Inspiring Resilience in Fearful and Reactive Dogs


Sally Gutteridge - 2018
     Written by a long-term dog behaviour specialist and founder of Canine Principles, canine education provider, this book will provide all the understanding you need. You will learn: What your dog is trying to tell you. How to communicate in a way that you both understand. How to ensure you are fully meeting your dog’s needs. Why your dog acts up and why he can’t help it. Why walking your dog might not be the best choice. How your dog sees the world. Why your dog barks at things. Which things scare your dog. Brain work to relax your dog. How to assess your dog’s personality. How your dog’s brain stores information. Why your dog makes bad choices and how to change those choices for better ones. How dogs experience stress and what we can do to help them. Whether your dog is an introvert or extrovert and how that affects his behaviour. How to change a negative bias to a positive one. Simple solutions to make your dog feel secure. How to teach self-belief and confidence. And much, much more. Whether you are a desperate dog guardian or a professional canine coach looking to expand your training toolkit, this book is an invaluable addition to your bookshelf.

Total Recall: Perfect Response Training for Puppies and Adult Dogs


Pippa Mattinson - 2012
    Focuses on the single most important obedience command, how to build up a reliable recall successfully, using effective and positive training techniques.Total Recall is a detailed guide and reference to canine behaviour and training that will fascinate dog owners in the UK and abroad.

Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior Evolution


Raymond Coppinger - 2001
    Drawing on insight gleaned from forty-five years of raising, training, and studying the behaviors of dogs worldwide, Lorna and Raymond Coppinger explore the fascinating processes by which dog breeds have evolved into their unique shapes and behaviors. Concentrating on five types of dogs -- modern household dogs, village dogs, livestock-guarding dogs, sled dogs, and herding dogs -- the Coppingers, internationally recognized canine ethologists and consummate dog lovers, examine our canine companions from a unique biological viewpoint. "Dogs" clearly points the way for dog lovers, dog therapists, veterinarians, and all others who deal with dogs to understand their animals from a fresh perspective.How did the domestic dog become a distinct species from the wolf? Why do different breeds behave differently? Most important, how can we improve the relationship between humans and dogs?The authors show how dogs' different abilities depend upon the confluence of their nature and nurture -- that both genetics and the environment play equally key roles. They also reveal that many people inadvertently harm their canine companions because they fail to understand dogs' biological needs and dispositions."Dogs" is a highly readable biological approach by noted researchers that provides a wealth of new information about the interaction of nature and nurture, and demonstrates how unique dog behavior is in the animal world.

Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy


Zazie Todd - 2020
    Acclaimed blogger Zazie Todd distills the latest canine science and shares recommendations from leading veterinarians, researchers, and trainers to cultivate a rewarding and respectful relationship with your dog—which offers many benefits for you, your family, and your four-legged friend.

Being a Dog: Following the Dog Into a World of Smell


Alexandra Horowitz - 2016
    In fact, what every dog—the tracking dog, of course, but also the dog lying next to you, snoring, on the couch—knows about the world comes mostly through his nose. In Being a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz, a research scientist in the field of dog cognition and the author of the runaway bestseller Inside of a Dog, unpacks the mystery of a dog’s worldview as has never been done before. With her family dogs, Finnegan and Upton, leading the way, Horowitz sets off on a quest to make sense of scents, combining a personal journey of smelling with a tour through the cutting edge and improbable science behind the olfactory powers of the dog. From revealing the spectacular biology of the dog snout, to speaking to other cognitive researchers and smell experts across the country, to visiting detection-dog training centers and even attempting to smell-train her own nose, Horowitz covers the topic of noses—both canine and human—from surprising, novel, and always fascinating angles. As we come to understand how complex the world around us appears to the canine nose, Horowitz changes our perspective on dogs forever. Readers will finish this book feeling that they have smelled into a fourth dimension—breaking free of human constraints and understanding smell as never before; that they have, however fleetingly, been a dog.

My Smart Puppy (TM): Fun, Effective, and Easy Puppy Training


Brian Kilcommons - 2006
    And it's far simpler than people think.With the intuitive and step-by-step methods included in this invaluable book from experts Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, including tips on how to deal with every kind of personality, puppies can be trained quickly and painlessly.With humor, time-tested advice, and an arsenal of tricks, My Smart Puppy teaches new dog owners everything they need to know to raise a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog.

The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior


Bruce Fogle - 1990
    It is well-written, with snatches of dry humour. It should be mandatory reading for anybody who keeps a dog or has intentions of so doing." -R. W. F. Poole, Daily TelegraphHow do dogs perceive the world about them? How do they see, hear, learn, relate to their owners? How large are their brains, what is their emotional makeup? Why do they suffer from stress and how can it be coped with? Over the last few years a substantial body of knowledge has been built up about the psychology of dog behavior. Combining more than twenty years of practical experience as a veterinary clinician with a personal knowledge and understanding of the latest international research, Dr. Bruce Fogle has written the most inclusive and relevant book on how the canine mind works.

The Dog Merchants: Inside the Big Business of Breeders, Pet Stores, and Rescuers


Kim Kavin - 2016
    Kavin reveals how dog merchants create markets for dogs, often in defiance of the usual rules of supply and demand. She takes an investigative approach and meets breeders and rescuers at all levels, shedding much-needed light on an industry that most people don't even realize is an industry.Kavin’s goal is to advance the conversation about how all dogs are treated, from puppy mills to high-kill shelters. She shows that a great deal can be improved by understanding the business practices behind selling dogs of all kinds. Instead of pitting rescue and purebred people against each other, The Dog Merchants shows how all dog lovers can come together with one voice as consumers, on behalf of all our beloved companions.

The Secret History of Kindness: Learning from How Dogs Learn


Melissa Holbrook Pierson - 2015
    Stunned after hiring a trainer whose immediate rapport with Mercy seemed magical, Pierson began delving into the techniques of positive reinforcement. She made her way to B. F. Skinner, the behavioral psychologist who started it all, the man who could train a pigeon to dance in minutes and whose research on how behavior is acquired has ramifications for military dolphin trainers, athletes, dancers, and, as he originally conceived, society at large.To learn more, Pierson met with a host of fascinating animal behaviorists, going behind the scenes to witness the relationships between trainers and animals at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and to the in-depth seminars at a Clicker Expo where all the dogs but hers seemed to be learning new tricks. The often startling story of what became of a pathbreaking scientist’s work is interwoven with a more personal tale of how to understand the foreign species with whom we are privileged to live.Pierson draws surprising connections in her exploration of how kindness works to motivate all animals, including the human one.

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior


Temple Grandin - 2004
    She has a perspective like that of no other expert in the field, which allows her to offer unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas.People with autism can often think the way animals think, putting them in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Grandin is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. The sweep of Animals in Translation is immense and will forever change the way we think about animals.*includes a Behavior and Training Troubleshooting Guide Among its provocative ideas, the book:~argues that language is not a requirement for consciousness--and that animals do have consciousness.~applies the autism theory of "hyper-specificity" to animals, showing that animals and autistic people are so sensitive to detail that they "can't see the forest for the trees"--a talent as well as a "deficit".~explores the "interpreter" in the normal human brain that filters out detail, leaving people blind to much of the reality that surrounds them--a reality animals and autistic people see, sometimes all too clearly.~explains how animals have "superhuman" skills: animals have animal genius.~compares animals to autistic savants, declaring that animals may in fact be autistic savants, with special forms of genius that normal people do not possess and sometimes cannot even see.~examines how humans and animals use their emotions to think, to decide, and even to predict the future.~reveals the remarkable abilities of handicapped people and animals .~maintains that the single worst thing you can do to an animal is to make it feel afraid.

Puppy's First Steps: The Whole-Dog Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Puppy


Nicholas Dodman - 2007
    The faculty of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, one of the most prestigious and pioneering veterinary schools in the world, now shares its accumulated knowledge and experience in this groundbreaking whole-dog approach to raising the healthiest, happiest, most well-behaved puppy possible.The authors of Puppy's First Steps are singularly qualified to look at a puppy from all angles, physical, emotional, and behavioral. In contrast to a single breeder's or trainer's theory about what is effective most of the time, the recommendations in this book are scientifically proven to work. This integrative body-and-mind approach stands out from the one-size-fits-all mentality that pervades the dog-training world. And the advice here delivers not just during the puppy's first year -- the most essential twelve months of a dog's development -- but throughout the dog's life, ensuring a strong, happy bond between you and your new best friend for years and years to come.Puppy's First Steps features:* How to test a puppy’s temperament before you decide which one to take home* The most nutritious, safest food for your puppy* To crate or not to crate?* Socializing your puppy with other people and dogs* Easy-to-implement training methods based on reward, not punishment* Housetraining in less than a week* Overcoming puppy’s fears and phobias* Keeping your puppy happy while you’re at work* What to do in a medical emergencyYou'll want to get your puppy off on the right foot, and now the best advice is in your hands. Comprehensive yet accessible, sensitive, and, above all, practical, Puppy’s First Steps is the only book a puppy owner will need.

Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words


John W. Pilley - 2013
    Chaser has a way with words. She knows over a thousand of them—more than any other animal of any species except humans. In addition to common nouns like house, ball, and tree, she has memorized the names of more than one thousand toys and can retrieve any of them on command. Based on that learning, she and her owner and trainer, retired psychologist John Pilley, have moved on to further impressive feats, demonstrating her ability to understand sentences with multiple elements of grammar and to learn new behaviors by imitation. John’s ingenuity and tenacity as a researcher are as impressive as Chaser’s accomplishments. His groundbreaking approach has opened the door to a new understanding of animal intelligence, one that requires us to reconsider what actually goes on in a dog’s mind. Chaser’s achievements reveal her use of deductive reasoning and complex problem-solving skills to address novel challenges. Yet astonishingly, Chaser isn’t unique. John’s training methods can be adopted by any dog lover. Through the poignant story of how he trained Chaser, raised her as a member of the Pilley family, and proved her abilities to the scientific community, he reveals the positive impact of incorporating learning into play and more effectively channeling a dog’s natural drives. John’s work with Chaser offers a fresh perspective on what’s possible in the relationship between a dog and a human. His story points us toward a new way of relating to our canine companions that takes into account our evolving understanding of the way animals and humans learn.

What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs


Cat Warren - 2013
    Solo is a cadaver dog. What started as a way to harness Solo’s unruly energy and enthusiasm soon became a calling that introduced Warren to the hidden and fascinating universe of working dogs, their handlers, and their trainers. Solo has a fine nose and knows how to use it, but he’s only one of many thousands of working dogs all over the United States and beyond. In What the Dog Knows, Warren uses her ongoing work with Solo as a way to explore a captivating field that includes cadaver dogs, drug- and bomb-detecting K9s, tracking and apprehension dogs—even dogs who can locate unmarked graves of Civil War soldiers and help find drowning victims more than two hundred feet below the surface of a lake. Working dogs’ abilities may seem magical or mysterious, but Warren shows the multifaceted science, the rigorous training, and the skilled handling that underlie the amazing abilities of dogs who work with their noses. Warren interviews cognitive psychologists, historians, medical examiners, epidemiologists, and forensic anthropologists, as well as the breeders, trainers, and handlers who work with and rely on these remarkable and adaptable animals daily. Along the way, she discovers story after story that proves the impressive capabilities—as well as the very real limits—of working dogs and their human partners. Clear-eyed and unsentimental, Warren explains why our partnership with dogs is woven into the fabric of society and why we keep finding new uses for their wonderful noses.

Why Does My Dog Do That?: Comprehensive Answers To The 50 Questions That Every Dog Owner Asks


Sophie Collins - 2008
    This text will help readers to smooth out species clash, broaden their understanding and learn to see things from their pet's point of view.

Cat vs. Cat: Keeping Peace When You Have More Than One Cat


Pam Johnson-Bennett - 2004
    Although cats are often misunderstood as natural loners, Johnson-Bennett shows how to plan, set up, and maintain a home environment that will help multiple cats—and their owners—live in peace. Cat vs. Cat will help readers understand the importance of territory, the specialized communication cats use to establish relationships and hierarchies, and how to interpret the so-called “bad behavior” that leads so many owners to needless frustration. Offering a wealth of information on how to diffuse tension, prevent squabbles and ambushes, blend two families, or help the elder kitty in your family, Cat vs. Cat is a welcome resource for both seasoned and prospective guardians of cat families large and small.