Your Dog: The Owner's Manual: Hundreds of Secrets, Surprises, and Solutions for Raising a Happy, Healthy Dog


Marty Becker - 2011
    Oz Show will give every dog owner the secrets to raising a healthy, well-behaved dog. For anyone who owns a dog or is thinking about getting one, Dr. Marty Becker's manual is a must-have guide to anything and everything canine. In Your Dog: The Owner's Manual, the "best-loved family doctor for pets" shares insider secrets on how to keep puppy problems from becoming doggy disasters and how to best bond with your dog through helpful, easily accessible tips and tricks on how to: Find the right dog for your family's lifestyle Solve the most annoying behavioral problems Make sure your dog gets the exercise he needs Use food puzzles to prevent weight gain Prevent dog health problems Save money on medication, both traditional and alternative For seasoned dog owners as well as those looking to adopt a new friend, Dr. Becker provides all the insight that makes for both happy owners and happy dogs.

The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions


Stanley Coren - 1994
    In this revised and updated version of this perennially popular book, psychologist and prizewinning trainer Stanley Coren provides a startling view of the intelligence of our oldest and closest animal companions. Do dogs really think? Are they conscious in the same way humans are? What is the nature of canine memory? Can dogs communicate with us -- and, if so, how can we understand them? Do they have feelings such as guilt, loyalty, and jealousy? Do they experience joy and sorrow? Drawing on scientific research that has stood the test of the past decade, interviews with top breeders and trainers, and his own personal observations as a lifelong dog lover, Stanley Coren speculates on these and many other fascinating questions about man's best friend. He offers practical tips on how to evaluate your dog's body language and understand the sophisticated "language" of a dog's bark, and how to tailor a training program to suit your dog's special needs. Here, too, are the famous, controversial lists and rankings of more than 100 breeds for obedience and working intelligence, as well as for specialized tasks such as hunting, home security, and companionship. Rich in wit, wisdom, and anecdote, The Intelligence of Dogs is a book that will bring you a greater understanding and enjoyment of the habits, antics, and abilities of your dog.

The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read


Louise Glazebrook
    a canine-human Esther Perel' The ObserverWouldn't you love to know what your dog was thinking?The truth is that your dog is communicating with you all the time but, unless you know the signs, you aren't picking up on what your dog wants you to know. Louise Glazebrook is a dog behaviourist, trainer and television presenter who specialises in teaching people how to understand and connect with their dogs. In The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read, Louise tackles everything from bringing the right dog home, understanding body language and breed behaviour, responding to common behavioural issues, to the toys and games that you and your dog will both love.Most dog trainers focus on the dog, but Louise focuses on you, the owner, giving you the skills and confidence to interpret your dog's needs and behaviour and build a better, happier relationship for life.

What Is a Dog?


Raymond Coppinger - 2016
    But roaming the planet are four times as many dogs who are their own masters—neighborhood dogs, dump dogs, mountain dogs. They are dogs, not companions, and these dogs, like pigeons or squirrels, are highly adapted scavengers who have evolved to fit particular niches in the vicinity of humans. In What Is a Dog? experts on dog behavior Raymond and Lorna Coppinger present an eye-opening analysis of the evolution and adaptations of these unleashed dogs and what they can reveal about the species as a whole. Exploring the natural history of these animals, the Coppingers explain how the village dogs of Vietnam, India, Africa, and Mexico are strikingly similar. These feral dogs, argue the Coppingers, are in fact the truly archetypal dogs, nearly uniform in size and shape and incredibly self-sufficient. Drawing on nearly five decades of research, they show how dogs actually domesticated themselves in order to become such efficient scavengers of human refuse. The Coppingers also examine the behavioral characteristics that enable dogs to live successfully and to reproduce, unconstrained by humans, in environments that we ordinarily do not think of as dog friendly. Providing a fascinating exploration of what it actually means—genetically and behaviorally—to be a dog, What Is a Dog? will undoubtedly change the way any beagle or bulldog owner will reflect on their four-legged friend.

How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain


Gregory Berns - 2013
    Loyal, obedient, and affectionate, they are truly “man’s best friend.” But do dogs love us the way we love them? Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns had spent decades using MRI imaging technology to study how the human brain works, but a different question still nagged at him: What is my dog thinking?   After his family adopted Callie, a shy, skinny terrier mix, Berns decided that there was only one way to answer that question—use an MRI machine to scan the dog’s brain. His colleagues dismissed the idea. Everyone knew that dogs needed to be restrained or sedated for MRI scans. But if the military could train dogs to operate calmly in some of the most challenging environments, surely there must be a way to train dogs to sit in an MRI scanner.   With this radical conviction, Berns and his dog would embark on a remarkable journey and be the first to glimpse the inner workings of the canine brain. Painstakingly, the two worked together to overcome the many technical, legal, and behavioral hurdles. Berns’s research offers surprising results on how dogs empathize with human emotions, how they love us, and why dogs and humans share one of the most remarkable friendships in the animal kingdom.   How Dogs Love Us answers the age-old question of dog lovers everywhere and offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human friends: with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.

Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds


Jim Sterba - 2012
    Then, in the 20th century, an incredible turnaround took place. Conservationists outlawed commercial hunting, created wildlife sanctuaries, transplanted isolated species to restored habitats and imposed regulations on hunters and trappers. Over decades, they slowly nursed many wild populations back to health.            But after the Second World War something happened that conservationists hadn’t foreseen: sprawl. People moved first into suburbs on urban edges, and then kept moving out across a landscape once occupied by family farms. By 2000, a majority of Americans lived in neither cities nor country but in that vast in-between. Much of sprawl has plenty of trees and its human residents offer up more and better amenities than many wild creatures can find in the wild: plenty of food, water, hiding places, and protection from predators with guns. The result is a mix of people and wildlife that should be an animal-lover’s dream-come-true but often turns into a sprawl-dweller’s nightmare.Nature Wars offers an eye-opening look at how  Americans lost touch with the natural landscape, spending 90 percent of their time indoors where nature arrives via television, films and digital screens in which wild creatures often behave like people or cuddly pets.  All the while our well-meaning efforts to protect animals allowed wild populations to burgeon out of control, causing damage costing billions, degrading ecosystems, and touching off disputes that polarized communities, setting neighbor against neighbor. Deeply researched, eloquently written, counterintuitive and often humorous Nature Wars will be the definitive book on how we created this unintended mess.

The Midnight Dog Walkers: Positive Training and Practical Advice for Living With Reactive and Aggressive Dogs


Annie Phenix - 2016
    Statistics show that aggression is not only the most serious problem in dogs but also the top reason for owners to seek out professional help for their pets. Left unchecked, an aggressive dog can become a dangerous dog, and this informative volume comes to the aid of many heartbroken owners who feel that they have tried everything to correct their dogs’ unpredictable and inappropriate behavior. Author and certified dog trainer Annie Phenix shares her belief that many reactive dogs can be rehabilitated with the right training, and she offers her expertise in positive, force-free training methods to desperate owners who have resorted to extreme measures to keep their dogs away from other people and animals.Inside The Midnight Dog Walkers:Stories and practical examples from the author based on aggressive dogs she’s trained and ownedBehavioral warning signs that owners should recognizeDefinitions of different types of aggression and why they occurTips on how to handle a potentially aggressive or aggressive dogThe author’s force-free training philosophy and how she applies it with her clients to effect positive changesPopular myths and misconceptions about training these "grumpy growlers"

Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals


Lew Olson - 2010
    Preparing Fido’s food at home may seem daunting, but it’s really not, says Lew Olson in Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs. Olson discusses canine nutritional needs and explains the research on how home-prepared foods, particularly raw foods, can meet pets’ needs better than commercial, processed dog food. Step-by-step instructions and recipes make preparation easy. The book includes charts with the recipes, instructions on keeping diets simple and balanced, guidelines on preparation, suggestions for finding ingredients, and how much to feed a dog by body weight. There are recipes for healthy adult dogs as well as guidelines for puppies, senior dogs, and dogs with health conditions including pancreatitis, renal problems, gastric issues, allergies, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer. Pet owners seeking to give their dogs a better coat, better skin, and healthier teeth and gums, as well as longer lives and more stable temperaments, are sure to welcome this book.

Wolf Nation: The Life, Death, and Return of Wild American Wolves


Brenda Peterson - 2016
    Brenda Peterson, one of our best nature writers, brings the full complement of science, history, and memoir to the great battle being played out nationwide to save wild wolves.

Puppy Sleep Training - The Exhausted Puppy Owner's Nighttime Survival Guide


Rebecca Setler - 2013
    Puppy Sleep Training - The Exhausted Puppy Owner's Nighttime Survival Guide is the only book dedicated to teaching you everything you need to know to help your puppy learn to sleep peacefully through the night. A must-have for anyone who has a puppy or is considering getting one... and it works for newly-acquired adult dogs who are having problems adjusting to a new sleep schedule, too!

Pets on the Couch: Neurotic Dogs, Compulsive Cats, Anxious Birds, and the New Science of Animal Psychiatry


Nicholas Dodman - 2016
    Rapoport, MD, author of The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing) of treating animals with all-too-human problems in this “fascinating read for anyone who wants to know how the animal mind works” (Stanley Coren, author of The Intelligence of Dogs).Internationally renowned veterinarian Dr. Nicholas Dodman breaks new ground with the practice of One Medicine, the profound recognition that humans’ and other animals’ minds and emotions work in similar ways. Racehorses with Tourette’s Syndrome, spinning dogs with epilepsy, cats with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, feather-plucking parrots with anxiety, and a diffident Bull Terrier with autism—these astonishing cases were all helped by One Medicine. Traditional treatments did not cure the behaviors because they treated the symptoms as disorders of the body, rather than problems of the mind. “This book itself is powerful medicine,” writes Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus. “Compelling…Dodman injects empathy into a world where sympathy previously reigned,” praised Publishers Weekly. “With much charm and compassion” (Susan Richards, author of Chosen by a Horse), Pets on the Couch raises our understanding of our pets’ complex interior lives and mental abilities, leading to a greater appreciation of them and the bonds we share.

The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction


Pat Shipman - 2015
    Approximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe--descendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals suddenly vanished. Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were identified in 1856, scientists have been vexed by the question, why did modern humans survive while their evolutionary cousins went extinct?The Invaders musters compelling evidence to show that the major factor in the Neanderthals' demise was direct competition with newly arriving humans. Drawing on insights from the field of invasion biology, which predicts that the species ecologically closest to the invasive predator will face the greatest competition, Pat Shipman traces the devastating impact of a growing human population: reduction of Neanderthals' geographic range, isolation into small groups, and loss of genetic diversity.But modern humans were not the only invaders who competed with Neanderthals for big game. Shipman reveals fascinating confirmation of humans' partnership with the first domesticated wolf-dogs soon after Neanderthals first began to disappear. This alliance between two predator species, she hypothesizes, made possible an unprecedented degree of success in hunting large Ice Age mammals--a distinct and ultimately decisive advantage for humans over Neanderthals at a time when climate change made both groups vulnerable.

Mountain Breeze: The Complete Series


Ed Robinson - 2019
    He and Brody are settling into their new life when he stumbles onto a plot of marijuana plants on public land. Knowing a thing or two about growing weed, Breeze befriends the mysterious mountain man tending to the crop. When his new friend is killed, he tries to help law enforcement solve the crime. When the authorities prove reluctant, he is forced to take matters into his own hands. In the process, he transforms from boat bum to a true man of the mountains. Blue Ridge Breeze - There is a fugitive loose on McGuire Mountain. Local law enforcement asks Breeze to help track the man down. The mission goes horribly wrong. In the process of trying to make it right, Breeze uncovers corruption by the Chief of Police. Though he’s committed no crime, he once again finds himself on the wrong side of the law. He thinks the problem is resolved, but someone is stalking his cabin. Breeze and Brody become prisoners in their own home. The situation forces Breeze to utilize his mountain skills like never before. Beech Mountain Breeze - A freak accident causes Buckeye Lake to be drained. A girl’s body is found in the mud. A mysterious mountain hermit is a suspect, but no one has ever seen him. Breeze is called upon to track a man that he’s not even sure exists. He teams up with an attractive female police officer, who wants more than just a professional relationship. Pressure mounts as the case progresses, in more ways than one. High Country Breeze - In the mountains of western North Carolina, things aren’t always as they seem. When a college student is found dead, the incident is quickly ruled a suicide. The boy’s parents hire Breeze and Brody to investigate his death. At first, they are stonewalled by the entire community, but Breeze devises a devious and clever plan to get to the truth. They think they’ve broken the case wide open, but soon learn their mission is not complete. New River Breeze - There is a fugitive near the New River that baffles Breeze with his speed and endurance. Creekside Investigations becomes occupied with the marital surveillance business; tracking cheating spouses in the High Country. Breeze can’t accept his failure to capture the Running Man, so he puts his fledgling business aside to return to the wilderness in pursuit of his prey. It all leads to an explosive ending that will rip your guts out and leave you wandering what happens next.

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.

Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do


Marc Bekoff - 2018
    Just think about different behaviors you see at a dog park: We have a good understanding of what it means when dogs wag their tails—but what about when they sniff and roll on a stinky spot? Why do they play tug-of-war with one dog, while showing their bellies to another? Why are some dogs shy, while others are bold? What goes on in dogs’ heads and hearts—and how much can we know and understand?  Canine Confidential has the answers. Written by award-winning scientist—and lifelong dog lover—Marc Bekoff, it not only brilliantly opens up the world of dog behavior, but also helps us understand how we can make our dogs’ lives the best they can possibly be.  Rooted in the most up-to-date science on cognition and emotion—fields that have exploded in recent years—Canine Confidential is a wonderfully accessible treasure trove of new information and myth-busting. Peeing, we learn, isn’t always marking; grass-eating isn’t always an attempt to trigger vomiting; it’s okay to hug a dog—on their terms; and so much more. There’s still much we don’t know, but at the core of the book is the certainty that dogs do have deep emotional lives, and that as their companions we must try to make those lives as rich and fulfilling as possible. It’s also clear that we must look at dogs as unique individuals and refrain from talking about “the dog.”   Bekoff also considers the practical importance of knowing details about dog behavior. He advocates strongly for positive training—there’s no need to dominate or shame dogs or to make them live in fear—and the detailed information contained in Canine Confidential has a good deal of significance for dog trainers and teachers. He also suggests that trainers should watch and study dogs in various contexts outside of those in which they are dealing with clients, canine and human, with specific needs.    There’s nothing in the world as heartwarming as being greeted by your dog at the end of the workday. Read Canine Confidential, and you’ll be on the road to making your shared lives as happy, healthy, and rewarding as they can possibly be.