Pet Books

Just finished the book last week. It was well written and I am glad that I purchased it as my dog is due to have her first litter in 3 weeks. It gave a lot of practical advice and planning tips for just in case something goes wrong. I feel much more confident as a doggie midwife having read it.

I was so happy to find this book. I wish I had known the things that Ms. Savant-Harris teaches in this book back many years ago when I had bred my first bulldog and ended up losing almost a whole litter, even with the tube feeding that the vet had taught me. There are so many other issues with sick puppies that I was completely unaware of. Do NOT breed dogs unless you have read this guide cover to cover and have it in a handy place to refer back to many times, because you'll need it! Once your puppy starts getting sick you better know what to do or within hours he may be dead. A definite must have for breeders.

this book is a must have in your dog library. you will refer to it many times.

A very good book. The DVD is the next best thing to having someone show you how to do the techniques in real life, very well done.

Like I said about the companion volume, don't forget to review recommendations with your vet.

Myra once again covers topics that are not addressed in other books on breeding and whelping. If you want to give a weak pup a chance to go BIS someday, this is the book for you. The DVD at the back of the book is a superior visual aide in teaching how to tube feed, etc. Lots of room for notes.

This book shares information about Dogtown at Best Friends Sanctuary. It is an uplifting book that shows what
people are doing to help dogs with behavior problems, health issues to become whole and hopefully find a
forever home. With all the news about the abuse of animals, it is encouraging to read about people working
to be the solution. While we cannot all start a program as expansive at Dogtown, we can at least support
such facilities so they can continue to rescue dogs that people have abused or abandoned.Dogtown: A Sanctuary for Rescued Dogs

i bought this book because i am huge supporter and lover of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary... this book is a beautiful collection of pictures and stories about the dogs at the sanctuary, some of which i even got to meet!! i would recommend this for ALL dog lovers, and anyone interested in rescue. this place is BEYOND special... definitely buy this book

For a species dubbed Man's best friend, canines are sadly horribly abused by their so-called friends. "Dogtown: A Sanctuary for Rescued Dogs" is the story of the country's biggest no kill animal sanctuary. The sanctuary focuses on keeping animals in loving homes and off the streets and away from cruel masters. An uplifting tale that dog lovers will relish, "Dogtown" is enhanced with more than eighty full color photos, earning it an enthusiastic recommendation.

All the things in it that best friends does, but just not long enough . Left me hungry for more.

This book has wonderful photos of rescued dogs and heart warming stories of dog rescues. I really appreciate the hard work of Best Friends Animal Society and all the awareness they bring to the needs of homeless animals.

This book has good solid information and I have recommended it to many of my friends with new dogs. It was a fantastic resource for me regarding my first dog.

This book is great for people like me who have never owned a dog! There are a few chapters in the beginning that i didn't find helpful, however. I had already chosen my puppy before i bought the book, but if your are searching for the right puppy and have any questions, then these chapters would be perfect for you! I still use this book to reference back to, my puppy is only twelve weeks old, so there's still a long way to go!

This book should be given with every new puppy - even before the puppy goes home with you. Covers all major aspects of puppy raising and training. I cannot recommend this book enough.

The book offers some schedules for walking your puppy, but lacks the "before" part - how much he should eat and how soon he might need to go, for example. I agree with reviewers who say the book is superficial. If you've had dogs before at all, this book is probably adequate. If you're like me, and the only other pets you've raised successfully have been hamsters, this book is NOT enough. In less than a week, I had to buy more books that cover the same topics in more depth.

Before getting my puppy in 2002, I read several books on puppies, dogs, and training. My favorite was Puppies for Dummies, the 2000 edition. I can only imagine that the 2006 edition is even better.

Early sections help the reader decide what breed is best for his lifestyle and how to be ready for puppy's first day home. Especially important was the timeline--what training the puppy needs at what age--in order to grow to her best potential. The organization is excellent with easy-to-locate topics: a detailed Table of Contents and a complete Index.
Throughout the book, Hodgson stresses positive training and reinforcement, offering many important and helpful tips on how to be the most effective teacher you can be.

I tried the "teaching-lead" Hodgson describes, keeping my puppy attached to me by a lead at all times at home. This method is a super way to bond with your dog. Now, as a result, I have a most responsive and well-trained pet, a charmer.

I've recommended this book to friends, every one of whom thought it was an excellent resource. However, I do want to point out that no book on puppy training is useful if one does not use the techniques described....

If you really want to learn how to train your puppy in the most constructive way, get this book!

This book is extremely deep in its explanation of all of the families of corals found in saltwater reef aquariums. Its a pretty heavy read, and I recommend something a little more basic if you are just getting into reef aquariums. This is my second book on corals, after a more basic and general saltwater hobby book. Had I not read the first one, I would have been a little overwhelmed by this one. Also, its a beautiful hardbound book that would do well as a coffee table book. The pictures of the corals are beautiful. I purchased it used, and the seller was punctual on delivery, with the book being in as good, if not better condition than was described.

An essential book for marine reef hobbyists, if you are interested in aquarium corals, this is one of the references you must review. Good pictures, extended information about each coral genus and quality information about coral care and maintenance in different types of reef aquariums.
Excellent quality-price relation for a book of one of the subject reference authors.

This book is simply "the bible" for corals. Not only it has an outstanding presentation (hard cover, deluxe paper, thousands of high-quality pictures) but also everything you need to know about corals. Great for the beginner, indispensable for the seasoned hobbist. If you are into reef tanks, you must own this book.

the book was everything i expected and more.it gave me a real understanding of the corals in my care and gave me great confidence in looking after them.great reading and great pics

Want to know just about everything there is to know about coral? Then this is the book for you. Tons of information and loaded with great pictures too.

I purchased this book in preparation for raising some guinea keets I received from a friend. As a gardener, I was particularly interested in their function as an "organic insecticide".

The information was sufficient, but not well-written or proof-read, more like a newspaper article. Not enough focus on the gardening aspect, other than that they like certain bugs that harm flowers and veggies. The taming process described is impossible to achieve if you have other things to do than playing with the birds. It is not necessary to keep them caged in the chicken coop for 6 weeks - mine are roaming the chicken yard at 6 weeks old with a bantam hen that adopted them. They stick very close to the coop.

All the information presented can be found on the internet without having to shell out almost 15 bucks.

Was a great help with starting my Guineas. Thank You very much to the Author.

It all started with ducks, actually. Or maybe bugs. I hate June bugs all over my vegetable garden, and I'm not overly fond of other bugs, either. A place near where I work has all kinds of ducks wandering around, and I thought I'd borrow one to eat the June bugs. Then I remembered guineas. When I threw the idea out there, I thought my boyfriend would just ignore it, but he seemed interested, too. I started doing some research on the web and found Gardening with Guineas. We read through it, and picked through it, and now we have guineas. My boyfriend is not much of a reader, but he read Gardening with Guineas. It helped us decide that we could raise them. It is full of information on how to house them, how to train them, and how to take care of them. If you want guineas on a small scale, don't even get any birds until you read this book.

If you're at all interested in Guinea Fowl, this is the "Bible." Everything you need to know. We're going with Guineas for the same reason as the author...insect control.

I had tried raising guineas for several years without success. After reading this book, I have discovered many of my mistakes. No longer will I lose guineas to frostbite or overnight predators. I will provide proper housing and feed as well. I wish I would have read this book much earlier and spared the lives of many guineas. I love guinea fowl and feel better going into the new season with this book in hand!

My husband saw first hand the inside of a rendering plant located less than one mile from us...he saw dead animals of all kinds, dogs and cats and road kill...he was sick for days after that...This dog/cat food debacle ties in very closely with a USDA program called NAIS...NAIS(national animal identification system) was made to benefit corporate ag so they could sell their meat products on a global level but while they get one lot number per groups of factory farmed animals, the private horse/livestock owner will have to register their premises with the govt, microchip and file reports on all births, deaths and off-property movements and if disease is suspected, a 6 mile radius of animals can be depopulated. Cats and dogs are not included, YET! In a nutshell, NAIS is like a world traveler having a disease but forcing YOU to take/pay for the meds, then he goes a declares he is cured, and continues to travel the world. Makes absolutely no sense, benefits no one, but that is how NAIS will work. NAIS will affect everyone who eats, and not in a good way. see nonais dot org for more info.

This book raised and answered a lot of questions about what, exactly, is in the food I give my dogs. It also includes great advice on how to read pet food labels, and how to decipher the pet food "lingo" on the packages. I recommend this book for any dog or cat owner, to help them make good choices about the food they give their pets.

This book is difficult for me to read because I thought that I have always fed my dogs wholesome food when I was actually poisoning them because I bought into the lies of the pet food industry.

I found the layout of the book to be very helpful in identifing what the "real" ingredients in pet food were, and most times, they are shocking; meat and bone meal = road kill and euthanized companion animals, among other things. The book shares what should and shouldn't be on the ingredient label. The author presents information on why the food industry is the way it is, and the newest revised addition explains the details pet food recall of 2007.

The suggestions the author makes are very user friendly. She does not assert that animal caretakers must stick to one type of diet, but expains the pros and cons of all diets (commercial, home cooked and raw foods like BARF) in a relatively unbiased way.

This book is an extremely important resource to have for those of us who love our animal companions and want to ensure we provide them the best life possible.

LITTLE DOES THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT THE DOG FOODS THEY FEED THE FAMILY PET CONSISTS OF ROAD KILL, EUTHANIZED PETS, CANCER/CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS AND ALL OTHER ANIMALS THAT ARE RENDERED FROM ANIMAL HOSPITALS/SHELTERS/HUMANE SOCIETIES AND EVERYWHERE ELSE...UNLESS YOU PAY FOR A SPECIFIC CREMATION OF YOUR PET, IT IS RENDERED WITH MILLIONS OF OTHER PETS...RENDERED IS BOILED UNTIL MEAT IS OFF THE BONES, OR IN HOT OIL. RENDERED PETS ARE PUT IN DOG/CAT FOODS AND MAKEUP, AND ALOT OF OTHER PRODUCTS THAT ARE LABELED "ANIMAL PROTEIN" OR "BONE MEAL" OR EVEN "MEAT BY PRODUCTS" THAT DO NOT SPECIFICALLY SAY THAT IT IS BEEF, PIG, CHICKEN OR TURKEY...ALL THESE CHEMICALS ARE MAKING OUR PETS SICK AND GET CANCER AND DIE AT A YOUNGER AGE. I TRUSTED THE FAMIOUS NAMES AND BRANDS AND THEY ALL HAD THE POISON THAT CAME FROM CHINA...I WORKED IN THIS FIELD FOR YEARS AND COULD NOT TELL THE PUBLIC, BUT NOW I AM FREE TO SPEAK MY MIND...WAKE UP AMERICA!

I am a veterinary student and read this book for a project. I could not believe the inaccuracies that this author presents in her book. She bases all of her "facts" on emails and assumptions. First, there are no antibiotics in your meat! There is a little thing called the "withdrawal period" for all drugs used in food animals. Cows cannot go to slaughter until the antibiotics are out of their systems. This is a law. The withdrawal periods are established when drugs are created and approved by the FDA. Second, the amount of hormones that are put into cattle are so minimal that they cannot do you or your pets any harm! One 3 oz piece of steak contains approx. 1.9 ng (that is .0000000019 g) of estrogen. A 3 oz portion of cabbage contains 2000 ng of estrogen. The average man produces 136,000 ng of estrogen everyday! So what is 1.9 ng going to do to you, really. Third, yes, pet food companies use rendered meat in their foods. However, they also cook the meat at extremely high temperatures and pressures to kill the bacteria, spores, and parasites. I would like to see fresh meat used in pet food, but until consumers are are willing to pay twice as much for dog food, that is not going to happen. And finally, homemade diets are a bad idea. Raw meat contains deadly bacteria, parasites, and more. Plus the bones are an intestinal obstruction just waiting to happen. There are many many other problems with this book that I could go on about, but my review is long enough. So you may read this book for fun, but realize that the majority of it is just fiction and should be dismissed.

A third great book by Turid Rugaas. When I see a toy poodle or silky terrier pulling a 6 foot person down the street, it is a riot to behold. An easy read, plenty of photos which show the "How TO" in attaining a pleasant walking partner. The written portion explaining the photos is very easy to understand. I suggest every one contemplating buying a dog to purchase this book first. Information is a wonderful thing.

This short, readable, incredibly helpful book shows humans how to teach their dogs to walk nicely on the leash. Her method is scientifically proven to work, if you stick with the program.

Turid Rugaas is humane, kind, and a real friend to dogs. Unlike so many other authors, Rugaas doesn't believe in "leash pops" or similar methods which hurt and frighten dogs. You will feel really good about this gentle, patient, and effective method for training your dog.

Rugaas also has a WONDERFUL book and DVD called "Calming Signals", which teaches you to understand dog language. It really helped me understand my shy, traumatized rescue dog.

The author here lays out a simple, highly effective and *kind* method for teaching your dog to walk poilitely on a leash. No special collars, no beating up on your dog, no gimmicks.

It's behaviorally sound and will have you enjoying loose lead walks with your dog in a short time.

Turid Rugaas' books should be issued with all puppy packets & adoption info. Her excellent insights into dog behavior bring fresh perspectives to owners/trainers of all levels. In this book, she reveals how so many handlers accidentally reinforce their dogs' tendencies to pull.
If followed, her advice really works.

Essentially, this book explains how to teach a dog to walk on a leash without excessive pulling. Though it implies that there is no pulling whatsoever, the methods used would not allow a dog to walk free of a leash all together--which is my idea of a well trained "Heel" command.

To be fair, the author doesn't really suggest that a dog walk at "Heel." Although I can see her side of that argument, I had the (mistaken) impression that I would be able to better teach my dog(s) to "Heel" without any pulling on the lead and without any harsh devices. That is not the purpose of this book.

This author contends that a dog should be free to walk anywhere it wants, so long as it isn't "pulling." However, if a dog isn't pulling ever so slightly while on a leash, why have the leash at all? In truth, I believe that this book teaches a dog how to be leash trained--meaning that when they have the leash off, they are free to go wild.

At one point she brags about a time when her dog was agitated and jumping toward another dog but (supposedly) not pulling on the leash at all. My question would still be: Why have a leash if the dog knows that it can only get six feet away from you? The truth is, the dog obviously knew it had a leash on.

My goal was to teach my dog(s) to heel better and ultimately remove the leash. I work with rescue Doberman Pinschers and many of them are quite strong yet have absolutely no training. There are people--such as this author--who contend that dogs do not need devices such as choke chains or pinch collars. Being the sucker that I was, I thought perhaps the author was right and that you could somehow use positive reinforcement in all cases in order to teach a dog--one who often weighs 80-90 pounds--to heel without pulling at all.

That was not the case.

Please don't misunderstand...I'm sure the author has lots of success teaching what she teaches--with the kind of dogs she trains. However, I do not believe that a dog--especially a large dog--should be able to walk wherever it desires. And I have found that some dogs respond very well to positive reinforcement (i.e., treats) while teaching them to walk on my left side. However, I have also found that some dogs don't care what you are offering them, they want to drag you down the road after that cat that they see as prey!

Since I would rather, in those cases, use a little negative consequence (i.e., correction device such as a choke chain or even a pinch collar) to help them become adoptable, than have an uncontrollable (and unadoptable) dog, that's what I'll continue to use...because I prefer a dog that behaves even when the leash is off.

In summary, if you want your dog to behave when it's on a leash, and be able to walk in front, behind, wherever it wants--only while on a leash--than this book is for you. However, if you want your dog to obey the Heel command without any pulling, there are better methods.

All in all, it's a fair book; it's just not what I was looking for.

I used this book for my first dog and had excellent results.
I do not know why I got away from his methodes but now I am Back.
Yes its time conuming and can really try ones patience but it produces
a great dog.

Here is another book that was written too many years ago and needs to be updated.The rapid training pretty much come from breaking your dogs spirit to get him to do what you want. Bird dog discipline is a must but this guys techniques are poor in general and will not make it fun for the dog. He makes the dog more of a tool than a hunting companion. Thumbs down

R. A. Wolters' books are so much fun to read, and most of the information is correct and useful. Actually, it is all useful. I recommend this and his other books for anyone preparing to get a dog (hunting or otherwise).

I like the 7 week pup thing personally, but the basis of Wolters' assertions on this matter may be a little dogmatic and are disputed by some experts and researchers. I looked into the study that he uses for this assertion in all of his books, and it seems that he misinterpreted the data and came to a rash decision. I believe getting a pup at exactly 49 days is a good idea, but it is not as necessary as Wolters would indicate.

It is no news that this is one of the best training books for upland game that has ever been written. You may disagree with Wolters but you can never say his methods dont work. This is my number one resource for training my dogs.

Succinct, easy instructional read that works. I am 2 weeks in to training a new pup via the book and he is responding positively. It had been 13 years since doing this and the book is helping us both.

This is a book of possibilities. Tom covers about Fifty plants... Deeply.
He gives their personalities and the stories of how they came into his life and Grandfather's instructions on use. By no means encyclopedic, He covers the few plants on a practical and spiritual level. A very unique book, very inspiring.

In this book Tom isn't really trying to make a field guide to identify edible/medicinal plants. He is trying to get you to enjoy those plants, not just use them. Each plant that he talks about has a story that goes along with it. Whether it is the first time he took a sip of catnip tea or an adventure down the river on a raft made from sassafras trees that had been cut down. I have found this book extremely helpful in enjoying and getting to know the types of plants described. Which i find in turn helps me a lot with identifying them from look a likes and really appreciating what i do find to eat.

This book is written from the standpoint of someone who needs to use plants either for survival or bush medicine. It is not the best or most accurate filed guide for identifying or classifying plants. I found it best to use this book in conjunction with an Audubon field guide. The Audubon filed guide will give you a picture and a better description of the plant that you are looking for, Tom Brown's book tells you what to do with the plant when you find it.

Tom browns book is the more important part of this equation, what good is knowing what a plant looks like without knowing what it is used for? So, I recommend using a different field guide for finding a certain plant, and then using Tom Brown's guide and practice making the medicinal applications and teas that he has. This book was not designed to take the place of a standard photographic field guide. It is designed to be used first in conjunction with a standard field guide until you know the plant and can identify it, then the illustrations and such are only to jog your memory in the field if you are looking for a certain remedy plant but its been a while since you messed with it.

I love Tom Brown, and his stories about plants are an important part of how I practice herbal medicine. But this book would have been much much better if it had illustrations or at least drawings. As a result, I leave the book at home and read it for enjoyment, cross-referencing it with a field guide if need be.

This book contains a description and uses of the plant comfrey.
[...]
Before you go out ingesting plants you should look them up at reputable medical sites to see if they can cause problems in people or interact with prescription drugs.

I read Paul Owens book recently on recommendation. He was the original dog whiperer I've been told as this book was published in 1999. Cesar grabbed the title. Owens book is compassionate and very dog friendly. No bullying. Just read another good book too by Alana Stevenson on humane dog training. If I would have been up with positive methods years ago my dogs would have been happier. Read Cesar's book. It was pretty bad. Made me feel at war with my dogs. A lot of bullying.

I quickly ordered this book assuming it was written by Cesar Millan. Pretty shameless for this author to use the title "The Dog Whisperer" and using a similar dustjacket to promote sales by associating himself with the well-known Cesar Millan. Alas, my mistake for ordering in a rush - like a fly caught in a Venus Fly Trap. I returned the book at my expense.

he goes too far in critizing other methods. He seems like a super nice guy. I would trust my dog with him, and would probably enjoy getting to know him and see him use his training methods.

I've used a lot of his suggestions with my shepherd/rottweiler before reading his book, and saw great improvement in him over the years since getting him at 3 years old. However, having watched the other dog whisperer's show, which is like free college for dog owners, and applied his techniques, my husband and I have seen that next leap of growth that was missing.

My dog is much calmer now with his noise phobias, with putting on his flea and tick medicine, going to the vet, and meeting other dogs. He has improved so quickly we are now looking for another dog to be his companion.

So, this book is very good, but don't knock other methods until you investigate them yourself.

Paul Owens is the first, the original, the one true Dog Whisperer!! This book is incredibly helpful. All dog owners should have a copy and read it cover to cover.

Because of my volunteer work I have had the wonderful opportunity to handle thousands of rescue dogs. My job is to take pictures and post them on a website. I walk every dog to a place where I can minimize distractions and then attempt to get a natural shot of the animal sitting, or in some pose that seems relaxed or natural. I have photographed big dogs, scared dogs, injured dogs, dogs with post surgical trauma, dogs that pull hard, dogs that guard, dogs with food aggression, or borderline aggression or dogs that have suffered from just about every kind of imaginable neglect or abuse. Not one single time , ever , in the years I have been photographing have I thought I would be able to coax a better picture out of a dog by using a prong collar, a choke collar or any other absurd punitive action. Gaining trust and attention through positive reinforcement is the only method of training an animal that should be considered evolved. Training through positive re-enforcement compared to the archaic wisdom of pronging, choking, shocking or whipping an animal is like the difference between having a friend and having an employee. You have employees as long as you pay them, animal friends are forever. My favorite illustration to support this comes from a behaviorist friend who works closely with our shelter. When teaching positive re-enforcement he uses Marine Parks as an example. "Do you think the trainers at [the marine park] whip the 4 ton Killer Whale?"

The teaching and mindset Paul Owens suggests in this book is perfect. This book is the standard by which all schools of Dog Training should measure themselves. Beware those schools that would teach you to "correct" or "flood". ( a concept that warrants research and often comes cleverly disguised ) Love your dog as a friend and never hurt them.
The rewards are well worth the effort.