A picture of yourself with your practically perfect dog. You've always preferred big dogs, and your ideal dog is sturdy, strong, and energetic. At the same time, you envision a dog who is gentle and completely in tune to your needs, your whims, and your every move. That perfect dog is likely a Labrador Retriever. After all, the Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog in the United States, according to American Kennel Club registrations. Labs are beautiful, friendly, adaptable, easygoing, brave, loyal, dependable, and intelligent. What could be better? Labrador Retrievers For Dummies is a useful guide to have if you're thinking of getting a Lab or even if you already own one. Perhaps you're just curious about this popular breed. This handy reference is for you if you want toFind out if a Lab suits your lifestyle Know what to look for in Lab pups Determine if a breeder meets high standards Understand health and nutrition needs Handle emergencies with a cool head Train your dog with the lure-and-reward technique Show off your Lab in competitions You can live a fulfilling life with your Lab by making sure she is socialized, healthy, and well trained. What better task for humans and dogs than to be great companions for each other? However, you may need some help in knowing how to get the most out of your relationship with your Lab. This friendly guide offers that help with the following topics and more:Exercising your pup and older Lab Choosing the right veterinarian Exploring spaying/neutering Keeping your Lab beautiful with good grooming Helping your dog deal with divorce, a new baby, moving Managing barking and whining Housetraining your new puppy Traveling to dog-friendly vacation destinations Choosing a pet sitter or boarding kennel Volunteering your lab as a therapy dog Labrador Retrievers are big, energetic, and sometimes boisterous (especially as puppies), and they don't take care of themselves. They need you. Don't let them need you unless you're ready to be needed.

    What she didn't know at the time was that this little dog would in turn save her. Monday morning, 27th April 2009. The sat nav told us we'd reached our destination. The rain was pelting down, the kind that feels as if buckets of water are being chucked at the windscreen.I'll never forget that day. The horror, fear and the uncertainty of what was to come are still etched on my memory. But I didn't know that in that moment, somewhere off the M1 in a place that seemed as unnerving as it was eerie, I would find something so precious that would change my life forever.That was the day I discovered my Buddy, abandoned in a crate, unable to move and so frail that he only had moments to live. He stopped me in my tracks, and without pausing to think I scooped him up and quickly ran from the scene. This was no place for people or animals.Slowly, as I learned to take care of this broken little dog, I began to realise with each new day that as I was saving him, he too was helping to free me from my past. This is the story of Buddy and me: a remarkable true story of survival, hope, and never giving up, no matter how hard life gets.

    Although the internationally acclaimed animal expert is widely known for her work with horses, her Tellington TTouch Method has proven enormously effective with all kinds of animals, from elephants and cockatoos to dogs and cats. Now she shows dog lovers how to use her Tellington TTouches, leading exercises, and obstacle courses to improve their dog s behavior, trainability, and overall health. The Tellington TTouch Method can help remedy, for example, excessive barking, chewing, leash-pulling, fear-biting, and shyness; it s also therapeutic for dogs with hip dysplasia, arthritis, and other physical problems. In Getting in TTouch with Your Dog, the author has presented a wealth of information in a clear, accessible format, including problem lists with their corresponding TTouches and exercises, abundant color photos, and helpful case studies featuring a variety of breeds. Linda Tellington-Jones books include Getting in TTouch, The Tellington TTouch, Improve Your Horse s Well-Being, and Let s Ride with Linda Tellington-Jones.

    What if you lived in the middle of a beautiful nowhere, with a dog who mysteriously appeared at your door? What if you were out hiking one winter day, you broke your leg, and you froze to death? And what if the angels who met you had four feet instead of wings? Would you listen to the lessons they wanted to teach you? This edition also includes a bonus short story, Christmas with a Collie.

    He died. Now he's a kitten. As Hugo adjusts to his new body (not just a cat--a baby cat!), his new home (San Francisco), his new outside (Where are the mountains? Where is the lake?), and his sudden urge to sit in every box he sees, he wonders if he'll ever see Cassie or Jerry again.Back in Lake Tahoe, Cassie and Jerry attempt to come to grips with life without Hugo. Cassie fills the void with "Tadpole Guard", "Worm Patrol", and ups her protection of Jerry (her human), who is in the midst of a cataclysmic midlife crisis. In addition to his dog dying, Jerry's last two books have been monumental flops and he's still reeling from his fiancée leaving him for another man. As if these problems aren't enough, his parents (who have become late-stage hippies) are coming to live with him for the entire summer.And so begins the journey of three souls, intertwined by love, loss, and perhaps something even greater. Told with Nick Pirog's charm and razor sharp wit, The Speed of Souls is at once a hilarious, moving, and transcendent work of storytelling.

    The colors are delicately applied, a visual feast. In short, not only is this tome exemplary of the cartoonist's art, it is similarly an exemplar of the printer's. A well-made book." - Comics Buyer's Guide, on MUTTS' first Sunday treasury, MUTTS SundaysMUTTS is known for its straight-forward, delightful artwork, its positive messages, and, of course, the antics of its charming furry protagonists, Earl the dog and Mooch the cat. But MUTTS has also garnered praise for its creative and colorful Sunday strips.Sunday Mornings is a collection of MUTTS Sunday strips hand-picked by creator Patrick McDonnell. Monday through Saturday, readers of every generation have wide-ranging reasons why they love MUTTS. But Sunday is a special visual adventure. The logo panel is almost a strip unto itself, often paying homage to cartooning of yesteryear, with Mooch and Earl in a comic book cover tribute or parodying a strip from decades gone by. Some readers may have never seen the logo panel, since they are sometimes dropped for space. Those cheated readers, as well as those who have come to love MUTTS' special Sunday full-color strips, will cherish this vibrant collection.

    You'll also get to see a little of his "staycations" and life at home between travels.Jet-setting is what dachshunds do best. From Switzerland’s Alps and Mexico’s Mayan temples to Italy’s seaside villages and France’s Eiffel Tower—as well as various locales throughout the U.S. and Canada—Crusoe shares his wit and wisdom on appreciating culture, fine wine, and haute cuisine, always dressing for the occasion, and maybe learning a thing or two about what really matters most in life along the way.In hundreds of brilliant color photographs, see the charming and charismatic mini-doxie embark on such thrilling adventures as…* Hitting the streets of New York City as The Wiener of Wall Street* Stalking evildoers as Batdog * Strolling Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (with his own star)* Going out on a dinner and movie date with the lovely Paisley* Digging for fossils at Dinosaur Provincial Park* Playing doctor and dentist to his sidekick brother, Oakley* Drinking at the notorious Bar Vitelli, shooting location of The Godfather* Recovering from back surgery with lots of love and rehabilitating in style * Tasting a beignet at New Orleans’s famous Café du Monde* Exploring his German heritage as a “badger dog”—and discovering what wiener schnitzel actually is…And so much more!

    Not only a great family companion, they also excel at hunting, tracking, retrieving, guiding and rescuing. But where did the breed originally come from? How did it develop? When did black, yellow and chocolate Labradors first appear? Did they really all come from Labrador in Canada and are they really all related to just one dog?In this first history of the Labrador, Ben Fogle goes in search of what makes Labradors so special. Their extraordinary companionship, intelligence, work ethic and loyalty is captured by Ben as he weaves the story of the breed into his own story of his beloved Inca.Ben visits Canada, discovers hair-raising stories of early Labrador exploits and uncovers stories of RNIB Labradors and Labradors at war, Labradors as working dogs and every other manifestation of the Labrador’s character. Exploring their origin, early characteristics, their use as gun dogs, as therapy dogs, as police dogs, as search and rescue dogs and last – and absolutely not least – as family pets, Ben tells the story of a dog breed which has captured our imagination and love for hundreds of years.

    And although we want it to last forever, we know that nothing ever does. In the early 1990's David Hartwig, a Texas cowboy with dreams of rodeo stardom, struggled to support his family and, in doing so, discovered a dog with talents he himself could never realize.Together with David, Skidboot shot to international fame, despite tumultuous events that nearly sent this rural family to the brink. Skidboot is a true story of loyalty, sacrifice, discipline, love, and companionship. Skidboot--there will never be another.