1 comments about Dog People: What We Love About Our Dogs - Writers and Artists on Canine Companionship.

1. Any dog lover would enjoy this book. It is a treasure trove of masterfully crafted stories. There is very little sentimental sappiness, the collection focusing mainly on the ways dogs enhance the lives of humans. I applaud this book and hope to see more of the same caliber!

4 comments about Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Today (Book of the Breed).

1. This is an excellent book on the breed! Do not waste your money on any of the big company books that offer multiple breed titles, they have very limited information. If you are truly interested in learning about the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, this is the book for you!



2. Unsurpassed information on the CKCS--all cav lovers must read this book!!



3. This book is full of great advice for anyone from a novice Cav. owner to serious exhibitor and breeder. Beautifully illustrated with an excellent chapter on grooming with progressive photos.



4. Outstanding book. Excellent pictures and good information on nearly all aspects of the Cavalier. The best I've seen on this breed. I'm impressed.

2 comments about The Bulldog: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.

1. I am definetly not a Bulldog fan. I HATE them! But I am making a dog website and I looked at all the books in our library and tried to find one with new breeds in it. I saw that this book contained the ancestor of the mastiff-bulldog breeds! That was cool! What I have to say about the actual book is that in the first part is that it talks about the dogs, and then talks about health and care and things like that, and then it goes onto plain dogs. I give this a four because of these opposing properties.



2. I read this cover to cover in one sitting. This text has some pertinent and practical bulldog facts and care tips, but the problem is that the majority of this book is not Bulldog-specific! A huge chunk is about the care and health of ANY dog. Very readable but disappointing in its lack of specificity.

2 comments about Crested Geckos (Complete Herp Care).

1. If you really want the scoop on crested geckos, this is not the book. The basic information on husbandry is pretty good, but there is some misinformation here as well. In the section on feeding, the author states that there is no complete commercial diet for this species--not true: there is an excellent meal replacement powder sold by T-Rex that is nutritionally complete and eliminates the need to feed live insects. It was developed by Allen Repashy, the largest breeder of crested geckos in the country, and widely used by hobbyists. The best book on crested geckos I've encountered is "Rhacodactylus: The Complete Guide to their Selection and Care" by Philippe De Vosjoli, Allen Repashy, and Frank Fast. That is the book that will reliably answer all your questions about this and similar species.



2. this would have to be the best crested gecko book out there i have 3 other books on the crested and by far this one is the best

4 comments about How to Massage Your Dog.

1. I agree with the other reviewers that the pictures in this book are good, but they are probably the highlight in a very basic and intuitive book that provides very little information. I happen to be a licensed massage therapist, so I may be a little hard when it comes to critiquing this book, but the book suggests using OIL to massage your dog! I can't imagine my dogs enjoying that, plus they have plenty of oil on their coats that you shouldn't need that. I would not reccommend this book because you can basically figure out most of these techniques on your own. Take a lot at other books that are published on the subject. It's not worth the money or the money to ship.



2. This book isn't meant as an in-depth guide to massaging your dog, but provides humor with some simple techniques. The couple of techniques I've tried on my dogs seem to meet with their approval :-). It's a great method of spending more time with your dogs and they definitely get something out of it.

   Want something fun and simple for you and the dog? Get this book - they'll be glad you did.




3. An amusing little book that is useful in helping the loving dog owner give and receive physical relaxation from their pet. It isn't a medical or chiropractic guide to the canine but rather has humorous cartoons and three simple techniques to get started in massaging your dog. A conversation starter and an interesting inexpensive gift for the Holidays. Origins stores are featuring this @ list price with dog biscuits as a Christmas gift.



4. I was severely disappointed with book. It has entertaining cartoons, with virtually no usable information for individuals wishing to take the subject seriously, or even just wishing to get good basic info on canine massage.

2 comments about Dog Miracles: Inspirational and Heroic True Stories.

1. So I haven't read this whole book and based on what I have read I doubt I ever will. I read the two stories in the available exerpt and find them rather lacking. Before you get the wrong idea I want to emphasize that I love animals, particularly dogs, and I know they do plenty of amazing and heroic things. Based on the two stories I read, however, this book is only going to impress people who have never read a story about an animal doing something remotely heroic before.
   
   One of these stories involved a dog saving its owner from a fire and giving its life to try to save a litter of puppies as well. Okay, that's pretty heroic, but it's also par for the course when it comes to heroic dog stories. I'm so used to the idea that dogs sometimes save their owners from burning buildings and stuff like that. They're wonderful, but this particular story is a little too familiar to feel like a miracle to me. What made it even worse for me is that the dog dies trying to save the puppies and they don't even survive in the end! So sad! Now I wish I hadn't read it at all! Even if you consider the overall event a miracle it just isn't a very good story unless you've really never heard of a dog doing something like this before.
   
   And then there's the other one. At least the dog with the fire did something brave and self-sacrificing that went against its normal behavior. In the second story I read a woman basically has some trouble with her electric wheelchair and falls out of it. She has a bit of a fright (as can be expected when you fall), but she's not hurt. Now this takes place in her home. She's on her floor, not a busy highway. Her legs don't work, but the rest of her body is perfectly healthy. Basically the "miracle" in this story is that when she tells her service dog to go find her cell phone, he finds it for her. Incidentally this is exactly what he's been trained to do. Then she uses her cell phone to call 911 and have the firemen break into the house and put her back in her chair. Wow. That dog's a freakin' hero alright.
   
   Yes, I know I sound terribly cynical, but the point is that these are supposed to be incredibly heroic, miraculous stories and if these two accurately represent the quality of the rest of them then this particular book isn't worth the money. If the woman was in actual danger that might make it a little more noteworthy. If the dog handn't been specifically trained to get things for her and wasn't already used to fetching her cell phone that would have also been a little more impressive. If the woman lived alone and was physically incapable of getting back to her wheelchair without other people to help her there would have been still more justification for this being a "miracle", but no. What this story boils down to is that a woman had a little scare, but was uninjured, and her service dog did what it was there to do and fetched her the phone which she used to call the fire department away from other, possibly life-threatening situations, to sit her back in her chair and save her from the inconvenience of having to drag herself to her chair, or even, heaven forbid, just into a sitting position where, if she couldn't get to her chair, she might actually be forced to endure an hour or two of boredom (or, as an optimist might call it, "an opportunity for quiet reflection") before her sister (who was out for the afternoon, not vacationing in Nova Scotia) got home and could help her back to her chair. OH THE HUMANITY! That would have been almost as bad as the time I got locked out of my house for a few hours! Except she was safe and warm and had a loving animal for company and I was out in the cold alone with nothing to do. That poor woman, I'm glad the fire men were able to take time out of their busy day of saving lives to rescue her from a minor inconvenience. It's so lucky the dog was willing to traverse those dangerous hallways and do the same thing it does many times every day. Surely you can see what I'm talking about here?
   
   So yes, maybe the rest of the stories are fabulous and the first two are just duds. Normally I wouldn't write a review if I hadn't read the whole book, but the only review that's been written so far was so contrary to my impression I wanted to offer a dissenting view.



2. Brad and Sherry have done it again. This book is an amazing and heartwarmiing book that will leave you with a greater appreciation for our dogs. Thank you for writing such an amazing series of books. Excellent job. Keep them coming.

3 comments about Oscars.

1. This book is awesome at desribing how oscars re-act to people, what they eat and their quirky personalities. It's a must if you are thinking about buying oscars.



2. This is a short, easy put together reference for the beginning Oscar hobbist. Not too much info, but enough not to overwhelm. Would be a good starting book for younger people.



3. The information in this book is useful for the novice, new Oscar owner, or someone thinking about purchasing an Oscar. If you already know what you are doing, you'll find this book to be a sleeper. It covers the basics including feeding, breeding, equipment, and housing for the Oscar. Though it's written in a clear manner, the author has a problem with throwing in his personal opinions into the text which I found to be very annoying. The color photos aren't the best but do their job.

4 comments about Dressage: A Study of the Fine Points of Riding.

1. I bought this book back in the 70's and had immediate success in apply Mr. Wynmalen's techniques with my off the track Thoroughbred. This book shows that caring about the horse is not something new. Dressage: A Study of the Fine Points of Riding is a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't want their horse to be miserable - and who wants a horse who is light, responsive, and a pleasure to ride.



2. I bought the hardback version of this book in the 1950's and it has been the one I have used most ever since. Dressage itself is a useful training method for all disciplines. Wynmalen makes the "how-to" clear to those of us who do not have access to a teacher. In the 1950's I didn't even have access to videos to show how the exercises were supposed to look and feel when done right, yet the book made almost everything clear -- about the only thing I didn't understand from the book alone was the half-halt. Wynmalen's irreplaceable contribution is in the respect he shows the horse, which leads to understanding. His focus is on better communication and performance, not show success (although he had that too). A gentle, understanding, master at work. Other favorites of mine are The Schooling of the Western Horse, by John Richard Young, and the works of Mark Rashid -- start with A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color. The Rashid works are for those who know the basic cues, since he doesn't cover that.



3. This book....what can I say? It literally is the best book written on riding I have yet come across. Ironic, isn't it, that I am not an English rider, but a Western rider and still found this book to be of great help. Yes, help. It describes in graphic detail what you should really understand before even thinking about mounting a horse, plus tips and guidelines on what you should know when you do mount a horse.

   I really did find this book invaluable. I have owned it for years and I'm still learning from it. I find it absolutely great for references.

   I would highly recommend this book to anyone who rides horses, and to those who don't, just so they can truly understand the significance of horse intelligence and human/horse companionship.




4. This book is remarkable in that the author always puts the horse first. Written in 1952 the author is thoroughly modern in stressing the establishment of a dialogue with the horse. Bear with the language of the early 1900s and be enlightened!

No comments about Gray-Banded Kingsnakes: Identification, Care and Breeding (Herpetology Series).

1 comments about Pot Bellied Pigs in Your Home.

1. I enjoyed this book very much and learned things that I can apply to the training and up-keep of my porcine friend. My family is adjusting to him and his somewhat unusual actions due to the pertinant information we recieved from the book.