Pet Books

This is the story of how a man and his wife add a number of parrots, rabbits, ducks, geese, wild turkeys and starlings to their family. Fortunately the author is a freelance writer so apparently had enough time to care for all the animals. Many of the anecdotes are heart-warming, and will bring a smile to animal lovers. Other parts of the book are kind of depressing though, particularly those dealing with the author rather than focusing on the animals. He describes his experiences as his shrink tries to get his Zoloft dosage right, and I got the feeling that he and his wife should focus less on animals and more on each other. Still, this book is worth a read if you are interested in unusual pets.

A really fun book about maintaining and negotiating a houseful of varied pets. Author Bob Tarte is humorous and self-deprecating in his account of being an innocent bystander in a home that acquires pets the way a dog acquires fleas.

Tarte's writing style is smart and funny, and the reader can't help but love the hapless author and his description of a life far beyond his control. As is often the case with people who suddenly find themselves attracting multiple pets, Tarte finds a peace and purpose with his animal companions.

- C.A.Wulff, author of Born Without a Tail

I found this book way too wordy! I am an avid reader but mostly I just want to hear the story. I dont consider it a contest on how many words you can use to say something. I was bored about 1/2 way through it & didnt finish.

Enslaved by ducks is hilarious. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever had (or wants) a lot of pets. It is a quick read and I found myself laughing out loud many times with others wondering what was so funny. Bob Tarte certainly captures the essence of the different personalities of the species he happens to be writing about at the time whether it be bunnies, ducks, geese, or parrots. After reading this book you may find yourself realizing that "animals are people also".

And then a friend recommended this book. She and I both own parrots...I have both a Timneh and 2 Congos, and I always like to read about parrots and the people they own.
I had just finished reading one of Stephen King's books, and was a bit out of sorts. It had been a long hard read and I was disappointed in it. And me....a big King fan.
'Enslaved by Ducks' is far removed from Stephen King. And just what I was looking for. Like another reader mentioned, Bob Tarte has a similar style to Dave Barry, who I love. The book was funny, and it was sad. When you own animals and lose them for whatever reason, it's a big deal. I just wanted the book to go on forever. Of course, now I can order 'Fowl Weather', and keep going, but I'll most likely be sad when I'm done with it.
I loved the book and the style in which it is written. It would be neat to visit with Bob and Linda and have a cup of coffee with them, and meet the menagerie.
Anyhow....I recommend the book highly, and had a great time reading it.

I'm a veterinary medicine student & I found this book very useful! it's worth buying it!

If you are a veterinarian and don't have this book, get it! Great client education handouts on cd included.

This book is awesome! Does not go indepth, but has ALL the pertinent information related to specific diseases/clinical signs (definitions, Physiology, symptoms, lab work, treatment, follow up care)all on one page! A VERY useful book so far, especially from a tech's point of view!

Just replaced my 3rd edition, the 4th addition is a bit better has some new information, doseages for new drugs and a CD with Client education handouts.

I needed this item ASAP and I received it on time which was excellent since I paid for fast shipping. The cover of the book though looked a little worn. The book was supposed to be new but looking at it I wasn't 100% sure. If I had time I probably would have returned it for another copy. Besides that I was satisfied with my purchase.

If you're looking to train your dog, this is a good book that shows you how. I would recommend Train Your Dog - The Positive Gentle Method and maybe a dog obedience class (that will help your dog learn to socialize) also.

This is a very good book for training yourself to talk to dogs.

When this book was published in 1985 the concept of natural training was revolutionary. The Monks of New Skete followed in 1991 with a book advocating the same concept of training. However, the principles of a more natural training method have been greatly refined over the years and some of the advice that is contained in this book is wrong (or wrong in most situations).

The author is adament that food should not be given as a reward, reward should be positive attention only. The Monks also believed this but weren't so adament. More recent books have recognized that different breeds respond differently. Breeds bred for close human interaction, primarily the herding breeds, are more closely focused on humans, breeds bred to act independently such as Beagles, and other hounds, and terriers, are not closely attuned to humans and respond better to food rewards. Hey, it's animal behavior 101 that lab rats are rewarded by food and learn from those rewards. Interestingly both Benjamin and the Monks work primarily with German Shepards.

Benjamin also maintains that you can bring a dog back to the scene of its crime, i.e. where it destroyed a pillow, show it the destroyed pillow and correct the dog's behavior. All the recent books acknowledge that you can only correct a dog's behavior if you catch the dog while it is in the act.

Potentially dangerous advice that she gives is to grab a dog by both sides of the neck and get in its face to stare it down. That is threatening and confrontational and may work with puppies but other books warn against that approach with agressive dogs as it will incite them to attack and bite.

There are better books out there pass on this.

I have been a dog trainer for many years. This is one of two books that I suggest to my clients. So much common sense with a dash of humor. Easy to read and implement to your training program. Great book.

Big suprise, dogs know that we aren't dogs. The gig is up, dogs don't relate to us the way they relate to dogs. Get a book that really teaches you how dogs think and learn.

THIS WILL SHOW YOU THE REAL DEAL OF THE DOG EAT DOG UNIVERSE OF BUGS, IN YOUR FRONT AND BACKYARD...............

This is a great book it has wonderful pictures so that you may identify the bugs that you are looking for. I purchased one for myself and one for my daughter and we both love them.

I received this as a gift after I mentioned that I loved the Orkin insect zoo at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. It was not a book I would have bought for myself, but it has become indispensable bedtime reading! The pictures are vibrant and accompanied by hard-to-forget descriptions and explanations. I especially love the pictures taken by Whitney Cranshaw himself. This book is very accessible to those who are interested in the secret tiny life that exists off of their back porch, people who don't know where to start and therefore keep pushing it off. Even the way the bugs are organized in the book is perfect- Leaf Chewers, Sap Suckers, Gall Makers, Twig Damagers, Branch Borers, Bulb Feeders... doesn't this sound like the most beautiful poem in the world??

This bok is very inclusive in it's content and very easy to look up insect for information or identification. It is used by Master Gardeners in our part of the country wth great appreciation for a book of such quality buyt yet affordble.

one shouldn't take this book lightly, it is a large and heavy tome with lots of great information and photos. i think that the author, whitney cranshaw, did a great job in how he presents the information. one bit that i would have liked to have is distribution map. information is given about distribution, but i like to have maps too.

i would have enjoyed even more information on each insect he covers, but that would make the book at least twice it's size. that probably wouldn't work at it is already 656 pages long.

it would also be neat if this author could do books on different regions of our country in this format.

This book is amazing! So much information (over 1,300 pages) and such a great resource - as it is written and edited by the same experts that write the manual all vets study to pass their board exams. I appreciate that it is written in such an understandable manner. As a pet owner, I appreciate any information that will protect the health of my pets and allow me to further understand what my veterinarian recommends. With so much crazy information on the internet, it is great to know that there is a resource that can cut through the information clutter and provide sound information to better the health of my pets. My vet even had a copy in his waiting room!

This Merck/ Merial Manual is written more for non-veterinarians or pet owners (than you would expect from a Merck Manual) so you may have less problem understand what it is talking about. But it is mostly about dogs and cats plus about other animals on the cover. If you have a more "exotic" pet this book is not for you.

This is a good reference book to have available whenever your pet becomes ill or for review after a veternarian visit.

Lots of good information on the stuff that can usually go wrong. Won't replace a vet for really serious things, but helps with peace of mind (and care info) for run-of-the-mill problems.

Sometimes the vet does not have time to explain in detail the medications they are prescribing and sometimes you just for get to ask or think of someting after the fact. The book is a good source of information and it its written in plain enlish so you dont have to be a DVM to understand it.

This was a very unique book. I enjoyed every chapter, as I learned about each new dog that passed through Gary Paulsen's life. All of them true stories, of course. I do like the author's writing style very much, and it's amazing how descriptive the book is.

I'd pick it up and read it again!
I loved each & every one of these dogs stories.

Owning Sibs and other breeds over the years I laughed till I had tears reading about Caesar. What a great read. Not that I recommend it for the bathroom reading but that is the only place my hubby will read. I walked past the door one day and he was laughing hysterically. I just knocked on the dog and asked "Caesar?" He replied "Lived that one before!"
After having lived with so many characters over the years it is easy to see that they really are true stories. If you have a dog lover in your life this should be in their stocking.
-S
Redwood Siberians

Book arrived promptly and in the condition as advtised, actually it was better than I expected.

A good book for people of all ages who love dogs. Although, like many of Gary Paulsen's books it is geared toward teens, this is a quick read for anyone. Laughs and tears throughout!

Reading this book, My Life in Dog Years was an OK book. You read all the different dogs' stories. What every dog's personality is, and what the dog does with him. Some stories are very interesting. It is an easy book to read. If you like reading about dogs, this book has all kinds of good stories.

It seems like I have been waiting forever for this book to be published and now I have one in my hands. I had seen the images on Tim Flach's web site but couldn't imagine their tactile presence. The book is huge and the physical act of turning such big pages creates drama, as the next image unfolds.

I believe that this book will be the new standard by which artistic animal photography will be judged.

It is stunning, thought-provoking and inspirational, without any text to get in the way of your own reactions. (Although there is text elsewhere in the book, should you care to read more.)

This book will never grow old. You will, but this book will grow with you. You'll see it again for the first time, every time you open it.

And you'll know horses as you never have before.

I don't know, I guess I didn't care for the religion part, but it didn't really help. But then again, maybe nothing helps when you lose your dog. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't like it at all.

I sent this and the other Kowalski book to my brother after his best friend, Smokey, died in his arms. He told me that it was helpful as he was grieving.

Loosing a pet is never an easy experience. This book helps us all to realize that we are not alone as we travel down the bumpy road of sad feelings mixed with happy memories.

This is a short book which I read almost in one sitting. It is beautifully written, and I cried a lot while reading it. (In fact, the title, "Goodbye, Friend" made me cry just about every time I saw it). But the chapters are too short. The inevitability of death and how it integrates into nature's (and God's) plan is mentioned often.

My beloved cat and best friend was only 5 years old when she was tragically killed by a car a few weeks ago. This book mainly focusses on comforting those who's animal has lived a long full life and has now passed on. There are only a few pages devoted to sudden, accidental death of a young animal who should have lived much longer. I needed more comfort than this book could give, for this case. It is a lovely book, but it did not help much in my situation.

Recommended as a short, comforting read for those who's animal has aged and died (or had to be euthanized), but not recommended for someone in the shock and extreme grief of suddenly losing their animal in the prime and vitality of it's life.

After loosing my two girls aged 11 and 12 just 40 days apart, I could not deal with my grief of one much less two. Then after my wonderful Angie crossed over, I was devastated. Both had to be "put down". Our Jessie had a fusing back and went to pee, and collapsed, back breaking and nothing able to be done neither several years ago when x-rays were taken nor when she eventually collapsed.

My Angie, who made me Hers, could not live without her "sister", and I had to let her go was my twelve year old, and I was owned by since she was about four weeks old and rescued. She had her kidneys shutting down and no longer eating. That by far was the most difficult thing I had ever had to do in my life.

After all this grief, I had emergency surgery two days later. I saw them in a field playing together, and did not want to come back. I considered very seriously suicide for over a year just to be with them, as they were my ONLY fiends - for a very hurtful difficult subject. This book helped me deal with my feelings after a year and a half of pain and deep, deep depression.

After reading this book, it helped me deal with the euthanasia, and the fact that I already knew - of seeing them again. It is still very hard and always will be and I know that too. I am no longer suicidal - thank G-D. I will be OK, and I will be reunited with them both, along with all the others I have lost- it just helped me reassure knowing that.

I recommend this book highly for anyone who has lost ANY kind of pet.

Got this book today and loved it. Was reading it over breakfast to my husband and my Mum. We were all laughing - the perfect was to start a way! Think I'll be getting more to give as presents.

This is a Christmas book written by editor Dean Koontz' dog Trixie. Cute, is about the best word to use here with this book. It's a children's book focusing on how a dog perceives Christmas. Some of it's funny, and being a dog lover I could relate. But really, there is not a lot of substance to this book. Koontz has done much better children's books.

Bought this a couple years ago as a Christmas gift for my father, although I must have read through it myself 20 times. We have a Golden also. This book is exceptionally funny as well as touches on the true meaning of the Christmas holiday. A great "stocking stuffer" for everyone!

This book is cute, funny, and so "goldenish", I could swear my own dog (a Golden) wrote it. Trixie is a goddess!

As the mom of two Golden Retrievers I am biased in favor of Trixie. I received this book as a gift at the same time that I found that my cat of 13 years had terminal cancer. The warm, sweet tone of this book was a great comfort to me; I kept it at my desk and read it when I needed a distraction. I also gave five copies of this book as Christmas gifts, with great feedback.

This book is about Christmas, and does have some Christian overtones, such as a couple of specific mentions of Jesus, which might make it inappropriate for some. With that single caveat, very highly recommended.

My daughter is 9 years old and has went nuts over these rainbow magic books. She started reading them about 2years ago and she never seems to be able to put the book down and is waiting impatiently for the next series to come out for purchase....I totally recommend this series for any girl ages 5 through 10......

Good investment!!!!
Chris Ryan