4 comments about Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs (Getting Started).

1. This book was somewhat helpful in the clicker training process, however the DVD "Clicker Puppy" was so much more helpful. If you have no idea what clicker training is, or how to approach it, this may be a good beginner book for you. Wouldn't recommend for those who already have an idea of what clicker training is.



2. This book is a great step towards learning how to train your dog. We bought this book and other items from this publisher. We will be ready when our puppy gets here. Very excited!



3. Certainly Ms. Pryor knows her technique and provides good step-by-step basic instructions about using clicker training with dogs. She covers the do's and don'ts and provides essential advice with some examples.

   However, I thought that the portion of the book that dealt specifically with training dogs was somewhat scant and would have rather seen more about problem solving and working with crossover dogs---e.g., dogs that have had other types of training before ever hearing a clicker---and much, much less of the history about the pioneering clicker training done with dolphins.

   Hence, I thought the book quite expensive for the amount of practical information it contained.




4. Karen Pryor, the author of this book, is the woman who introduced clicker training into the dog training's world. As a dolphin trainer, she was convinced that the animal friendly method she used for training dolphins would work for dogs as well. And how right she was! Clicker training is now used by countless training schools and individual dog owners all over the world.

   "Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs" explains what clicker training is, why you should use it and especially HOW to use it. Clicker training is not about the clicker or about food! It is about reinforcement and correct timing, in such a way that information is communicated between trainer and dog. Together you and the dog will learn a new way of interacting. Learn from this book how training can be FUN, both for you and your dog!

   P.S.: no, clicker training is NOT about trick training (although you can use it to learn your dog funny tricks)! Learn from this book how to communicate with your dog using a clicker, and teach him to sit, lay down, heel, stay, NOT to jump up, NOT to pull etc. Enjoy!

2 comments about Animals in Spirit: Our faithful companions' transition to the afterlife.

1. This book is helping me cope with the loss of my cat. It explains so well why animals choose their passing, why they are here in our relationships, and best yet that they are still around us after passing.



2. Penelope Smith's most recent book, "Animals in Spirit", is a beautiful, heartfelt, and sensitive guide to animals' perspectives on the death and dying process, as well their experiences in the spiritual dimension after leaving the physical body. In sharing her communications with her own animal companions, those of her clients, and in the wonderful contributions of experiences from many other animal communicators and their clients, Penelope addresses the experience of death from the animals' viewpoints, and also sensitively discusses the grief process for the animals' human companions. I especially loved the section on reincarnation, and the various ways that animals may choose to return to their people in a different body. This book made me laugh, cry, and rejoice at the variety and depth of animal wisdom concerning death. It opened my heart to deeper places of love and trust that love never dies, and to the knowledge that the energy of the connection with our animal friends is eternal.
   
   I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has loved and lost an animal. There is a wonderful exercise for helping people to connect with the spirits of their animal friends who have died, as well as a beautiful grief and memorial ritual contributed by animal communicator Barbara Janelle. Throughout, the heartwarming communications from the animals to their human friends assures us that death is most often a natural transition for animals to a different state of being, without the fear and cultural baggage that we humans so often associate with it. In this, the animals are our teachers, as they show us how to accept the death process as a part of the eternal continuum of life.
   
   My favorite passage in the book is at the very end, in a poetic inspiration that came through Penelope, which states, in part: "Flow with spirit, ever-changing in its guises. See the wildflowers bloom and die and give their seeds to the Earth. Nothing ever really dies or fades. Everything dissolves into unity and flows into another sea or shower or puff of air". As I experience the love and connection with my own animal friends, both in form and in spirit, I am so grateful for all that the animals have to teach us about love, life, and death.

5 comments about The Parrot Problem Solver.

1. Barbara provided great insight into parrots and why they do what they do. She uses reeal world examples from Parrots and many other animals that she has experience with. This book breaks down the different types of aggression and signs to look for. I wish I had ordered "Good Bird! A guide to solving problems in companion parrots" at the same time as they are complimentary as I understand it. It will arrive this week. One other thing, the book has a ton of great photos as well! You won't be disappointed with this book.



2. Excellent reference for owners of large parrots. This book will explain why your bird does what it does. It is absolutely the best book I have purchased so far concerning the behavior of my macaw. It takes the mystery out of your birds aggressive behaviors. It explains your bird's natural daily routines. I found it most enlightening. Once you understand how parrots behave in the wild, your bird's behaviors will make a whole lot more sense to you, and that truly helps you provide the best for your companion. This book is a real jewel for owners of large parrots and I think it should be required reading for all who own one. Well written and highly informative, it is by far the best book that I have found on parrot behavior to date. It will really help you understand your bird.



3. This is the best book of it's kind I've read. It explains the why as well as the "how to". Others I've read do not give examples of "how to" like this book. Behavior modification is a tough problem and this book really helps.



4. I have 3 adopted Umbrella cockatoos and an African grey and was looking for some advice on dealing with behavior problems. I agree with her philosophy but was really looking for the PROBLEM SOLVER(!) part of the book. The book is not organized well and digresses plenty (to other species, etc.) You have to read to the end to actually find some "problem solving" techniques and by then I was frustrated with it. I am still considering buying one of her DVDs as realize she is knowledgeable on parrot behavior. However, this book needs a new title. Worth reading overall but doesn't really give much practical advice on solving behavior problems. For example, here's a good suggestion (not hers) -- Wrap your arm in "Ace bandages" and wear a long-sleeve shirt (to hide the wrap) for biting parrots. I do not have high pain tolerance and am tired of advice suggesting you "take the bites". I can't. Meanwhile I was afraid to handle one of my biting birds...that is, until I protected my arms. Now I can actually work with this bird and since the biting does not get a response from me, and I'm not fearful and expecting a bite, the bird is no longer doing it. Gee, a simple solution! THAT'S the kind of advice I was looking for! But I need more practical problem solving advice. So I'm still looking...!



5. Doesn't get any better than this. Nice to read a substantial book from someone who has worked with parrots in all aspects. An eye opener that doesn't make you feel like a bad parront :)

5 comments about 101 Arena Exercises: A Ringside Guide for Horse & Rider.

1. This is a great arena book with work plans to help the rider plan lessons etc. easy to understand and well displayed for while you are riding in you arena. hang it up and you can refer to it with ease. Great way of planning you lessons and helpful ideas to extend your riding.



2. this is a great book for learning all the little things you need to know or for working on all those things you should know
   what a great book awesome diagrams and simple explanations any one can use this book would be a great tool for instructors



3. This book is great for riders who can easily walk trot and lope/canter and depart on a correct lead.
   
   This is somewhat of a "crossover" book--dressage and western with exercises that are great for horse and rider, but which my not be popular with di-hard dressage or western only trainers. The exercises would be difficult in many cases for the rider using a true forward seat hunt saddle unless the stirrups were legthened A LOT.
   
   Very handy for a rider working at home without regular lessons.



4. Cherry Hill has come up with some neat little exercise books to offer you training ideas. But she has some outdated ideas on horse training. Compare the advice you get in her book "The Formative Years" with some of the more enlightened trainers published in the last 20 years.



5. The number of excellent reviews for this book reflect the application to riders of all levels and disciplines. The most valuable aspect of this book is that it encourages the rider to formulate a plan for their schooling sessions and make a conscious decision not to do the same thing day in day out - something we are all guilty of on occasion. Make your schooling sessions more fun for you and your horse with this informative guide.

5 comments about Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Your Happy Healthy Pet.

1. D. Woods's Amazon Review of this book describes this book very well. We've lived with Clive, our black and tan Cavalier, for two and a half years, and haven't found one error in the book. The author is clearly an experience breeder, and describes this type of dog very well in easy to understand language.
   
   I'm writing this Review to emphasize a point the author makes; this breed gains weight very easily, particularly if the dog is castrated or spayed. It's partly the pleading eyes and loving personality, but it must also be in the genes. Clive and I take three to five mile walks a couple of times a week, and yet he can put on two pounds in a week.
   
   Our vet suggested that slowing Clive's eating would help him maintain a healthy weight. We tried putting rocks and later tennis balls in his food bowl, but he quickly learned to extract the impediments and scarf down his food. The Brake-Fast Small Dog Food Bowl looked like a joke gift, but in fact it is amazingly effective.
   
   Clive has to work for at least a minute to work around the prongs and finish every last morsel. The bowl can be put on a mat so it won't move, but it takes him even longer to eat when he pushes the bowl around our kitchen floor. We've also added a bit of egg white and microwaved the bowl for a few seconds to "glue" the food in place. The result:
   
   Brake-Fast Small Dog Food Bowl: $[...]
   
   King Charles Cavalier Spaniel: $[...]
   
   Watching Clive growling with frustration as he pushes his bowl around the floor: Priceless



2. This is an excellent well rounded book written by someone who really knows and loves the breed. It is a hardcover with 144 pages of good information and great photos. If you are new to the breed and are getting only one book, this is the one to buy. It covers almost everything you can think of, although doesn't cover breeding much because serious breeders and exhibitors discourage people from breeding dogs, which they believe is best left to the people who know the breed standards and health concerns.



3. Great book to have before purchasing this breed of dog. There are alot of things people need to know before finding a breeder for Cavalier King Charles.



4. This book by Norma Moffat is excellent! I decided to buy another Cavalier puppy as a result!



5. Like all the rest, this book arrived in excellent condition and very quickly. I appreciate your promptness. Thank you.

5 comments about How to Help Gun Dogs Train Themselves, Taking Advantage of Early Condtioned Learning.

1. This is a good book to lay the groundwork to train a gun dog. The first year is important since this is when you have to teach a dog how to learn. This book gives great examples with details on how accomplish the most important aspects in the first year.



2. The book arrived earlier than scheduled. I just purchased an english setter puppy and have found some of the techniques quite useful and informative. Easy book to read.



3. This book is essential for anyone expecting a new bird dog in the house. Though I have trained several personal gun dogs, it was refreshing to see other,more relaxing ways to start a dog. While we are still working with our new English Pointer pup, many of the methods outlined in this book work great. The key to this type of training is to keep your cool, relax, and don't get frustrated. No matter how simple an exercice you have to end a training session with, always end on a very possitive note. It will pay off in the long run.



4. I enjoyed reading the book in preparation for the arrival of my first gun dog pup. Though personally inexperienced in training, I have hunted over friends' dogs for several years and have spent enough time with "dog people" to have a sense of what can work. This book presents an excellent overview for the first-time or experienced trainer.



5. I am sure that I would not have had such a successful outcome with my current bird finding companion had I not started with Joan Bailey's book before the pup even arrived at my home. Although I have raised many pointing dogs, I still need that constant reminder to let pups be pups and to expose young hunting dogs to as many types of home and field conditions as possible. Joan's book tells you when and how this should be done. My father used the first version with success as well for his pointing lab, and I recently ordered the newest edition for him as he eagerly awaits the arrival of a Small Munsterlander puppy. Thanks Joan!

5 comments about Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot (Barron's).

1. There is a lot of interesting information for beginners. It focus on elements of environment and human behavor that influence our parrot bahavior. The text is well organised so it's easy to go clearly where we are interest to. Paragraphs are relatively short so isn't tired to reat at.



2. I actually wasn't as impressed with this book as I thought I would be. I was hoping for lots of options and things to try to help out a few different behavioral issues, but found very few that sounded like they would work for my birds. Read the book cover to cover and although I loved the pictures, and learned one or two things, I was expecting many more techniques and tips.



3. This is an amazing book! There are so many tips and suggestions for correcting or preventing bad behaviors in birds. The ideal time to read this would be before even bringing the parrot home, but it is a must read for all bird owners. The parrot world is evolving and new things are being learned all the time.....read it to learn!!!!



4. I am new to parrots and this book literally takes you by the hand and addresses whatever issue you are having. I highly recommend it.



5. My hubbie decided to petsit his uncle's macaw but we had no idea why she acted the way she did. She would screech loudly, try to bite us, & if we tried to get her down from our shoulder she would run to our back. We needed information. This book didn't disappoint! Chapter 2 was a treasure trove of information. It had games you could play with your parrot, also how to get your parrot to stop biting. The wobble correction method is what we have been using. Chapter 3 was about developing behavior patterns. This chapter was great in helping us realize height does matter. We were letting Baby D(parrot's name) get on our shoulder and also letting her roam on the top of her cage. She was getting very aggresive and we couldn't understand why.Letting her spend time in places that were high was making her think she was the boss. Chapter 5 Common behavior problems talks about dealing with screaming, chewing, and boredom in birds. It also talks more about the height factor. Chapter 7 talks about reading parrot body language and the pitfalls of leaving your parrot home alone all day.
   
   I learned alot by this book. Parrots are alot of responsibility but they are also lovable. I know they have times when they screech and scream but if you follow this book you should you should have a better behaved parrot most of the time. I see some impovement already in baby D. This book has loads of information that should help you understand all about your new parrot.

5 comments about Centered Riding 2.

1. Book arrived in a timely fashion and was in great shape - keep up the good work!



2. I have had the good fortune to get to know Sally Swift and I can say first hand that she leads a Centered Life. Her books have been life changing for thousands and thousands of people. Ever once in a while someone rights a negative review but it is the person not the material that is off base. They haven't allowed Sally's work to work within themselves. Sally gets hundreds of thank you notes from people all over the world thanking her for her work.Sports people other than horse people find her work amazing. If you haven't already read her books hurry and order them. At 94 Sally is actively involved in making a difference. Sally was just given the United States Dressage Federation's highest award for her writing and her riding. Need I say more.



3. I love her first book, and highly recommend both books to my students. This book has the same easy to understand format. Sally breaks down how our bodies function when we are riding. I really like the exercises that she uses on the ground. I frequently use the "monkey position" with my students. It really helps to explain use of the hip joint. I also find the "monkey position" helpful when introducing a student to the sitting trot. I cannot say enough awesome things about this book. I also do not fully agree with the first review. This book really shows a rider how their body affects the horse, regardless of your learning styles. The illustrations and pictures are very clear and easy to understand. They have helped many of my students to really gain perspective on how every little movement, or tense muscle affects the horse in some way. I feel that every rider should have a copy of both Centered Riding, and Centered Riding 2 Further Exploration. I hope that this review is helpful.



4. If you aren't a fan of Sally Swift's methods (analogies and metaphors) and the first book drove you to despair this second one is slightly better. There are some helpful texts and photos but she is still my least favourite writer. I simply find that I cannot learn from her teaching style and her descriptions do nothing to help me to understand what I must DO. Of course, AFTER I have learned something (on my own) I can often relate what I feel to what she describes but because I am unable to transfer her descriptions initially I am unable to LEARN to ride from her books.
   
   You MUST know your learning style before buying Sally Swift - if 'grow like a tree' doesn't help you with your riding, avoid her like the plague. If on the other hand you have the type of brain that responds well to these sorts of descriptions, dancers\actors etc who can understand what their bodies need to do in response to imagery - then buy her books and avoid the others who use more mechanistic descriptions.



5. Sally Swift proved to be an excellent teacher in her last book, and she maintains the title throughout the second edition. I find the illustrations and analogies to be excellent for my own use as well as teaching others. So many concepts are broken down and compared to every day events and mechanical workings that they are almost impossible to forget. Sally helps you understand the mechanincs of your own body as well as your horse's and helps us understand why our instructors tell us to do the things they do.

5 comments about Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: the Healthful Alternative.

1. If you are feeding or thinking of feeding a homemade diet (raw or otherwise), and you want to understand the scientific and nutritional basis for these diets, this is the book for you.
   
   Having read everything I could get my hands on about canine nutrition, raw diets and homemade diets, I was thrilled to find a book that explained the nutritional side of these diets. There are plenty of books that tell you what to do, but few delve into WHY.
   
   This is not a book of stories about animals' lives changed by a miracle diet. It is a fully referenced book about the nutritional needs of dogs and cats, including the digestability and availability of nutrients in different types of foods. The author explains how this information is used by dog food companies to formulate their foods and the shortcomings of commercial foods that result. The book has an in-depth discussion the needs of dogs and cats with various medical conditions, as well as babies and seniors.
   
   I have to admit that I have a background that made the nutritional information in the book easy to understand. I don't know how accessible some of the material would be for some readers. But even if you were to skim the technical information, you could get a lot out of this book.
   
   The author has his own diet that he designed using computer programs that nutritionally balance the diet. Personally, I feed a raw diet, not the diet the author recommends. But his diet makes sense. Actually, this book doesn't discuss raw feeding at all. But now I have the scientific validation that what I'm feeding is correct from a nutritional standpoint. I've also made a few changes in the diet and supplements I feed based on the information in this book. I found it very helpful, and it gave me peace of mind.



2. I'm surprised at the amount of complaining with the cat recipes. I found the recipes for both dog and cat to be plentiful, well written, and easy to follow. I also obtained bone meal in powder form, but is it really that difficult to read the bottle, it tells you how much to give. I have used this book since purchasing it in June 2007 and have never been happier. We were about to lose our dog to Protein Losing Enteropathy (PLE)even though she was on a bunch of stuff from the vet, and this book is what brought her back. My vet was so impressed with the book that they bought a copy for themselves. I found it easy to find the recipes I needed just by going to the index. I had no dissapointments with this book and have recommended it to several people with both dogs and cats.



3. I have several dogs, have been feeding them a raw meat diet for 2 years and have read many books on the subject. I wanted to make sure that I am including the correct nutrients so bought this book for the recipes. What a shame! All of the recipes in this book were variations of the same recipe: Cooked meat, bonemeal tablet and 1 multivitamin. Don't waste your time or money on this book. This is the first time I've ever sent a book back for a refund.



4. What a disappointment! I am really angry about the way this book misleads you into believing that the recipes are formulated to provide complete nutrition for dogs & cats with home-prepared FOOD. I am trying to find nutritionally well-balanced home-prepared dog food recipes and was really looking forward to finding them in this book. The book claims to provide "complete nutrition" recipes & does seem to give a lot of information about the nutritional needs of dogs & cats as a prelude to the "complete nutrition" recipes. On page 79 (Chapter 5: "Feeding a Normal Dog or Cat") the author states that "the following diets are all nutritionally balanced and complete." And on page 80, just before you get to the recipes, he writes: "When the diet cannot be balanced with natural foods to provide vitamin and mineral requirements, it is necessary to supplement with a vitamin-mineral preparation." HE THEN GOES ON TO INCLUDE A MULTIPLE VITAMIN-MINERAL SUPPLEMENT AS A NECESSARY INGREDIENT IN EVERY SINGLE RECIPE. THAT'S RIGHT: EVERY SINGLE RECIPE REQUIRES A VITAMIN-MINERAL SUPPLEMENT TO BE NUTRITIONALLY COMPLETE!!!!! In other words, NONE of the recipes are nutritionally balanced based on the food ingredients, they are totally dependent on vitamin supplements. What a ruse--BUYER BEWARE!



5. I was disappointed in this book. It uses very few ingredients, and just offers a number of variations on those ingredients. Also there is no explanation of why each ingredient has been chosen, which makes it difficult to substitute when necessary. I have a number of other pet-food books, and most of them are more useful.

5 comments about Don't Shoot the Dog!.

1. Please, tell me the author is not so uneducated that she doesn't know the difference between a reinforcer and a punishment! Holy Toledo! On page one she says, "A reinforcer is anything that, occurring in conjunction with an act, tends to increase the probability that the act will occur again." OK, so far, so good.
   
   But then she says on the same page, "A negative reinforcer is something the subject wants to avoid..." Uh, not true. You fail even my undergrad course on behavioral principles.
   
   A negative reinforcer is STILL A REINFORCER! It still increases the chance of said act recurring. Ms. Pryor has made the same stupid mistake of thinking that "negative reinforcer" is the same as "punishment." No, no, no!
   
   A negative reinforcer is taking away a noxious stimuli, not adding one. It's really a basic issue, and one that is SOOOOO misunderstood and wrongly stated in the popular press. The noxious sound of the buzzer ringing because you didn't put your seat belt on is ONLY a negative reinforcer if you find it reinforcing to have the sound stop. The stopping is the key, not the addition of the sound. We are talking + versus -, not a smiley face versus a frowny face. Please, correct this horrible error, Ms. Pryor!
   
   I haven't gotten all the way through the book, but what I was hoping to be a pleasant adjunct to a class certainly can't be used as one given the flat-out wrong information in it. It may be good for dog training (and I hope it is), but when you see such an egregious mistake on the first page of text, it doesn't bode well.



2. I've read the reviews on this book. The 1-star reviews all seem to come from either dog training companies who view it as competition, scientologists who reject the whole field of psychology, angry individuals who didn't read the product description, or individuals whose worldview is threatened by the idea that our behavior is influenced by external stimuli.
   
   "Don't Shoot the Dog" is the NAME of the book. It's not a dog training book. It's written for HUMANS. It's a book about the simple principles of operant conditioning which influence behavior. Pryor never makes any claims which are not strongly scientifically supported. She provides simple practical instruction for utilizing science to shape behavior. I recommend this book to so many people, I cannot count them. I do NOT recommend self-help books, as a rule. THIS however is solid science with solid evidence behind it being presented in an open, honest, and incredibly helpful way.
   
   If you want warm-fuzzy yet ultimately hollow language to make you believe you have a spiritual connection with your pets or that you really are accomplishing your goals for change by repeating them in your head fifty times a day while wearing knee-high socks, go for one of the fifty million "self-help" books out there.
   
   If you want actual scientifically supported methods for creating actual change, this book is for you.



3. After reading this book, I used the methods described to teach a very stubborn dog to sit, lay down and rollover in one afternoon. Easy to read, great examples, and applicable to human beings!



4. Many books show you methods of training and "how to" train an animal to do something. This book explains why those methods work, common pitfalls when training animals, and real world examples of training. Pryor created an invaluable resource for training animals from theory to practice in all animals.



5. Just what I was looking for! Not only helpful for dog owners but also for anyone interested in personal interactions with family, co-workers or friends in general!