1 comments about Think Like Your Horse.

1. This book provides an excellent introduction to natural horsemanship. It includes step-by-step instructions on how to start a horse, as well as how to solve some of the most common training problems (ie - trailering). All this while focusing on the horse's point of view, and how to develop a 50/50 partnership with your horse. This book is a fairly easy read, and includes several "case studies".

5 comments about The Toolbox for Remodeling Your Problem Dog.

1. I gained very little from reading this book. I'm sure it has helped others, but the solutions I tried weren't helpful in my dog's situation. I've had much better luck with other authors, specifically Sarah Hodgson.



2. This book gives some good training advice. For many problems, the author says to see a professional dog behaviorist. My dog was showing signs of mild aggression, and this book was not much help for my situation.

   "Good Owners, Great Dogs" by Brian Kilcommons and Sara Wilson addresses more problems and gives solutions that work.




3. The Toolbox for Remodeling Your Problem Dog is fun, reader-friendly, and is packed full of great information! Despite the book's title, your dog doesn't have to be a problem to benefit greatly from the training suggestions in this book. It also contains a wealth of behaviorial info and creative solutions rarely found in most other dog training books. Excellent for both puppies and mature dogs. I highly recommend it!



4. This book is describes gentle training techniques to work with difficult problems in dogs. The training takes time and work, no book can do the work for us. But you can feel more in control and see better behavior in your dog if you follow the author's instructions. We use this book with Jean Donaldson's Culture Clash and Dogs are from Neptune. They helped us more than any of the many books and classes we tried. We're still working with our very difficult puppy but we see improvement as a result of using the methods described in this book.



5. Terry Ryan is a true gem, and her book is as good as she is! *Toolbox* goes through a number of common behavior problems in dogs and offers proactive solutions for them. Management, desensitization, counter-conditioning, and teaching alternative behaviors are all covered. If you would like a *humane,* positive, proactive approach to dog problems, instead of a punishment-based one, this is the book for you! Ryan explains when a problem is too much for the owner and recommends, in those cases, that a professional trainer or behaviorist be consulted. But many behavior problems are easily remedied by the right approach, and this book gives you the tools you need.

1 comments about Orchids From Seed for Pennies.

1. I just wanted to say I got a copy of this and my sister and I tried it, not expecting much, as it is so cheap. We planted eight flasks and they are all growing. We also made a dessication jar for nothing but the cost of a little package of Damp-Rid that would cost $29.75 at the supply house, so that saved more than we paid for the book. I also found what I thought was a virus wasn't, and that the reason my Lc. Lorraine Shirai wouldn't bloom was because of light.

No comments about The Practical Encyclopedia of the Marine Aquarium.

2 comments about The Harris Hawk: Management, Training and Hunting.

1. A truly awful falconry book. The factual errors and errors of omission combined may actually make this a dangerous falconry book; and for one aimed at the beginner, this is a frank shame. My only regret greater than having purchased this book at a premium in the store (I buy every falconry title I see) is that so few volumes exist to compete with it. Somehow, this most excellent and widely-utilized falconry bird (the Harris' hawk) has yet to inspire a definitive treatise on its natural history and training. For much better treatment of the Harris' (though incomplete in each case), I recommend the works of Harry McElroy and Martin Hollinshead.



2. International Falconer magazine gave this book a rare poor review. Why would and American buy a book about and Training American hawk, written by a British falconer? The book contains a map of where Harris Hawks are supposed to live in the wild. He's way off. International Falconer says the author doesn't even train Harris Hawks. For a much better book try, Desert Hawking with a little help by Harry McElroy!

5 comments about King Solomon's Ring.

1. I read Lorenz's book when I was a boy and have never forgotten it, except now that reading it again I see that any number of the animal facts I would spout to people, giving Lorenz as my reference, are severe distortions of his positions. I would tell people, for example, that lambs and sheep are totally different species, and in citing Lorenz I now realize he said nothing of the sort. One of the great things about KING SOLOMON'S RING is how many species it treats. We also had to read an earlier book by Lorenz, in which he discussed only dogs and how to train them. Did you know that Konrad Lorenz was the first scientist to discover that in every pacxk of dogs (even in any pair of two dogs) one dog will be the so-called "alpha male," even when they are technically female? Lorenz was a scientist, a trained observer, but he also had a big heart and this spills out into his books.
   
   They are each of them veritable fountains of good writing and common sense, though sometimes he goes overboard in his enthusiasm.
   
   Some of the animals hje observed in his heyday are acting differently nowadays! I wonder if that is part of natural selection, or if they are being changed due to the ozone layer brteaking up and global warming. Even the patterns of birds' migrations are no longer the same, and they seem to be no longer travelling the immense distances we once thought they did (from Tierra del Fuego to the Maritimes, for example).
   
   In other ways, although dated, KSR remains one of Konrad Lorenz's great accomplishments. I remember meeting him around the time the United Nations honored him for his work with animals. He was a humble man with a witty grin, and the flourish of one who should have been an actor in the movies.



2. This book is true to Lorenz' style - humorous, intelligent, large hearted and adventurous. Besides being entertained, I came away with humility borne of the knowledge that human beings aren't truly supreme. Even the littlest fish exhibits interesting thought processes and overriding maternal extincts. One just has to look hard enough!



3. Confession - I'd never heard of Konrad Lorenz (even though he won the Nobel Prize in 1973), and I don't usually read books by Naturalists.

   I was driving between business meetings during the day, when I happened to tune in to BBC Radio 4 (same as National Public Radio in the USA), and by accident caught a book reading of Chapter 10 regarding Dogs. Then on another day I caught Chapter 11 on Birds. Captivated, I actually pulled over so that I could hear the whole chapter & find out what the book was and who the Author was.

   Then I ordered the book as a treat to myself for Christmas.

   Fantastic! With some abridging 'on the fly', this book could even be read to/by a younger audience say down to 8 years old, who would enjoy, laugh & cry at some of the stories contained herein.

   I wish my science teacher had read this to me when I was 8, rather than do some silly experiments with boring pond life (Chapter 2 would have taught me more about Pond Life)!




4. The last two pages of the book explain why the human species does not have time to evolve a method of conflict resolution. The wolf survives mortal combat by "turning the other cheek", a behavior developed over many, many years. Humans enter combat with weapons that are not a part of their anatomy so the evolution of one on one response is not available. A learned method of conflict resolution is necessary.



5. This book is an established classic. It's beloved by animal lovers the world over. Many of the observations therein are fascinating.

   And some of them are just plain hooey.

   Love it or hate it, you have to at least appreciate an author to dedicates himself so enthusiastically to anthropomorphizing animals to within a micrometer of their species' limits. The degree to which Lorenz interprets the intentions of his animals is positively breathtaking.

   It's an enormously fun read, but for your own sanity, take his conclusions with a small dose of caution.

5 comments about The Ultimate American Pit Bull Terrier (Howell Reference Books).

1. Unlike some reviews I have read. I am not going to criticize this author for what I think she doesn't know or what I think she should have wrote, or how she should have done this or that, or said this or that. To these people I say, when you write a book on the subject and have it published then you can run your mouth.
   
   This book is a must read. People need to know where these dogs come from and what they where bred to do. To fully understand this gladiator among dogs. I believe that to truly have a healthy respect and admiration for this breed you need to read a book like this and others like it, that go more into depth of the history, and such. This book is for light reading, in my opinion a brief introduction into the breed. As well as being filled with advice on training this breed, heath and nutritional needs of dogs in general. I recommend it for people who want to bring a Pit into their life and their home. As with every dog you should research before you get an animal of and type. These are not dogs for everyone. If you can't be a strong leader in the eyes of a lesser dog. Do not bother with a Pit.
   
   This book gives a good idea of what you will be dealing with. Simply put. A very strong, Terrier, which means he'd rather train you. After reading this book I looked at my bully much different and saw him in a new light. Never have I been afraid of him, but never have I had more admiration and respect for him. These dogs are not like the standard poodle next door that retrieved fowl from the water. Their job was to fight for their lives. One which they have excelled at. Every thing about them reflects this. They posses qualities no other dog can touch. No wonder they were chosen as mascot for the U.S. Marines.
   
   I know we can't all agree about whether or not detailed material on "blood sports" bull, bear baiting, and dog fighting should be included in books. Though the presence of this topic does not make the writer Pro- dog fighting. But the fact is, that is what these animals where bred for, it WAS there sole purpose. Dog fighting today is, YES, cruel and inhumane. It NO longer has its place in society. But it hasn't always been that way. It states in this book that in the 1500's Queen Elizabeth herself entertained guests at her court with bull and bear baiting. This is also something many people out there need to come to terms with. In order to have a firm grip on the nature, the personality, and the characteristics of this breed. I feel that this is all information that should be read. By people who are blessed with a bully and those who seek to be blessed, even people who think this breed is a monster. They all need to read these books. Simply by reading this material you can understand what is not an acceptable behavior for this breed. For example...Pit Bulls should not be people aggressive. If the breeders of fighting dogs wouldn't have one on their property that would show aggression toward a person, then why is that what people now expect from these animals. Simple. Stupid people are in possession of dogs with poor, unstable temperaments not necessarily with the intention of ever entering a dogfight are breeding them with dogs of the same quality. Thus producing dogs that shouldn't have been born in the first place. Crating these so-called media monsters.
   
   In conclusion this book brings a wealth of knowledge to the table of anyone willing to be enlightened on this famed, feared and dreadfully misunderstood canine survivor. I urge everyone to read books like this before you bring a Pit into your life. I also hope that instead of supporting the get rich breeders from our local newspapers, who are hurting this breed, consider rescuing one of these wonderful animals. For every 600 Pit Bulls in shelters every day only 1 will find a home. Please help heal the wounds humanity has inflicted on these canine saints.



2. Forget the B/W pictures! This is the real ultimate APBT book! if you have any questions about owning a pitbull, this book can answer them all. It also has brief history of pitbulls, not much but if you want a deep history, it won't be fit in just a chapter.
   A very useful book, you will open it again... and again... and again!



3. Do not, I repeat, do not purchase this book if you already own "An Owners Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet: The American Pit Bull Terrier" or "The Essntial Pit Bull" because you will find that you are only purchasing another edition (with a little bit more information added) of a book you already own. I opened up this book once in Barnes and Noble and was quite supprised to find that I was really reading another book I had sitting at home on my bookshelf!!

   However, if you do not own the two books I mentioned go ahead and buy this book. While it is not the best book written on Pit Bulls it is worth a read if you are not too interested in really diving into a deep understanding of the breed. This book is geared toward the pet owner who is more interested in learning how to take care of their dog.

   If you really want to bite into an education on American Pit Bull Terriers then read these books: "The Working Pit Bull" by Diane Jessup, "The Truth About The American Pit Bull Terrier" by Richard F. Straton, "The World of the American Pit Bull Terrier" by Richard F. Stratton, "The Book of the American Pit Bull Terrier" by Richard F. Stratton, "This is the American Pit Bull Terrier" by Richard F. Stratton, "Colby's Book of the American Pit Bull Terrier" by Louis B. Colby and Diane Jessup, "The American Pit Bull Terrier Handbook" by Joe Stahlkuppe, "Gladiator Dogs" by Dr. Carl Semencic, and "Fighting Dog Breeds" by Dr. Dieter Fleig




4. I was doing research about pit bull books and I came up with this one. I found it very useful. Very good info about the origins of the breed, tips on obedience training...and good photos. It has worked a lot for me since I'am a recently pit bull owner. This book was just what I was looking for. I recommend it.



5. The book does a pretty good job describing the temperment of the breed w/o portraying the dog as an angel, which many of the other books I've seen seem to do. Has some breed-specific training advice as well, not just basic training for someone who's never owned a dog before.

1 comments about The Versatile Border Collie.

1. This book was really helpful on understanding my dog, I aqcuired it when my dog was 2 months old. he is now 5 and I've been able to housbreak him and give him some basic training commands succesfully. Besides, this is an excelent guide on grooming and feeding this breed, I honestly recomend it.
   Enrique Carcaño
   Mexico City

2 comments about Walking With Zeke.

1. (This review first appeared on [...].)
   
   Chris Clarke calls "Walking with Zeke" an edited compilation of "several years of writing about my best friend's life and death." It's pretty safe to say that "Walking with Zeke" is the best self-published book of the year, and the best "book that grew from a blog" of all time. Lifted straight from the author's acclaimed Creek Running North web log (blog seems too coarse a word for the fine writing he's done here) with only a little reworking, it's surprising how well the story coheres, told in the original journal entry format.
   
   This is a great animal book, but also much more than an animal book. It's filled with the author's love for his companion, deft characterizations of Zeke, and moving accounts of the author's near-heroic efforts to care for him until the end. As an old writing instructor once said, "If you're not risking sentimentality, you're not even in the ballpark." Treading on inherently sentimental ground, Clarke rises above sentimentality to deliver honest and often gripping emotion.
   
   But beyond the central core of Zeke's story, this is also a book filled with careful observations of nature in the author's Bay Area community of Pinole, in the Sierra, in the Mojave, and elsewhere. There are also odd moments of humor, fascinating meditations on the convergent evolution of humans and dogs, and thoughts on the intersection of wild and tamed nature.
   
   Walking with Zeke achieves what all good nature writing should: it reminds us simply to pay attention.



2. Potential readers may hold two reservations. How could the last years of a dog, no matter how cherished, fail to seem slight in comparison to Chris Clarke's masterful nature essays at Creek Running North? How could material initially contained in blog posts be ordered or shaped?
   
   I believe that you will find both concerns unfounded, and love this book, unalloyed.
   
   I.
   
   First (and perhaps shockingly): this is not a dog book. Rather, Clarke has written a memoir on his enmeshment, his overlapping boundaries with the natural world. Clarke himself admits only that he writes "about wildlife, family, paleontology and Zeke through the lens of how I feel about my relationship with myself." I would submit that Zeke is not truly a subject at all, but rather a joint-venturer and co-author. His royalties, one presumes, were paid in advance, in filet tender.
   
   Clarke (with Zeke) walks through landscapes -- the Bay Area, the Mojave, Northern New York State -- with an unmatched ability to inhabit the growing and the breathing, the fossil and its stone. His writing is umami, and so triggers those newly-discovered receptors. The reader tastes the savory, the yum.
   
   There are the careful observations, which you want to carry away and sleep with, as Freda the rat does with dollar bills from Clarke's wallet. After a Christmas tree is sacrificed, "[t]he shredder smells of conifer sachet." A fire in the Oakland Hills spews "[l]ive embers the size of chickpeas." Soaproot leaves are "frozen splashes around imagined points of impact." Gardening on a hill of diatomite (fossil Miocene plankton) is like "walking on very stale halvah."
   
   There are the pervasive seams of esoteric knowledge: botany, gardening, corvid behaviors, paleontology, geology. Clarke displays the world's workings: the mechanism of cholla barbs; co-evolution of dogs and humans; how soaproot's saponin-filled leaves suggest assignment to the Agave family; Mayan legends of the coyote; the altitudinal range of the Joshua Tree. Clarke obviously loves the physical world with his head as well as his heart. Each detail flows seamlessly from the narrative, yet lends weight and authority.
   
   There is throughout, one must note, a witty, inimitable authorial voice for which Zeke is blameless. A vet suggests opiates for pain. The author fears that Zeke will write "senseless dream fever poetry," and riffs a "Kibble Khan" Coleridge parody. Clarke finds a tail shed by a Western Fence lizard, likely under feline duress. He uses it to boost the growth of a potted cactus, in hopes that the plant someday will fall on a cat and effect "the revenge of the tail." Musing on a Buddhist approach to environmental protection, Clarke opines: "I want no part of any enlightenment posited on the nonexistence of bird song, of capsicum, of salt water or libido or tooth enamel."
   
   Do we hear Clarke speak about his dog? Absolutely, his book sings just as he sang to Zeke on every walk: "[n]onsense, mainly, about the squirrels as we walk past them or about his bad breath or dirty feet or general fuzziness". But Zeke is but one strand of Clarke's braided love of the physical world. On hands and knees in January, Clarke grazes the miner's lettuce of the California hills: it "tastes like home, and spinach."
   
   II.
   
   We also read, of course, of Zeke's decline and Clarke's grief. At book's end, Zeke's world is his bed; the author's world-gaze is similarly blindered. This is exactly where Clarke made an unerring decision: to maintain blog-post order.
   
   The posts themselves had not been journal snippets, but rather had knit past, present and future. Posts meditated on memories, current events and anticipation of loss-- "[a] long life is a landscape of holes where things once grew." Clarke marries these layers of the human temporal with observations on geologic time. The result is a deep earth perspective of aging, death and grief.
   
   This perspective wrings out tears and self-pity, and instead impresses a dry but detailed story into the land. The sorrows of life on earth are the earth. Passages like this preserve our brief human lives, and the even shorter lives of the dogs who leave us behind:
   
   "Green serpentine from the earth's mantle, sand laid down on the bed of a Miocene sea, shale made of silt washed down from the Sierra, diatomite from a deep trench off Monterey: all mix as pebbles in the bed of Pinole Creek. All of them will wash out to the bay, eventually. A gravel delta runs fifty yards out from the creek mouth now. It was not there last year. At quarter to three tomorrow morning, the tide will wash over it again."

2 comments about English Cocker Spaniel (Comprehensive Owner's Guide) (Comprehensive Owner's Guide).

1. This book is so much better than many of the other breed books out there that offer nothing but basic knowledge filler. I was skeptical about buying it, but figured what the heck. It's worth the money and has lots of good information in it.



2. This book was a true insight for us into the life of a cocker spaniel, how to train them, live with them, feed them, groom them, walk them and treat them as one of the family. It was invaluable.