Pet Books

Good discussion but not everything applied to my cats, especially in the section that translated behavior/signals

I have been a cat owner for over 20 years, have taken undergraduate and graduate courses in animal behavior, and have extensive experience in psychiatric (human) nursing. My first cat was a stray whose long-term companion was a terrier mix with a history of physical abuse. We had challenges rehabilitating the dog, but never had any behavioral problems with the cat who lived to be thirteen. My next cat was a 1.5 year-old spayed female adopted from the humane society who was joined 6 months later by a 4-month-old rescued and neutered male kitten. I remarried a few years later and my 1-child/2-cat household was increased by 1 adult male and an English Springer Spaniel. Again - no behavioral problems. A few months ago, our now 13-year-old female cat died from long-term chronic renal failure. Our now 11-year-old male cat became withdrawn and lost weight. We decided to adopt a 1.5 year-old recently spayed female cat. We did the standard isolation and gradual introduction of the new cat into the household. Despite this the new cat is over-grooming to the point of self-mutilation and began spraying a few weeks ago. We had been back to the vet and I was feeling desperate. I updated my cat-health-care library when my former female cat became ill. I recently added this book, Cat vs. Cat: Keeping Peace... It has provided several new insights and problem-solving techniques. I introduced the interactive (human-cat) parallel (cat-cat) play experiences. The cat vs. cat stress has improved significantly and the cats now seem to enjoy hanging out together in the same room. So long as the distance between them is 2 feet or greater there is no hissing and spitting. We are still working on the spraying and over-grooming... I highly recommend this book for anyone who is sharing their life with more than one cat!

I started to read and I'm learning pretty much even though that I allready act according to tips in the book but it is nice to read again and fix things. I have 2 cats that are not friends and I live in 2 room apartment so I manage to hang some high perches on the wall so they less stress this way.

This book is great. I got it because I was interested in understanding my cats, not for any problems, because my cats are pretty good with each other.

Reading the book, I realized I got lucky by just chucking my cats together when I adopted them.

This book has lots of great tips, like placement of food, and even how to play with your cats. (I wasn't letting them catch the rope enough)

It deals with all sorts of issues: hierarchy, toys, food, scratching posts, going outside, cat tree placement, etc etc.

And the photo on the front is freaking hilarious. I laugh every time I look at the book. The cat on the right could have a thought bubble above... "Step off, chump!"

Last but not least, I'll say that I'm really really tempted to get another of this author's books, but this book is so good, I'm not sure what the other books will have that this book doesn't. It's that good.

I have learned so much about cats after reading this book that my three cats are much happier now. By the way, I am also very happy, since they are not scratching our furniture any more. This book is also very well written, making the reading experience pleasant and easy. Thank you so much, Pam. You are awesome!

I found this to be among the most inspiring books that I have read this year. It is not a narrative but a vast collection of small essays and notes covering topics related to changing our environment for the better. Some stories are inspirational accounts of what others have done, others are calls to action for what can be done. They focus on six categories - stuff, shelter, cities, community, business, politics and planet. There is bound to be one or two categories that matches up with your interests. As a civil engineer I found a wealth of information and resources in the stuff, shelter and cities sections.

The books most valuable aspect is that it is an amazing compilation of resources for whatever areas that you decided you want to explore further. Over the course of reading this book I probably added over fifty books to my reading list.

While parts of this books are meant to alarm you into action, the overall message of the book is a positive one: envision a better world and figure out what you can do to move it in that direction. By making people aware of all of the micro projects that are being tested, one cannot help but be inspired to think of the direction that he or she will take with their life.

Although the book looks very good and most interesting, it did NOT come with the box cover, as advertised. False advertising - I would suggest not ordering it from Amazon.

This book is absolutely amazing and lifechanging because of all the important information that is in this book. You just have no idea how bad we treat the world and how close we are to destroying our lives all so we can have selfish comforts on a daily basis.

A nonsensical belief that we can solve the environmental crisis by avoiding self change. Never in our history have their been a more deluded and narcissistic generation clambering to take the helm. We're in serious trouble.

A practical comprehensive compendium of the types of practices we will need to nourish if we are to live in a Bright Green sustainable and just future. More a catalog than an essay, it is divided into sections such as Stuff, Shelter, Cities, Community, Business, Politics and Planet, giving examples of sustainable work being done in each area as well as references to relevant books and web sites. There is a strong emphasis on the potential for well-designed technologies to improve the lot of all human beings. The book is basically a collection of the types of things you will find at the [...] website.

The first time I read this book, I sat on the floor of Barns and Nobles and giggled through the whole thing. It's funny, touching, and a must read for dog lovers - especially if you've had a rough day and need a little help appreciating the simple things. Plus, it makes a great gift, and all of the author's proceeds go to benefit Canine Companions for Independence.

This book is one of the sweetest animal stories I have ever read. I recommend it to all animal lovers, grade school teachers, moms & dads. It shows the tender side of Dean Koontz and brings out the same in all of us. I couldn't stop laughing!

I read this book so often it's not even funny, and I am an adult. It captures the personality of a Golden Retriever so well! And if you don't love Goldens then you need to re-evaluate your priorities... :) This book would be good for children, I plan on reading it to my children in the future. It just captures how the little things matter, and all it takes is simple pleasures to make your life complete. You can take good advice out of some parts of it, others are just there for pure amusement.

This book is delightful; it is light hearted, and reminds us(people) to not be so weighed down by pressures and responsibilities we forget to take joy is the simple things.

These are beautiful thoughts and beautiful photographs of a very astute canine author! Well worth the time and money invested!

My aussie is on her third agility class and we love it. Got the book for a birthday gift from someone who thought we might enjoy it. My first thought was what am I going to learn from a book when I am paying close to a $100 a month for classes. Turns out there was alot of really useful information packed into this book without being over loaded. The writing style is easy to follow and flows very well. Now when I do my training I have a few tips that the instructor has not shown us which has made learing much easier.

The only thing I would like to mention is dog agility takes up alot of space and the equipment is somewhat expensive. It is not likely that you will be able to do this in your backyard. You should make sure that training is offered in your area.

Great book, everything you need to know. How to make obsticals and
agility speak are great!

This book is a great resourse for those who are interested in agility, but don't know where to start, or those beginners looking for some pointers and training tips. I also really enjoyed chapter 21 "Minding Your Agility Manners" which tells you what to expect at competition, and how to avoid doing anything considered faux pas.

A bit heavy handed on promoting Ag training, but the enthusiasm is real and the advice and information extensive and invaluable.

I thought this book was really a great overview of dog agility training. The author does a really nice job of describing the kind of dog that works best with a agillity along with exact training exercies and other helpful books, clubs, and web sites. I felt this book was a fantastic source for dog lovers whether you want to train for fun or train for competition.

Book in perfect shape. Arrived in very timely manor. Thank you for your great service.

I've purchased many dog behavior and trick books over the years. This little gem is definitely the best trick book. My golden and I have had many great times learning some of the tricks. Easy to follow and the progressive technique makes great sense. I'm amazed at how fast he can learn following the simple directions. Patience and consistency as always is the key.

This is a very good book. It has may good points about tricks and teaching your dog.

It is definitely for beginners. The authors explains every detail about everything so you will be succesful in teaching which tricks you want and doing it correctly and efficiently. It displays a few pictures of dogs performing the tricks but its not a visual book, but more of a guide book that you have to read most of to understand who to do things properly. All in all its an amazing book if you want to teach your dog great, fun things.

This was a great book. Easy to follow steps. Needs more pictures. A DVD to go along with it would be better.

One of my favorite picture books of all time. This sweet story is about opening up your heart to new friends even after you've lost all your old friends--it would be great for children who move to a new school or town. The text is a little on the long side for a picture book, but for this story it fits.

We have loved many of Cynthia Rylant's books, including the Henry and Mudge series and the Mr. Putter and Tabby series. However, I think this is her best book of all. The old woman reminded me so much of my late mother, who did name things, and also didn't want to get close to anything new in her old age, afraid they would outlive her. Happily, she and the old woman in the story both took a chance. I still tear up everything I read this book.

The illustrations are beautiful and the message is wonderful. I will continue to read this long after my kids are grown, probably when I am the old woman naming things!

I was explaining this story to a friend and actually got choked up just thinking about it! I read this every year to my students and every year I am moved by it. It details an old woman's life and how she has learned to attach herself to inanimate things rather than living things because so many people in her life have died. Ultimately she finds companionship in a dog. The most poignant part of the story comes when she looks back at her life and realized her human interactions have enriched her life and she decides to name the dog and claim him as her own! Ah, see, I'm tearing up again! What a sap!

We bought this book for our 5-year old son after reading a positive magazine review of it. Still, when we received it, it surpassed our expectations. This is a great book! Our son has read it over and over with our family and he even asked to bring it to school for the "hundredth day" of school. It also was timely because our family had suffered some losses this past year and the book provided a good reason for us to talk about why the old lady may have been reticent to name something and how her feelings changed by the end of the book. It's a somewhat silly (in a good way) book to read yet it still has a wonderful message. Our 8-year-old daughter loved it too. We all did, actually! Great book - buy it and enjoy!

Cynthia Rylant has done it again-- this story tells of an elderly woman who has outlived most of those she loved and doesn't want to risk a new attachment-but but a nameless stray dog changes her mind. The story is done with a wonderful blend of humor and poignancy. It is a favorite in one pre-K classroom I know--wonderful way to positively approach those tricky issues of aging and death with young children.

I did not know of the Pet Fairies series before ordering Penny the Pony Fairy. I was so pleased with the book and my granddaughter loved having me read it to her. The book played right into a 5 year old's imagination -adventure, but not too scary. I liked the "chapters" format so we could stop and start as time permitted. The books are affordable and I'll definitely purchase others in the series for Christmas, birthday, etc. to start a nice family tradition. My granddaughter will remember Grandma reading the Pet Fairies series.

These books sparked my daughters intrest in reading chapter books. I started reading them with her in kindergarten and by first grade she was reading them on her own. I would read each chapter as she completed it, then ask her questions. She has really good comprehension of these books and lots of laugher while she is reading. She is a rising third grader now and still enjoys the Fairy book series.

This book brought so much comfort to me after the loss of my very best friend- little girl Ni-Ni! With so many unanswered questions and so much uncertainty when we lose our four legged companions- it was in reading this book that I found and continue to find comfort in Gary Kurtz work... Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates. For anyone who has suffered this type of loss this book will bring you peace in knowing we will meet again in heaven! I highly recommend this book!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gary's book was the 3rd book I had read on pet loss, having experienced the very tragic loss of my beautiful cat Tyson (sadly hit by a car on May 18th 2008). While I am not overly religous, I found this book incredibly uplifting and helpful in coming to terms with my grief and understanding my beautiful boy's spirituality here and beyond. Gary is a very personable writer and while reading the book you feel like you are sitting on his back porch speaking with him. Of all the 'religious / Christian' pet loss books Ive read, this is by far the best.

I lost one of my favorite cat's in April. This book really helped me in my time of grieving.I am so glad I found it. It did not take away the grief and sadness, but it helped a lot and made it a little easier.

interesting opinions from the author, I felt some of it a "bit over the top"....but the day we had to put our beloved 15 year old "schnoodle" to sleep, I was inconsolable, and spent a fortune on line looking for books that would maybe support my ideas & thoughts, especially Scripturally, that we could see our pets again when it is OUR time to go to Heaven...

I actually found this book in my bookshelf several days after my beloved little dachshund died. I don't remember buying it, but there it was! Anyway, I was terribly disappointed in it for most of the reasons that have already been cited in other reviews.

My main complaint is that he effectively dashes the hopes of readers who are not Christians by stating that while God created us and loves all humans and all creatures, only those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior will see their pets in the afterlife. To my way of thinking, If God loves all the creatures He created (as stated in the book and the Bible), He will accept all His creatures into Heaven. To say that God will only accept Christians into Heaven is an insult not only to the billions who are not Christians but, in my opinion, to God Himself.

What a lovely book. It's filled with interesting, humorous, empathtic stories. Gives you a better understanding of the relationship between humans and their beloved pets.

A delightful book showing Dr. Trout's skill with narrative. The ongoing stories, of Sage the dog with the stomach that was literally turned, and Barron, the dog with the difficult and sad diagnosis, gave the book shape and narrative curve. I loved the cautionary story about the cat who had swallowed something stringy. The tangential material, both about Trout's own life (a young man massaging a puppy to life) and weird animal lore (ferrets in one's pants), provided rich and rewarding reading.

I do wish he'd had more cat anecdotes, of course, since I am a cataholic.

One tiny criticism: an ongoing villain in the story is Sage's owner's daughter, who is an engineer and holds a doctorate. If she was truly as unfeeling toward animals as Trout paints her, she no doubt deserves the disdain with which he paints her. (And I wonder if she ever picked up his book and recognized herself). BUT: doctors of engineering with Ph.D.'s are just as much doctors as veterinarians or MDs. They hold lives in their hands as much as do doctors of medicine or veterinary science.

Doctors of Engineering keep airplanes in the air and bridges from collapsing. The degree of doctor was invented before it was assigned by public opinion to medical doctors. So I wish Trout hadn't ended his book with the snarky comment, "Perhaps she {Dr. Hartmann} uses the title . . . to get bumped from coach to business." I have a Ph.D., but it sure never helped me get a better seat on an airplane! As to his supposition that she used the doctorate "to bully her way into our phone system," I have to ask if Angell Animal Medical Center is so elitist that the owners of poor dying animals have to bully receptionists to get information or help.

The length to which I've gone in this screed might suggest I don't like the book, but I did like it, He does anecdote very well, and it's clear he loves both animals and the art and technology of surgery, maybe the latter a bit more than the former. He conveys both loves beautifully.

Nick Trout has written a charming "day in the life" account of being a surgeon in Boston's Angell veterinarian hospital. When I started I wondered if this was going to be nothing more than a serialized piece from Dog or Cat Fancy that had been expanded into book form, but my skepticism was quickly dispelled and I found myself charmed by both his sensitive and funny approach to both the pets and their owners. Anyone who owns and cherishes their pet would probably find alot to appreciate and identify with here.

This was an enjoyable story, but the errors were like fingernails across a blackboard. The book does not appear to have been copyedited or proofread. One blooper reads: "When I first met Ms. Wicks, I was physically bowled over by her...tricolored silky fur and energy." I think maybe that should read "her dog's." A couple is described as "balling" their eyes out in the waiting room - what a picture that brings to mind! Punctuation is bizarre, and if one word can be confused with another, it is: reign for rein, peak for peek, etc. Of course, these are not the author's fault, but they did detract from the reading experience for me.

This light-hearted memoir recounts a day in the life of a veterinary surgeon via a series of surgical vignettes intermingled with remembrances and reflections. The structure of the book is somewhat choppy, and there's very little momentum moving the story along. Nevertheless, this book is likely to entertain animal lovers or people curious about veterinarians, and it won't demand much of your brain power.

In response to those reviewers who wrote that this book is only helpful for newcomers to horse ownership: GUESS WHAT!?! I have been around horses for my entire life (31 years). I rode before I could walk (well,my dad helped me!). And, GUESS WHAT!?! I love this book and it has given me so much to ponder, and has altered the way that I look at my relationship with my horses and the way that I want to care for them. I already had a good bond with my horses, I've never treated them inhumanely, but this book still provided new information that has been and will continue to be useful to me. Not only that, but it is a well-written, entertaining narrative. Joe Camp writes about the increased understanding of our own humanity that comes through relationships with other creatures. Joe tells his story and offers his advice in a humble, warm and exuberant way. It was fun to have some Benji stories in there too!

Every horse purchased should come with a copy of this book. It really is the only book a horse owner would ever need.

I've owned horses for 7 years and loved them for 55. (well, I don't recall those first 2 years too vividly but I never remeber a time when I didn't love horses). Anyway, I thought this book was well written in some areas although I don't agree with all. Before I had a place big enough to pasture my horses, I did the best I could for them within our constraints (money, time, money). I think it would be a shame for someone to read this book and give up wanting/keeping a horse because they couldn't recreate nature's intended habitat however, as with all things there is some sound advice as to doing things a certain way because "that's the way it's done." It is an enjoyable read, a bit preachy at times, take what you can from it, research options and enjoy your horse. I completely agree with the gentle approach. As for the running "inner story" about the boy and the colt, somethings are just "Hollywood" and we need to recognize it as such and enjoy it for what it was meant-entertainment. I like the book and am glad I purchased it.

Ah, this is a truly great book. The author is open and ready to explore the unfamiliar to do the right thing for his horses. A true love story. I am positive every reader will be touched by the author's gentleness, and will also learn from his open attitude that takes him and his horses beyond the conventional approach. And it is all done for the happiness of his horses. Both the people and the horses benefit at the end. I highly recommend to all animal people.

Reading Joe Camp's well written story of his journey into the world of horses was both eye opening and familiar. In reconnecting with horses myself, unlearning old habits and discovering new ways has required trusting myself, my instincts and my horses. Choosing to do things in ways you find are better for the horse instead of what everyone's always done or the experts say to do can be challenging. The rewards reaped when your horses thrive and respond are amazing. The interweaving of Joe's own story with the story of wild horses is a wonderful device for providing both human and equine views. I enjoyed this book immensely, can very much relate to his experiences, and appreciate his providing reference material. (The Blocker Tie Ring aka Australian Tie is amazing!)