Pet Books

I love, love, love this book. It makes you laugh, cry, get angry, then laugh again all in one story. There were dozens of stories. The only thing I've wondered is that I noticed over 90% of the stories came from professional writers. Were they then true, or did they just tell us a good story? Either way, a must read for any horse lover.

This book does the line of Chicken Soup books great justice. A great read whether you love horses or not. The stories will touch everyone's hesrt.

This much needed book offers readers an opportunity to feel better connected to their souls and the primal call within to connect to the beauty, strength, freedom and gentleness of not only horses but the Animal Kingdom in general. If you like or love horses, another book is also inspiring: ON THE TRAIL OF THE PONY EXPRESS by Cherokee author Jerry Ellis. He retraced the 2,000 mile route of the Pony Express Trail by horse, foot, covered wagon and canoe. The non-fiction adventure book is filled with the history and spirit of the Pony Express riders who became part of the great American West.

As a first time horse owner (I inhereited three in one day at the age of 24) I am constantly looking for ways to expand my knowledge of horses and all things equine-related. This book was not only inspirational, but got me familiar with terms I hadn't used in my every day language until I got my horses. This book made me laugh, sniffle, and nod my head in relation to some of the stories. This is a good book for first time horse owners and not-so-new horse owners.

I like horses, but I had a hard time getting into this book. Some of the stories were better than others. I think two of my favorite stories were the one about the Horse at Harvard and the one about the horses surrounding and protecting the baby. Most of the stories were good. This is a book about true horse stories.

The things I like best about this book aren't in most other books. I found the personality test for the dog both interesting and helpful, and the distinction between dogs who react to fear with flight and those who react with aggression is important.

The discussion of the test itself is detailed, and the training programs, particularly the ones that last several weeks, are helpful and practical. This test requires your dog to perform consistently, and that means practice! Learning how to structure a "Stay" program that will take 4 weeks to complete is critical if you really want a dog that can pass the test.

However, the book was written more than 10 years ago, and the specific techniques rely heavily on physically moving the dog into place. There are some master trainers who can do that, but these days most humane societies and group trainers don't advise amateurs to use those methods unsupervised.

For example, the book says that with some dogs, when teaching "Sit," "You may have to physically place them. With your left hand, stroke down the entire length of the back, over the tail all the way to the stifles, and with equal pressure of the right and left hands, fold the dog into a sit with the command 'Sit.'"

I don't know of any book written in the last 5 years that would recommend this method for home training. Instead, the preferred method is shaping and patience--reward the dog for each effort towards the desired behaviour. Almost all dogs will eventually get there, and the shaping method is usually safer and more reliable for amateurs.

This book uses similar physical manipulation techniques throughout. That's really the only reason I can't give it a higher rating.

I recommend that you get any other good recent book on training for ways of teaching the individual Sit, Down, Heel and Stay behaviours. Then use this book for working out a training schedule specifically to prepare for the Canine Good Citizenship Test.

Most other books are going to talk as though your dog will have Heel mastered in a session or two. And it's true the dog will learn the basic command that quickly. But to truly MASTER it, you will need something like the 8 week training schedule that the Volhards lay out in this book.

There's a lot to learn from this book, and some very practical tips. But you'll also need a current book specifically for amateur trainers to teach the individual techniques--or take a class from your local humane society or work with a local trainer to get the basics.

The Canine Good Citizen approaches dog training from the perspective that a person would like their dog to be able to pass the Canine Good Citizen Test. It takes you through the training and techniques necessary for a dog to pass this test which also provides a foundation for a well trained dog in general. It's short, simple, and one of the best dog training books around. All the basics are covered here and it's an excellent book for someone who doesn't want to be overwhelmed with too much information.

Good resource. Offers practical tips as well as things every dog owner should know about how their dog responds and communicates. I've had dogs all my life and I still learned very helpful information on dog training and to train your dog without confusing him/her or sending mixed messages.

If you're considering the CGC test, you already know pretty much everything in this book. The only thing in this book that is not in every single other training reference I've ever seen is the "Motivation Method," which may be just fine, but when I looked at the references for that method... every one of them is another book by the authors of this book. In short, read the free AKC book and a real training book; this one is a waste of time.

This little volume is pure gold. Some may criticize this book as not being advanced enough, or not containing new information - they are missing the point. Ultimately this is a book about educating people about how to help their dogs learn good people manners.

While the context is preparing for the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen test, really this book is for any dog owner. If you have a family dog that needs a little help in learning good people manners, this is the book for you. If you are already involved in competitive dog sports, such as obedience trials or have experience in dog training, this book has not really been written for you.

The Canine Good Citizen test involves 10 individual tests, all of which allow the dog to show that she well mannered in everyday situations. For example two of the tests include the dog must sit politely while being petted by a stranger, and walk politely on leash through a crowd.

Whether you ever test your dog or not, teaching these skills to your dog will result in a dog that is well behaved, a joy to be around. Isn't that what everyone really wants for their family dog?

For me, the best parts of the book are those that coach you on how to work with your dog, how to understand the dog's psychology - how dogs learn. This has been invaluable to me. Early in the book, the authors introduce the idea that dogs are, of course, pack animals. Our human family becomes their pack, and someone has to be the leader of the pack. For everyone's sake, the leader of the pack must be one of the people - not the dog. The Volhards help you understand how to be the pack leader. This is not hard to do and certainly does not require you to be unkind to your dog. Our dog has learned these lessons well enough that she even cheerfully takes commands from our 3 1/2 year old son.

There is plenty of good advice here about preparing for the actual CGC test and what to expect. If passing the CGC test is your goal, the easiest approach is to enroll yourself and your dog in a hands on obedience class and use this book as the companion text book you almost won't get otherwise.

For those without ready access to obedience classes, this book does provide guidance on how to train your dog by yourself. Having been through several obedience classes with our dog, I believe that if you followed the Volhards' advice carefully - and actually practiced the skills as they suggest - you really could train your dog on your own using this book.

I have set myself a challenge - to have our family dog (a 2 year old shelter rescue Australian Shepherd mix) take and pass the CGC test at the local dog show in about a month. As the local dog show is VERY large, this will be an extremely distracting environment and a real challenge for our dog. I am convinced that when our dog takes the test she will pass. This book has helped me understand how to get her ready and how to help her be pretty much the perfect family dog.

In the year-and-a-half since the kids wore me down and convinced me we really "needed" a dog, I have bought several dog books and skimmed many more at bookstores and libraries. This is the one book I would enthusiastically recommend for any dog owner in the early stages of teaching good manners to their dog, even if they never plan on having their dog take the Canine Good Citizen test.

Great stuff, and highly recommended.

Update - our dog has now taken, and passed the Canine Good Citizen test. I am still convinced that the Volhard's book is great stuff. Their advice equipped me to teach our dog to be a well mannered member of the family. Following their advice, she aced the test.

I can not rate this product. So the above is in correct. I never received this product due to my not giving enough information on my company's address. But I do wish I had received an email telling me it
had been returned so that I could have ordered it again and earlier since
it was a christmas gift for my daughter-in-law. She is a vet student and needed it.

Sorry
Sherry Sharp

This is a must have for any small animal veterinarian or student. It blows the "5 Minute Consult" out of the water. There is always someone using it our practice, we have just decided to leave it out on our treatment table. It's a very concise but thorough reference for everyday use. It's well organized and easy to read. 95% of the time the information we need is in there. If not, we refer to specific books on Optho, derm etc but you could practice veterinary medicine with just this book! I highly recommend it!

This is a great book for any veternary student or veterinarian who needs a quick reference. I just love the way it is set up! A great book.

As a relief vet, I can't always count on a practice having all the references I need, and I can't carry an entire library with me. Clinical Vet Advisor packs lots of info into a single volume. I use this book every day. My only complaint is that the support website (a major selling point for the book)has not been working well. Content is very slow to load. Also, the text promises that client information handouts are available in Spanish as well as English, but for several weeks the Spanish handouts have been offline. The webmaster says they are working on the problem, but a webpage content problem that continues for several weeks generally means nothing is being done.

Edit: As of 2/08 the website problems have been resolved and the Spanish language handouts can be printed. This is a big deal when practicing in Southern California.

I am very impressed with this book - it was recommended to me by colleagues. I find the differential diagnoses lists especially helpful, and the online reference tool is excellent too.
Highly recommended!

This book is very good for the saltwater hobby. I know English language not so well, but I read this book with pleasure and to me almost all was clear without the dictionary.

Great read with all the information you would need to create, maintain, and sustain a reef tank. However, the book can be overwhelming with information about every theroy out there about filtration, etc., with out really recommending the best approach/technology to maintaining reef systems. For a beginner, it was a lot of reading to get what I needed. Overall, I would buy it again.

very informative and comprehensive, would strongly recomend it for beginner and experienced reefer. Well worth the money

This is a book that every one should own, that want's or has a reef Aquarium. This book go's into great details.

I can't say much on this book except IT is a MUST HAVE FOR EVERY REEF AQUARIUM KEEPER! A very2 good book to have, it's worth the price I tell you.

This is an old book but it is still the best system out there for training labs. Wolters has it together.

I liked this book to a cetain extent. I think this is a good book for someone who doesn't know a lot about a hunting dog. It's geared more towards starting with a puppy, but can be used with an older dog. I'd read it before I got the puppy so you know what to expect. It's a little light on specifics, but there are some there. Don't get too caught up with the time line because all dogs are different.

ive read 6 dog training books in the last month and this is the best and most precise so far...if you want a HUNTING DOG this is the book to use......

I used this book for training my Springer Spaniel. He is my constant companion because I can trust him to behave in all conditions. Why? I attribute it to early training using the methods in the book and good genetics, plus lots of time and love. I have heard dozens of times now that he is the "Best behaved dog" that folks have ever seen. READ THE BOOK BEFORE YOU BUY YOUR PUP. Then you'll get the full benefit of both. Follow the methods ad have the "Best trained dog" people have ever seen.

Great Trianing tool for the amateur trainer. I also use the DVD as a quick refresher course. Wolters understood dog psychology 30 years before it became cool. Your dog will love doing his job and doing it for you. Now you have to remain consistent.

This writing is not particularly deep and was not meant to be, but it will touch you deeply. I loved it! It sits on my coffee table and I have had to wait for guests to finish before we can leave.

Just Gus is basically a picture book for adults. A heavy picture book that's short but powerful. You can read it in 15 minutes but it'll stay with you for long after that. It's the story of a rescued stray and the love he brings to a woman in her final days. Read it and pass it on.

This was a nice read but was disappointed it was not more story than pictures. Too high a price for no more story.

This book, although sad, makes you feel so good. The devoted love an an unwanted dog helps a dying woman to get through her last two years of her battle with cancer. Written well and with photographs.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a quick read, but very moving. Another perfect example of how therapeutic and healing having an animal in your life can be. Bravo!!

This book is well written and easy to read and understand. The literary quality is not lost in the scientific terminology. A must read prior to a trip to the tropics. A good written explanation of why we should save the tropical forests.

I just loved this book. I have always been fascinated by tropical forests, and this book did a great job of presenting lots of factual information about them and at the same time giving a really good feeling for the aesthetic pleasure of being in one. Forsyth and Miyata are excellent writers, among the best pop science writers I've come across.

I just wish I had read this book before before or during my recent Costa Rica vacation. it would have made it all that much more enjoyable.

It's much more readable than a textbook but still provides a lot of detail. It's probably an excellent way to actually gain some understanding of tropical nature, and the many types of inter-relationships. I'm a biologist by training, but knowing nothing about tropical nature I wanted to learn about it before going on a tour in Panama & Costa Rica. It's easy to read a chapter at a time. I recommend it if you're really interested in nature or if you're going there or been there.

I first read this book when I was on a jungle trek in Ecuador - it was available in our lodge. This book perfectly reflected our experience of life and death of the rain forest. It's an essential first read for someone who wants to truly understand the basic concepts of the rain forest. I happily read it over again whenever I return to the rain forest whether it's in Borneo, Peru or Costa Rica.

Still in print and selling well 23 years after its first publication, this is a classic book about the beauty and importance of rain forests and their many inhabitants, both plant and animal. I read this book for an undergraduate class that included a trip to Costa Rica. It's an interesting blend of history, organismal biology, and plea for conservation. It also contains practical information about how to hike around in a rain forest. Overall, a very pleasant read told in a conversational manner. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.

Excellent resource for curriculum unit on social insects, ants, cooperation for pk-k.

I have enjoyed reading this well written book and learning about the scientists and volunteers who are working to restore the species. Science got a little short shrift, which is probably nice for many readers. I learned a lot anyway. Though I did not always agree with the author's opinions, I think this is an important book and may help reduce the general ignorance about the fate of the American Chestnut, something everyone really ought to know about.

I have read a number of books in the genre of environmental science or nature that missed the mark for me when it came to explaining the science of the problem. This book was perfect. Some books spend too much time on personalities - again perfect and seemingly balanced. My only minor complaint was that I didn't need so much preaching about why I should care about the chestnut. I do! This book exceeded my expectations and I truly learned something from it.

I work in plant pathology which sparked my interest in this topic. This book is written by a non-scientist and it is very well researched and full of interesting stories of many of the people affected by, and dedicated to saving the American Chestnut. I would recommend it to anyone interested in US history or biology or just looking for a good read.

As a biologist with an intense avocational interest in the American Chestnut, I planted nearly a hundred seeds on my property in PA way back in 1972. After 8 years of beautiful growth, the blight hit them. I joined the American Chestnut Foundation and discovered a hypovirulent chestnut on my property that I shared with professionals studying the blight fungus. But my interest in chestnuts waned, in part because of the ACF's backcrossing program, until I read Susan Freinkel's marvelous book! The people I knew only as names became personalities--Burnham, Rutter, Hebard--and she introduced me to others, such as Gary and Lucille Griffen, whose work she described finally explained to me why the hypovirulent inoculants I applied to my chestnuts back in 1980 didn't help at all. It's the combination of genetic resistance with hypovirulence that is needed. What an eye opener and what a fantastic book she has written, one that has rekindled my youthful interest in restoring the role of the American Chestnut. Her book supports the huge role natural history plays in producing good science. Passion for a species is a natural element in knowing it.

As an avid amateur botanist, it is rare when an informative AND interesting book on plants is published. But this the case here. Freinkel speaks with an informative and lyrical voice, making one ponder the tragedy of the loss of this truly magnificent tree. I'm very glad to see this lovely book published, and hope more writers follow Freinkel's example.

I picked this one up, based upon the mostly favorable reviews. I enjoy reading accounts of people who have been able to connect with their spiritual natures, whatever the medium.

And there is some interesting material -- maybe 50 pages of interesting information. The other 300 pages are extremely repetitive, and sadly, just like many other new-age books, preachy. This could have been a wonderful book, had the author simple recounted her experiences with horses. But, unfortunately, she launches into tirades. It's just not worth sorting out the gems from the weeds.

I have been riding and training horses for 60 years, and while reading this book, I had my memories come back, and she spoke for me. Any women who loves horses, and has felt their power, would feel inspired while reading this book. Beth Morris

I wasn't sure what this book was truly about when I purchased it, but it sounded interesting. Interesting doesn't even begin to describe it! I have learned soooooooooooo much already, and I'm only 1/2 way through the book! I would love to meet this woman. I highly recommend this book to anyone who knows there is more to a horse than meets the eye...

One of the best books I have ever read. And I've read a lot. Exquisitely written. Profound in it's simplicity, and simply profound. Get it. Read it. Experience it. Love it.

I have been interested in this topic for a while now but as I start working toward my dissertation, I know that I need more factual and scientific information for anyone to take me seriously. This book is packed with anecdotal portions to keep you interested and tons of "scientific" information to back it up. I'm not finished with it yet but there is a ton of information for me to use. I'll be reading it again for sure!