Pet Books

This is the 17th book in the easy-to-read series about a young boy Henry and his St.Bernard, Mudge. These short chapters outline a family camping trip. Loving relationships and peaceful setting combine with colorful drawings for an enjoyable book.

I liked this book because it's about camping and I like camping. The fish had a great picture. Henry's mother was setting up the camp and the really funny part was when Mudge unpacked a ham sandwich and it looked like a bunch of leaves. His dad brought his guitar and a smile on his face because he was happy to be camping. It was funny when Henry and Mudge thought that there were bears so they were hugging each other. I thought it was a good book because in the end Mudge does something really funny but you have to read the book to find out what it is.

This is the 17th book in the easy-to-read series abut a young boy Henry and his St. Bernard Mudge. These short chapters outline a family camping trip. Loving relationships and peaceful setting combine with colorful drawings for an enjoyable book.

In their 17th adventure together Henry & Mudge go camping with Henry's parent. Out at Big Bear Lake they take A Good Smelly Hike & have some sweet Green Dreams. While Henry's mother organizes the trip because she's been a Camp Fire Girl & Henry's dad brings along his guitar & a willing back, Henry and Mudge imagine what they'll see on their camping trip. Ah, here comes summer - let's go camping together! Great early reader. ()

We have every one of the Henry and Mudge books and have been reading them to our daughter since she was two. She is four now and she still loves them. We would reccommend these books for both boys and girls. There is a Henry and Mudge book for every occassion. Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night is perfect to prepare for a camping trip. The feeling of a campout comes through loud and clear and the story is delightful.

I found this as one of the best books on this subject (grazing, non-conventional agriculture, small scale farming), that melded practical information with well-founded global concerns. Really made one take a hard look at 'conventional agriculture' - which by definition is not sustainable. There still may be some hope for humanity. The author has a good sense of humour, so it reads easily.

If you buy only one book on this subject, you won't go wrong with this one.

I found this book to be well writtten and thought out. It is full of interesting ideas some of which I will be trying myself.

All Flesh Is Grass: The Pleasures And Promises Of Pasture Farming is for any interested in American agriculture's history and directions. Author Gene Logsdon believes pastoral farming is a solution for a stressed agricultural system, and explains different techniques and practices past and present which hold the potential for changing and benefiting farming. His own experience as a 'contrary farmer' on his small-scale farm provides a foundation of experience for his tips.

I liked Logsdon't specifics on the effects of different kinds of pasture. I think he misses an important opportunity with his unstructured grazing--See Joel Salatin's Salad Bar Beef for balance. The intense management of grazing (Salatin) makes a more sanitary environment and eliminates the need for antibiotics. Salatin is indifferent to the choices of grass variety on which Logsdon devotes so much time. The two authors provide complementary perspectives, including different details. Logsdon discusses fencing in some detail--I share his reluctance to depend on electric fence for boundaries-Salatin dismisses it and goes all electric. Both authors are persuasive advocates for grass fed beef.

A compelling look at the benefits and solid argument for pasture farming. Skillfully written as if you were engaged in a friendly dialogue with an old friend, you are provided with more than an armfull of knowledge to guide you down the path of true agrarianism with respect to livestock and crop farming. I came away with a clearer sense of the merits of adhering to the natural cycle and relationship between the earth and the farmer. Most importantly, I came away with the notion that farming is best when the farmer provides an environment where the animals can work for themselves - it is more environmentally-friendly, more productive and more economical.

Tony does in this book what I wish more photographers would do, he tells you in plain English his thought process on composition, and balance, why he took the shot and the technical aspects of the shot (ie, filters, and lens used and multiple exposures in the camera and the lab). I use Tony's techniques when I am composing my shots, and they have improved.

This is a fabulous book! It has great ideas. The techniques used in each photo are described in easy to understand language. A beginner photographer using an SRL camera will easily be able to follow the instructions used for each technique. I also like the fact that there is not much written information so solely focused on each photo and how to produce the same image. Great book for the money!

This and his accompaying books in the series are superb. He not only provides an explanation of the technique he employed to create the image, but often also explains the composition or artistic "merit" of the photo. The title is indeed accurate: he does teach the "creative process". While most of the photos were created with film (vs. digital) the instruction is such that translation to the digital world is straightforward, and effective. As you read the text and study the photos, Mr Sweet encourages you to think of why, when and how you would apply the techniques to your own photography. I know that my own skills "jumped" a level after even the first
reading of this book.

Tony has done beautiful photography in nature, great for calendars, greeting cards. If that is what you want, Tony covers with many photograhphic treats.
I want more serious landscape photographic examples, so will look elsewhere for more profound content. It is a matter of taste and philosophy.

The shots are nice enough and Sweet certainly has his technique down pat. However, I really learned nothing from the book.

Perhaps I was expecting too much. I've been a serious photographer for nearly 40 years. Not to pat myself on the back, but I know the basics as well as anyone and was hoping for a bit of insight into Sweet's reasons for making certain shots.

All this book provides is an explanation of what equipment was used. If you're into using filters for every shot you might learn something here.

I think that the money would be better spent on one of John Shaw's books. "Focus on Nature" comes to mind as Shaw really explains his thinking behind each photo and doesn't just list the equipment that he used to make it.

Wildlife researchers and conservationists Delia and Mark Owens have spent much of their lives since 1974 in the African bush, first in the Kalahari Desert from which came their best seller "Cry of the Kalahari" and then in the North Luangwa Valley in Zambia, the setting of this 1992 book.

The Owens' passion leads them to risk their lives routinely. In searching for a suitable camp in North Luangwa they set out in an ancient truck with no radio and inadequate gear. After a grueling trek that would have sent sane mortals packing for home they separate so Mark can fly his Cessna to a site that "would make Cessna's insurance company shudder" while Delia makes the two-day trip alone with the old truck and a trailer over trackless hilly, bushy, gully-filled flood-plain terrain. Tracking animals they are constantly walking smack into a startled lion or buffalo or cornered elephant.

But the real danger comes from people. "The Eye of the Elephant," while filled with wildlife anecdotes and tidbits of information about elephants and lions, is really about the poaching war the Owens conducted on behalf of the besieged North Luangwa elephants.

The poachers are villagers, many armed with AK47s, backed by the local government and assisted by the corrupt and underequipped local game guards. The Owens' weapons are education, cottage industry projects financed by the Owens Foundation for Wildlife Conservation and the Cessna.

The battle starts genially with children exclaiming over magazine pictures and their parents joining sewing circles and carpentry workshops. But it quickly escalates until Mark drives Delia from him with his obsession for highly dangerous and only modestly effective night flights, and the poachers organize an assassination squad to rid themselves of the Owens once and for all.

The book is organized in alternating first-person chapters between Delia and Mark. The tone is brutally honest, touching when one admits to mistakes which endanger the other, disturbing when their frank discussion of anti-poaching tactics veers from the politically correct. The Owens' care more for the animals and the landscape than the people. But since the people are there, their needs must be faced. Their singlemindedness will outrage some, but their strong personalities and sheer stamina will awe almost everyone.

York County Coast Star

The Eye of the Elephant is a wonderful, adventurous journey into the heart and soul of Africa seen through Mark and Delia's eyes. From the very first page you are caught up in their heroic quests to protect the animals they are there to observe. In spite of the unbelievable odds against them, they persevered and put the safety and security of the highly endangered animals FIRST. The elephants in the Luanga Valley are very fortunate to have had Mark and Delia watch over them and be their heroes. I have loved Africa and the African elephant my entire life and I am so grateful for these two selfless, dedicated people who have become the protectors of our most precious wildlife. This is one of my most treasured African stories.

You will immediately be drawn into their story! I was so involved reading this book that I missed my train station stop...you'll feel like you're there with them!

This book is laden with fascinating information on African Wildlife and how to survive as human and animal in harsh conditions. Excellent read.

I wish these authors would write more books about their adventures in Africa. Truly riveting page-turners!

For any who may be interested in better understanding exactly what their dog is saying with his/her body language while in the company of other dogs off-leash. Written for the dog professional, it is nevertheless readily understandable to the lay dog owner. It is an excellent guide to what dogs are saying with their non verbal body language. I have parented multiple dogs for multiple years and read multiple books on dogs, but this is by far the most comprehensive and complete book devoted entirely to this topic that I have yet encountered. It is well written and easy to read and comprehend. I learned many valuable lessons about dog behavior while reading this book. I highly recommend it.

This book provided an excellent introduction to understanding animal body language. I feel like I have a much more interactive relationship with my dog which has really helped to supercharge his training!

This is a really great book which suggests ways of managing off leash play, including assessing dogs, and when play is "green", "red" or "yellow"... The big problem is that canine body language is not always blatant and often occurs in subtle sequences within varying contexts... The book offers pictures and explanations of behaviors, but I don't think small B&W photos suffice to get the point across in demonstrating the behaviors so well to the uninitiated -- you can't really freeze frame most dog behaviors... I think you really need good videographer as well as many breed examples to really train a person about the behaviors... For this reason, I think the book is very good for people who work and deal with dogs all the time and are already familiar with the signals, and are looking for a system to manage and assess situations... but if your goal is to learn how to read a dog's body language and you're very new at it, the book probably wouldn't be my first choice. - - In contrast, I'd suggested viewing Sarah Kalnajs "Language of Dogs" and "Am I Safe" DVD first, videos for those seriously fascinated with the topic - - but not for individuals who don't want to sit through a formal lecture on the subject.

All in all... I think this book offers a GREAT outline of the subject, but I really hope it might be expanded into an instructional video one day. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are any DVDs out yet that capture and analyze dog/dog and human/dog interaction at a dog park and go into analyzing situations. If there was, I'd get it in an instant! (Please give me credit if you decide to make one of course!)

I am the Senior Manager for a Doggie Daycare and I thought this book was was great! Several things I like about it:
*A quick read. It only took me about 2 hours to get through it. Granted, I read very fast, but it is something that people can read entirely in a short amount of time.
*Plenty of pictures to illustrate what you are talking about.
*Covering not only what to look for in the dogs, but what to look for in yourself. LOVE the chapter about being a good leader, ESPECIALLY the section "Your leadership skills need improving if you..."
*What I like the most, and what I was the most concerned about prior to reading it, is the fact that what is stated in the book does not say "This is the way you should do things" so it complements the training program I already have for my staff instead of ever contradicting it. I suppose with daycares that are less focused on improving the quality of experience for their dog and human clients might disagree, but I think this will be a great addition to our training program. It's like it is a nice overview of how things should work in an ideal situation, and then I get to fill in the gaps and give the finer details of what to actually do to make it all come together.
It is completely synced up with what we do in our daycare that it easily could have been written specifically for my business. I found myself nodding along with what I was reading a number of times.
I intend to make this required reading for my staff. Thank you so much for getting this out there! It is really going to be an asset to the doggie daycare world!

I've been offering interactive daycare for dogs for 14 years. This book is filled with what we've learned over the years, presented in a clear-cut, easy to reference format. It is a must read for anyone who runs a doggie daycare, is thinking about opening one, for dog owners who want to know what their daycare operator should know, or who take their dogs to a public dog park. I wish I had written this book.

As a canine behavior consultant who specializes in fearful dogs and takes a holistic approach to behavior modification, I appreciate and recommend this book. The authors conducted experiments on over 150 dogs to find out which musical instrumentation, speed, and rhythm would cause dogs to relax. The dogs' heartbeats become entrained to the music, resulting in a rate that is conducive to the relaxation response. Dogs in home environments showed reduced anxiety, as did dogs in kennel situations. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that simply playing this CD will solve behavior issues in and of itself (although it certainly might for some dogs), but it is a useful adjunct to behavior modification, is easy for humans to implement, and will not cause harm. And who knows, it might even calm the humans in the house, which will in turn make for a calmer dog as well.

Whether you follow a holistic approach to health for your canine companion or not...this book and cd offer a practical new tool for us as sound aware guardians to make small modifications in our sound environment for improving the health and behavior of our canine companions.

Throughly referenced/cross-referenced, this book provides the reader with a solid foundation for the cd's development and application-specific tracts. So well written, I thought it best to share just a few of my favorite points by way of excertations;

"This not simply a dog book (or cd)...this is a dog and human book...there is no way to have a discussion about dog behavior or health without taking into account the role that humans play in a dogs life."

"Classicial music is easy on the nervous system because the form and patterns are easy to perceive. Yet, all classical music isn't the same. "

If you read the book, you will understand the use and practical application of the CD (which is included by way of a plastic sleeve permanently attached as the last page in the book). The first half of the CD are piano excerpts taken from their clinically tested, full version CD Through a Dog's Ear: Music to Calm Your Canine Companion, Volume 1 and is there to demonstrate how their arrangements soothes your canine. The second half of the CD also features excerpts take from another of their clinically tested, full version CDs Through a Dog's Ear Volume 1: Music for the Canine Household, meant to be enjoyed by both canine and human (uplifting). It is a starter CD afterall...if you want the full versions, you have to purchase those separately.

"Music selections were chosen that were intrinsically simple in orchestration and arrangement...with the more complex pieces we would modify tempos, remove entire harmonic sections if too complex, or even repeat sections to create a deeper effect...but NEVER adding any notes of our own making."

While there are no one-size-fits-all to a specific problem, this 45 minute starter CD offers a beautiful arrangement of soothing baroque music, intended to supplement other ongoing behavior modification training or just simply to create a filter to mask irritating sounds (like fireworks, thunderstorms, traffic, etc).

"Much of the sounds of our modern life (cell phones, surround sound, dishwasher, traffic, sirens, horns) can not be avoided, but when there are choices, choose soothing music at a tolerable level...we may be doing ourselves a favor as well."

We certainly enjoyed these and after just one week, are already seeing improvement! I plan to purchase the full versions, including the driving version, Through a Dog's Ear - Driving Edition.

If you do subscribe to a holistic approach to health, your repertoire is not complete without this.

Like several other reviewers, my copy of "Through a Dog's Ear" arrived from Amazon without the CD, which is clearly meant to be included with the book.

For this reason, I returned the book to Amazon and will repurchase it through Sounds True, the publisher.

It's really too bad that this book is being stigmatized by Amazon's failure to exert quality control.

Maureen Harmonay
Sterling, MA

The book is great; Amazon's truth in advertising is not so great. The cover of this book prominently displays a claim that a CD is included. Nowhere on Amazon's website do they caution that no CD is included. I feel cheated. I would have happily paid full retail if that is what it takes to get the CD. Fie on Amazon.

I am only commenting on the CD that comes included, which was the main reason I bought the book. I would just like to say that it starts out really exceptionally. Setting a very calming tone of relaxation. It's mostly piano solos. I mean the first few songs are excellent selections. But unfortunately it doesn't carry through the rest of the CD. The tempo picks up way too much and would consider it stimulating, rather than relaxing. As the tempo speeds up, it seems the piano keys jump about in a way that would agitate, rather than soothe an anxious dog -- or person for that matter. No, I think they got it half right -- but it certainly didn't go all the way. And that was a disappointment, because like I said, the first few songs are really, really good. I mean so calming that we used it ourself to take a meditation break in the afternoon. I suggest copying the first few songs on to your iTunes or music player and making your own relaxation mix with these included, amid some other selections from your collection. That is what I plan to do.

Excelente revisión.
La publicación no es muy buena, baja calidad de impresión y calidad de hoja.
Todo lo bueno está en el contenido, que es lo importante.

This text covers the whole spectrum of connectivity by compiling submissions from the preeminent researchers in each specialized field. Crooks & Sanjayan do an excellent job of framing the discussion and providing the reader with a holistic understanding of the value of connectivity at all scales in various ecosystems. A must read for any conservation student, researcher, land manager, or advocate. Period.

A wonderful book for the newcomer to dressage. Everything you always wondered about is covered in detail. A great way to get started.

I am an adult rider who is new to the art of dressage and found this book to be a valuable resource. Not only does it discuss the basics of dressage tests and levels, but great tips on getting ready for the show--for both the rider and the horse. I would recommend this book the any beginner who wants a broader picture of dressage.

Deserves more than five stars! It covers everything that will benefit everyone from the new rider to the avid dressage competitor. Excellent!!! No horse lover's bookshelf should be without it, in my opinion! You definately get the bang for your buck on this one!

I have been a Western rider for over 20 years. I recently decided to try English riding, and have purchased many books regarding the subject. This is the first book that has been clear and easy to understand for a beginner. Topics include proper attire, English saddle fit, dressage scoring, proper grooming, mental and physical preparation, and the basics the horse and rider need to know to compete. This book explained a lot of the terms (like half-halt) that were not familiar to me. It even addressed the similarities between Western and Dressage rider position. After reading this book, other books I have purchased on English riding and Dressage make a lot more sense! Highly recommended for the "new to English" folks out there.

This book really covers a lot of topics that new dressage riders and potential showers want to know about. It is aimed at the training level rider who is considering competition or has perhaps done a little showing. It has a very common sense approach and deals with topics such as how to memorize tests, how to come up with warmup routines, how to handle nerves, etc. The author seems to have thought of all the little questions that new riders would come up with, but more advanced riders would have forgotten that they didn't know (if that makes sense!) The book is not totally about showing though, and has good advice on schooling, and what the horse's frame should be at different levels. It also deals with more advanced topics such as confirmation of dressage horses (for those people considering purchasing a more advanced horse than the one they start with) and quadrille, musical freestyle programs etc. A worthwhile book with a wealth of information for the novice rider.

My girlfriend and I have only read the first few chapters and already learned a lot from the book. I believe some of what the author explains is redundant.

Material inside is a bit dated, but it has the right idea to get the job done.

My husband and I are "cat people" and never thought of owning a dog until our children wanted one. I realized most of the work with training a puppy was going to be the parents responsibility and I wasn't sure I was ready. I bought this book 6 months before I made my decision. The book is very straight forward and addresses everything you need to know about house training dogs. We brought our puppy home when he was 8 weeks old. I bought everything on the must have lists and followed everything exactly. By 4 months old he was completely house trained. He's now 8 months old and we couldn't ask for a better situation. He even rings a bell by the back door to signal he needs to go out to "potty". I highly recommend this book.

This book has been very helpful since we are first time puppy owners. I would suggest that if you are thinking about getting a puppy that you should get this book first, read through it and then get the puppy. We did it the other way around and if you buy the book first it will alleviate a lot of frustration as a puppy owner.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering a puppy.

Lora Verni, a certified dog trainer with many years of experience, gives us the advantage of her expertise with this simple, yet highly effective book on house training puppies (and adult dogs who aren't 100% trained).

She guarantees that if you follow her steps, that you will have a house trained dog within one month--I found the book so effective that my dog was trained within 3 weeks!

This book, in simple and easy-to-read chapters, tells you exactly what to do to get your dog to "perform" on command, how to praise him when he's right, and how and when to correct him if he needs it.

In some chapters, she tells the reader that if they've understood the just-presented information, that they need to go back and read it again. She urges the whole family to be in on the house training routine--not just one "in-charge" family member.

She emphasizes crate training and why this is extremely important in training dogs not to "go" anywhere but their appropriate and special "spot".

All in all, if you haven't raised a dog in a while and are feeling the need for some pointers, this book will give you those and then some. In the conversational tone in which it's written, you will feel as if you're being given tips by a friend.

I would recommend it for anyone bringing home a new puppy, or an older dog who is "not sure" about it all.