5 comments about Discus As a Hobby: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started (Save-Our-Planet Book).

1. I didn't care for this book and here's why. The author's coverage is much too superficial to be really useful for getting started in this hobby. You certainly need more than what is in this book, yet the very misleading title states it has "everything you need to know".

   The book is heavy on photos and light on details. The author isn't shy about giving his opinions which would be good, but unfortunately he doesn't always say why. At one point he states that under-gravel filters are bad, but tells us since much has been written about them the reader can find out why elsewhere. True enough, but excuse me, why am I bothering with this book? It is supposed to have "everything you need to know" isn't it?

   The fact is there is nothing in this book that can't be found in better detail, and free, by doing an internet search of various Discus related web sites. However, I do recommend a much better book, "Discuss Fish" by T. Giovanetti which has much more information, and better, detailed explanations.

   Overall score: Thumbs way down.




2. The purpose of this book is to aid the beginning discus hobbiest. It does this well by providing all of the basics to start anyone down the right path to keep discus. For the more advanced hobbiest it doesn't offer as much, but that wasn't the purpose of this volume.



3. I have owned this book for several years. I also own several "coffee-table" sized books on Discus. But this is the book I find myself referring to most for information on how to keep my Discus healthy. The author's practical, no-nonsense style is informative, and very easy to read. It is a bargain, considering all the good tips and advice contained within. Highly recommended for beginning to intermediate-level aquarists who want to raise "The King of the Aquarium".



4. I found that the book had real information that you can apply when getting started in the hobby. I find myself going back to the book time and time again finding small bits of useful techniques that I missed reading it the first time. I have found that if you apply the advice given in the book you will get off to a great start with the fish and have many years of enjoyment to look foward too. For such a small book it is packed with excellent advice that other books overlook and just want to show you photos of fish. This book really tells you how to do things. This is book is a must read to add to your collection.



5. The man has forgotten more than the rest of us will ever know.

2 comments about Beagles: An Owner's Survival Guide (Benchmark Series Book).

1. excellent review of tips and techniques for training beagles and understanding what motivates and curbs beagle behavior



2. The Beagle: An Owner's Survival Guide by Diane Morgan is a detailed and comprehensive guide to just about everything anyone would want to know about the widely beloved breed of faithful dog known as the beagle. From picking a beagle for one's home, to house training, feeding, and grooming, to correcting misbehavior, to protecting your pet from sickness and parasites, and so much more, The Beagle: An Owner's Survival Guide is written expressly and specifically for pet owners everywhere who just want to enjoy having and caring for a beagle of their own. The Beagle is a superb canine companion reference for any family with a beagle.

No comments about The History Of Retrievers (A Vintage Dog Books Breed Classic - Labrador - Flat-Coated Retriever - Golden Retriever).

5 comments about SimplyDog: Life Lessons That Bark.

1. I normally wouldn't have bought this, since I'm trying to *gasp* cut back on my book purchases (being a college student will do that to a person, sadly). Found it in the dollar bin at my local Petco, and am glad that I did. The way that little life tips are presented, and all the fun pictures...the way that Reh seems to like to stick her face right into the camera is fun!



2. Forget about Oh the Places You'll Go for a graduation gift. Reh has all the wisdom for college or high school grads and delivers it perfectly. I bought three copies....2 as college grad gifts and I needed one for myself to keep me sane and grounded! Reh rules!



3. This book is excellent! I gave copies as gifts to my sisters and they loved them. Offers a great perspective on life in a light, humorous and furry way.I would recommend this to everyone. Reh is adorable!



4. What a great idea! Really smart and funny! Buy it if you have a dog and think they have their own personality. Also if you just want a really insightful book on life.



5. I saw this book in this month's Glamour and just about died when I looked through it at Borders. I bought it for my Mom for Mother's Day, and my friend who is going through a hard time right now. This is a really funny book (like all the SimplyShe books), but it's also really insightful. If you're a dog lover, you must get this- we all know how much dogs de-stress our lives, but if we all thought like them too- we'd all be happy, all the time! This book is really is adorable, and a really great gift.

3 comments about The Koehler Method of Training Tracking Dogs.

1. It's a specific exercise that's fun to train and fun to do ; and based on Koehler's forced fetch, in the Open Obedience book. If you haven't trained that way, probably you won't get anywhere with this book.
   
   It works. You get a dog that will start on a track and stay on it, even if it's crossed by more interesting scents ; and take it as engaging work.
   
   That said, I think Koehler didn't actually try running the exercises he gives, which are well out of the range of real possibility, time-wise. I don't think anybody could follow them out for long after the first few exercises.
   
   However, with the forced fetch approach taught at the beginning, you can easily extend the tracks with the same correction principle on your own, and it works on your Koehler-trained dog.
   
   I always recommend two essays from Vicki Hearne's ``Adam's Task,'' the chapters on Washoe and How To Say Fetch, for an understanding of Koehler and what he's achieving. If what she writes makes sense to you, you can use Koehler. If not, look elsewhere. You'll certainly misunderstand him.
   
   Worked for my three Dobermans.



2. I can't speak to the usefulness of this book for training dogs for tracking competition, and will leave it for those who have experience in that sport.
   
   I urge those who are interested in training for search and rescue to look elsewhere. The techniques in this book will not produce a dog who can do the job of SAR. Airscent work is not covered, and the foundational skill of a real trailing dog -- individual scent discrimination -- is not covered.
   
   This would be fine -- it's perfectly okay to write a book on the stylized form of tracking done in competion -- but the author explicitly claims otherwise, and the cover photos and an entire chapter dramatize "the real thing" in a very unreal manner.
   
   I am not one of those people who get together to burn Koehler's obedience training books every Saturday night. But this one is not for search and rescue responders or police canine officers.
   
   I recommend the American Rescue Dog Association's book Search and Rescue Dogs: Training Methods for beginners. For those specifically interested in SAR trailing, consider Lue Button's Practical Scent Dog Training. Note that Amazon has her listed as "Lou" Button, but her name is LUE.



3. Koehler method's are appropriate for dogs who are tough and forgiving. For dogs who are soft or unforgiving of aggressive methods (such as Doberman Pinschers, Border Collies and many other breeds) softer methods must be used for satisfactory results. This book is good to understand tracking theory but many may prefer to use another method to actually train their dog.

1 comments about Mediterranean Tortoises.

1. I got this 94 page highly illustrated book at a pet store 6 months ago. We have two Russian tortoises and wanted to breed them. The book is a bible full of information related to all aspects of this. The diet was very helpful for us, as we have two VERY healthy eaters! I found that the hobby of keeping these pets to be very enjoyable and educational.

5 comments about Persian Cats.

1. I liked the box, was in good condition, and found the book informative and answered several questions which was my reason for purchasing the book. I was very well satisfied with the book and the quality of the product. Would purchase with that company again.



2. This book covers ALL cats in general, it's not specific enough for Persians.
   Dissappointing.



3. The photos inside are very nice but it doesn't represent the standart of persian cat. Here in Brazil the Persian cat is very diferent. Persian's face (principally Persian's nose) is much more different than it is showing in this book.



4. This book is a good book for its size that does covers the basics that you need to know.Shows many variations of the Persians.For me personally finding a book that shows the blue eyed Chinchilla was a bonus.Plenty of colour photos throughout.
   
   If you are thinking of buying a Persian Cat this book will be a good start.Plenty of information here.For its size the book has a lot going for it.The photos are a treat,You're gonna love the photos in this book! This book has a lot to offer and is good value.Overall,a good quality book.
   
   I would suggest that this book be your first book on Persians then consider books on how to look after your kitten(s) and even the Cat encyclopedia type books after.



5. I had recently got the cutest little Persian Kitten. As a new cat owner I purchased this book to get information specific to the breed. Outside a few pages of breed information, history and pictures, everything else was just general cat information. I would have expected more on breed care, grooming, and health concerns.

1 comments about Doggy Desserts: Homemade Treats for Happy, Healthy Dogs.

1. I tried numerous recipes from this book and most of them were not appealing to me or the dogs. The carob balls were messy and difficult to work with and the dogs wouldn't eat them. Some of the other doughs were dry and/or hard to work with. The peanut butter oatmeal cookies were good. And the walnut biscotti was good. It just wasn't worth buying the whole book for two recipes. I wouldn't recommend it.

5 comments about The Dog Encyclopedia.

1. This books shows how much the writer knows about dogs! She must be an extremely smart person to know so much about dogs! I am truly impressed! However, I know how some people say that there were a ton of mistakes in this book that I personally would never ever notice unless someone were to tell me. I just can't believe how much some people loathe minor mistakes in such fantastic books. But, in my opinion, this is the most helpful dog book ever! Who cares about a few mistakes that are hard to notice! I am extremely exurberent and can notice a lot of tiny things, but have never noticed any mistakes in this grand book! This does not mean that the writer is not smart. Who would ever say something as stupid as that!



2. I was extremely disappointed after reading this book. At least I didn't buy it, though. I seriously think that the author/s know very little about dogs. There were numerous spelling errors, which don't bother many people, but it does bother me. For instance, 'Bergamasco' was spelled 'Bergamsco' which is a bit unprofessional if you ask me. Another thing that I was *shocked* to see was that they made the mistake of calling a rough collie a 'Long-haired border collie', which is a pretty hard mistake to make if you know anything about dogs. After seeing that, I shut the book immediately and just assumed that the author had no idea what she was doing when she wrote a book about dogs. To sum it all up, I was disgusted with this book.



3. I recently purchased the dog encyclopedia. When I began to read through the pages, I noticed that it contained many more dog breeds than any other Dog Encyclopedia that I currently own or have ever looked at. Many other dog encyclopedias only contain dog breeds that are currently in the AKC. This book has many more breeds then those just in the AKC. I was impressed by the number of breeds. There were a few drawbacks from this encyclopedia. One was that the pictures werent of a very high quality. That might not matter to some readers, but kids like me enjoy looking at the pictures. I thought the dogs could have been photographed with a better camera. Some of the photos appeared fuzzy and unfocused. I also noticed that I got bored while reading about each breed. The book does a very good job informing people on different breeds, but it is strictly information. DONT PUCRHASE THIS BOOK IF YOU DONT WANT TO LEARN ABOUT DOGS!! cause that is all you will get out of it. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book, seeing as my purpose was to learn about dogs. I give this book 4 stars and reccommend it to people interested about dogs and the many breeds.:)



4. We have had the book since July 2001 ... its reasonably informative but lacks in the `keeping the reader interested' department.

   Physically, the book is well bound with reasonable paper quality.
   The author's stated intention was to produce a book, which assists readers in the selection of suitable dogs, and the book is adequate as such. It lists a fairly large number of breeds, including some breeds not recognised by the AKC. Each breed is described generally, with details on temperament, training and exercise requirements.

   Although the book achieves its primary purpose, it does so in a rather pedantic manner, making for dry reading. The layout and language comes across as rigid and repetitive. Some of the colour printing lacks sharpness and falls short of many other breed books. Certainly many of the photographs could have been better taken, and some breeds better represented in visual form. One is left with the feeling that many photographs were inserted as an afterthought, rather than as part of an overall design.

   While one ought not to select a dog simply because of its looks - good images, well presented in a breed book will always be appreciated. Also, for some reason, the average life spans of the breeds are not provided.

   The book's strength comes from (a) its convenient size, and (b) the fact that it includes several breeds more commonly found in Europe, which do not commonly appear in other breed books (for example: Central & Eastern European Hounds & Herding breeds).
   But otherwise, there are more lively and well-designed breed books around.

   Closer to 3 and a half stars than 4 stars ...




5. A fantastic, complete, and informative reveiw of dogs and breeds. I recommend it to anyone in the market for just about any dog.

2 comments about The Great American Bear.

1. I'm the author of Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide to Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters, and there aren't many books about bears I can recommend, but this is one of them. It doesn't portray black bears as demons or Disneyland characters. It's 100% accurate and the writing is top notch: very engaging. If you can only buy one book about black bears, this is it. If you can buy two books, add A Shadow In The Forest: Idaho's Black Bears, by two Idaho biologists.



2. Granted, this is not the type of book one would normally 'just happen upon'. However, if you are looking specifically for information on "Ursus Americanus", the American Black Bear, this is the one you want. I have been involved in black bear research for over 10 years. This is the most detailed, well photographed, and up to date book I have found. Did I mention it is also enjoyable to read?! The combined effort of the researcher and author resulted in an excellent book. While reading this book, you'll come to learn the behavior, life cycles, lauguage and habitat of the black bear. Take advantage of others' years of experience, and photography; take their knowledge. You'll come away with a complete understanding of black bears that you will not get from any other resource