actual birds since I love to look at pictures almost as much as reading the information. I would recomend this book to anyone thinking of getting a bird or someone who already has one and is acting up a bit. I haven't adopted a bird as of yet but it's only days away. (I can't wait to get the Umbrella Cockatoo home). A really great site (except it is a little negative but very informative to future Parrot owners is http://members.citynet.net/skydiver/parrots/parrots.htm. Check it out . I looked online for two months to make sure that I was picking the right bird for our family and everything you need to know is right there or there's links to it.



5. Este es un maravilloso libro que describe el comportamiento de los loros de manera EXACTA.

   He aplicado sus enseñanzas con mis dos loros. Uno de ellos, un amazona aestiva, esta conmigo desde muy joven. Es alegre, amistoso y muy compañero. EL otro lo recogi con un ala rota, ya adulto, muy salvaje y muy tímido y desconfiado.

   Sin embargo ambos han aprendido, a traves de las tecnicas que Bonnie enseña en su libro. Y, tal como ella dice, ellos y yo llevamos una relacion mucho mas facil y mas intensa.

   El libro ha sido una revelación para mi, ya que a lo largo de su lectura, que he disfrutado mucho, he podido entender el comportamiento de estos maravillosos animales

2 comments about Cichlids (Complete Pet Owner's Manual).

1. I purchased this book awhile back when I was first getting into Cichlids. It has alot of useful info, and it's easy to follow and refer back to. It gives good tips, and informative basic overveiw. If you're looking for more detailed and/or species/region specific info, this isn't the right book for you. If you are just getting into the hobby, this is a fabulous choice!



2. This books gives someone wanting to learn about Cichlids a good starting point. It covers several varieties, explaining their origins, behavior, breeding habbits and so on. It also gives some pointers on what varieties can coexist and some that shouldn't be mixed. Not all-ecompassiing by any means, but gives a person a good beginning overview to to Cichlids and to help you decide if this is the type of fish you want to put in your aquarium. I've read it to completion, am still interested and now am looking for more detailed information.