Pet Books

I'm not an advanced rider, by any stretch of the imagination. I consider myself an advanced beginner - training level.
I found about half of this book to be too basic for me.
It is well written, clear and concise. Good as a reference. Nicely put together book.
It would be a great gift for someone recently starting into dressage.

In order to take you riding skills (dressage skills) to the next level, this book is what you need. Jennifer Bryant's book is the perfect compliment to your dressage training. Her relaxed tone makes it an easy and fun read as well as enormously informative.
Clear instructions enhanced with pictures and drawings makes the text very clear and easy to understand.
I am an advanced dressage rider and I highly recommend this book to anyone that are looking to perfect his or hers riding.

I have found The USDF Guide to Dressage by Jennifer Bryant to be an easy-to-read, clear and concise book on Dressage. It is chock full of great information and nice photos.

Chapters include information on the history of Dressage, basic Dressage training, physical fitness for both horse and rider (with even some fitness exercises shown for the rider), and much more.

The book also discusses whether or not you are "Dressage material" and what you should know before and during your first Dressage show.

An informative Appendix is listed in the back of the book, too.

This book would be a great addition to anyone's Dressage/Horse library.

I found this book to be a well-illustrated and easy-to-read guide. My one comment, or warning to those considering this book, is that as an official guide of the major national dressage organization, it is clearly geared toward those riders whose primary interest is in eventually competing. For the "recreational" dressage rider, much of the nitty-gritty of this book will be of little interest, and the real meat of training and riding techniques may seem too superficially covered. Overall though, great book for what it is and was written for!

This book should be on the shelf of EVERY dressage rider. Particularly useful to the newcomer, it is also a way the experienced rider can stay on the same page as all their collegues.

EXCELLENT FOR PEOPLE DEALING WITH DOGS DAILY----VETS, GROOMERS, PET SITTERS AND OWNERS OF DIFFICULT DOGS

This was recommended by a friend and it has helped me turn around a very challenging dog. It's easy to read, entertaining, and invaluable for understanding and working with challenging dogs.

Excellent!! Gave me insight to how a dod responds to behaviors.

Showing a sense of humor, Dr Dodman describes his experiences with a variety of problem behaviors in a pleasant, fun read. At first I was extremely skeptical of using drugs to solve behavior problems, but I decided to give Dodman a chance. In each case he analyzes catalysts and contributing factors to the behavior being discussed as well as the biological background. I felt he used a very well-rounded approach, suggesting liefstyle changes (diet, exercise, management), behavior modification, training, and sometimes drugs. Not every case involved drugs, and those that did often were for short term use only. What I found most insightful, however, was Dodman's analysis of various aggressive behaviors, their basis, and how they're acted out. He very clearly differentiates between dominance aggression and fear aggression, providing precise and various examples of each. Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a problem dog. Even if you don't go the drug route you'll still learn a lot about your dog and his/her problem(s). The only reason I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars is because it's a rather dated book (1996) and doesn't cover some newer therapies.

this book is easy to read, at times humourous, and provides some good knowledge to dog owners who are into the behavior science part of dogs. i will outline how the book is styled.

the book breaks down behavioural problems into 3 main category:
1. aggression
2. fear
3. obsession

5 chapters under the aggressive probems deals with dominance (dog-owner aggression), rage syndrome, territorial aggression, dog on dog aggression, dog aggression to babies.

for fear related problems, each chapter would deal with separation anxiety, fear of thunder, geriatric aeparation anxiety, phobias and fear of strangers.

the obsessive section deals with tail chasing (esp in bull terriers), shadow chasing, persistent licking and incontinence.

each chapter is written very much like watching an animal planet documentary. dr dobson would tell you a little bit about the kind of problem, then use real life examples to tell you how he treats the behaviours shown in these dogs.

it is easy to read, sometimes humourous, and quite matter of factly written. at the end of each chapter, he would conclude the chapter with a "treatment for" summary. the summary notes down in point form treatment/s for each chapter's problems.

i think this book covers all the usual behavioural problems in dogs that we face. some of the chapters was written is a fashion that is much like the tv series "house" (a persoanl favourite), so it's quite exciting and entertaining.

the only downside to the treatments suggested is that i find dr dobman's like for using drugs for treatments. noting that he may be doing these for badly affected dogs seems like a good idea, especially when all courses of treatment has been done. this seems to be the case for the book as he dwells in only the worst cases. this might lead to the reader thinking that one MUST use drugs for treatments. well, if it comes tothe end, if drugs have to be used and it has little side effects, why not? they are increasing being used in treatine human psychological problems anywways.

generally, a very good read and anyone interersted in canine behaviours should have the full repertoire of the more common canine behavioural problems being dealt with here.

My nine year old niece loves this series of books about Freddy. Book five involves time travel and she said it was awesome.

This is a funny graphic novel about the destruction of Earth because of greed. The solution in this book is violence and some reviewers have been appalled by this theory. What is the answer then? Carbon trading? Buying green products? Planting trees? These solutions do not solve the problem with the world, instead they solve the problem of shame in some people. If this book is a bit cynical for you try reading the Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken. I did one star because no one will read the review if I give it a good rating. This is a good, quick read and I definitely recommend this book to a friend.

Very depressing. Makes a clear case that corporate fixes for our doomed civilization are so muuch hogwash. You know, the fixes that urge us to buy new light bulbs and others seen on various corporate green ads. Oh, the one where a woman urges us to respect her company because it "keeps us moving" as if that were a great human need in a polluted world under constant onslaught from global warming storms, fires, and droughts.

Should be given to everyone who likes comics instead of non-fiction books.

With this graphic novel, Derrick and Stephanie demolish the absurdities and myths of the environmental movement in a provocative and hilarious fashion. They butt heads directly with the hypocrisies of dogmatic pacifists and green technophiles, much to their chagrin, but to people who love the land with an open mind, this is a great introduction to a depressing but necessary way of where we are, and where we need to go.

This poorly drawn, heavy-handed graphic novel advocates responding to our environmental problems with a violent overthrow of civilization. The authors' ideas are utterly ridiculous and unworkable unless of course you don't mind practically ending civilization and the elimination of much of the human population that would result from a return to the supposed utopian lifestyle that the authors advocate. I wonder... are the authors living in shacks or cabins somewhere that they built themselves while growing all their own food, providing their own water, etc.?

Environmentalism is great. The measures pushed in this book are simply insane and the advocation of violence is particularly disturbing. In the words of Jack Nicholsan's character in "As Good as It Gets", sell crazy someplace else. We're all stocked up here.

I like the spirit and overall message of this little book: that the global climate crisis simply won't be solved by individual consumers turning down their thermostats or rotating their tires. These sorts of strategies, beloved by both liberals and capitalists, do nothing to change the economic and political structures that allow for environmental devastation in the first place, and very little to fix the problem of environmental destruction in the second. What's needed for radical problems are radical solutions.

I get that, and I endorse it. But the way in which Jensen and McMillan have presented the position is so crudely written and drawn that I find this book more embarrassing than enlightening or inspiring.

The plot is simple: because liberal do-gooders are ineffective at stopping environmental destruction (here represented by life-devouring robotic aliens who've bought franchises to the planet from the powers-that-be), nature herself--in the form of animals--fights back. Drastic resistance is the remedy, not getting celebrities to raise funds.

Stephanie McMillan, the artist, uses characters that were born in her political comic strip "Minimum Security." McMillan either has nearly no talent as an artist or she chooses to draw in an irritating faux-primitive style. In either case, her artwork here is even sloppier and unpleasing than in her strip. It looks as if she slapped the stuff out while watching television or clipping her toenails. It's genuinely bad.

To compound the calamity, Jensen's prose is heavy-handed, didactic, and progressively tedious. The bad guys are nothing but evil, in the best silent movie villain style; the naive liberals are laughable in their naivete (although one of them, who throughout the book has mainly played straight man....er, gal, finally gets converted); the good guys are good all the way through. There's no finesse, no suggestion that the people who benefit from an exploitive system might not also be victims in at least some way, no hint that liberal do-gooders might actually do some good. There's just black-and-white, good guy-bad guy thinking throughout.

Look: we do need a revolution. We do need radical change to save the planet. We do need more action and less letter-writing. But we don't need this sorry little book.

One and a half stars.

I recieved this book thinking it would be how it looked in the picture (cover). Title is the same, picture is very different. Must have gotten the old version. Would have given a higher rating if I had gotten the current one.

I've studied flower essences for over ten years. I own several books on flower essences + animals, and this is in the top four. I use it all the time for my several cats.

However, I am giving this book only four stars. As nice as this book is, it is limited to ONLY Bach's original 39 flower essences mainly from England. Nowadays, flower essences are much more than the first 39, including flowers from North America (Northern California, deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Florida); Scotland; Australia bush; New Zealand; South Africa; South America; Central America; to mention a few. Bach died young in 1936, leaving his work unfinished, and many people in the last 70 years have taken up where he left off, much expanding the number and quality of essences (depending on where in the world the flowers are indigenous).

Frankly, books on Bach's first 39 flower essences are so ubiquitous that I now avoid them in favor of books covering flower essences from other parts of the world besides England. Plants of England are not the only plants in existence! I am REAL tired of books getting published involving only Bach's original 39 essences. Even though Bach "bumped into" his first 39 essences, Bach's essences are not the holy grail of flower essences! Look further afield than Bach's essences.

This is an excellent book. Loaded with wonderful remedies, this book was an easy read and I will continue to refer to it. Super if you are just getting started or have enjoyed Bach Flower Remedies for some time.

Somewhat different but we have used these remedies with our pets for nearly 15 years and they are more effective on them than on people. Try using Rescue Remedy on your pets when they are going through something stressful like going to the vet and watch them calm down. Pets don't have all of the barriers that people do. This is a great book with an author who knows this topic.

This was a great book. If you are looking for ways to help your pet feel better, this is the book. It works with helping them emotionally. I use many of the suggestions in this book and they work! I would recommend this if you are into holistic healing methods for animals.

I bought this book for my wife and daughter's and they enjoyed it very much, the way it was written and layed out.

Fabulous book, I've bought it several times, makes a great gift for my horse loving friends and for myself.

This book is a great book! The best one I have ever read. It makes you laugh, cry, everything. It was just an all around great book! I am really happy that GaWaNi Pony Boy made this amazing book about the connection of women and horses. Its nice to finally find a book and be able to read it and see that finally their are other women out there that understand the same relationships and love for horses as I do, I couldnt put it down. I HIGHLY reccomend this book to an one who LOVES horses!!

I bought this book as a gift for my youngest daughter who shares the love of horses with me. The photos are gorgeous. The essays of these horse women are beautifully written, full of imagery and delve into the spirit of women's connection with these magnificent animals. I highly recommend this book to collect and cherish.

It's about time, GaWaNi has done it again. I laughed, I cried and felt deeply for many of the women in this incredible book. I first heard about it when I saw him on Larry King Live with Bo Derek, Terry Ventura and Chaia King (the latter two are actually in the book) and thought it might be an interesting read.....I have this on my coffee table and come back to it time and time again. What's nice about the format of this book is you can read one or two of the essays, and come back to it later - a very convenient read, and nice to go with whatever mood I happen to be in - (and ladies, we know we have many) you will find a story to go with every one!
I've had several friends try to make off with it - but told them to get their own! Beautiful artwork and a gorgeous layout make this pleasing to the eye, and the thoughts and words will move your heart.
I heard a rumor that he's put out another one, can't wait!

If you, like me, have no idea on what to do with a new puppy, this is the perfect book for you too.

On the subject of raising dogs there are as many opinions as there are, well, dogs. Internet's full of 'em. Several of the negative reviews of this book have one thing in common: The reviewers differ *in opinion* with the scientifically based positions taken by the authors. Example: One reviewer scoffed that the book does not support alternative dog/puppy food alternatives, e.g. raw, or "home cooked". First of all, the book clearly supports their position on that with numerous, significant, fact-based rationale. The critic offers no evidence to support her counter-claims. Advice on socialization requirements and methods are also supported. And so on throughout the book. Perhaps those who rate the book poorly because they have a different opinion should offer a link to some scientific evidence and/or alternative book to back up their claims?

Regarding the narrator of the book on tape, yes his voice and reading method are somewhat unusual, however I would not classify him as sounding like "sociopathic killer". That's a little unfair. I don't know if I could necessarily sit down with the intent of just listening to the book from beginning to end, but I have been listening to the book on CD on my commute to and from work and while driving around town and find it's quite pleasant in that venue. After all, this is a textbook, not a novel. The narrator is trying to convey information clearly. The concerns regarding being able to locate content on the CD's are valid. Many times I've wanted to re-hear a part, and had to listen to the entire track again, but my current CD player does not have a fast-forward or reverse option. My previous car did have that and it made short work of those issues.

My wife and I just got a bullmastiff puppy and have found this book to be extremely helpful. It starts out as many such books do, advising you on the commitment required in having a puppy: According to the book 1/2 of all puppies don't make it to their second birthday in the home they started out in. The authors lament this fact and clearly are trying to give you sound advice that will benefit both you and the dog. They move on to describing health care, food requirements (they very clearly spell out what to look for on the dog food packages), socialization, how your dog sees the world (how their senses differ from ours), etc., etc.

Sure, there are some parts on the CD's that you'd skip over if you were reading. Perhaps not. We found it all interesting. If that doesn't appeal to you, get the book not the CD. Better yet, check it out at the library first, and if you like it, then get it here.

This book does not translate at all into audiobook form. If you are interested in the content, purchase the print book. As a very long and thorough reference manual covering many topics, it is near impossible to reference needed information on CD's. Some information is in list format which is tedious to listen to. For example, the book gives detailed information on every single dog breed. This is information you want to look up based on your dog's breed, but you do not want to listen to hundreds of other breed information. The CD's do not have track titles so it is even harder to navigate the information. The narrator also has a monotonous and actually sort of creepy voice. His voice reminded me of what a sociopathic kidnapper might sound like if he was trying to lure a child into his car.

As a longtime breeder of purebred dogs I wanted to like this book but it has too many flaws to recommend it to a new puppy owner. The book is written by a committee of veterinary specialists from Tufts and it clearly suffers from that multiple author approach. Several chapters are well worth reading such as socialization, pet insurance the first aid kit are some that I would recommend but others such as the discussion of puppy nutrition, the Tufts temperament test, young children are not complete or contain incorrect information. It would be nice to have a single book to recommend to puppy owners that would cover all aspects of puppy ownership including veterinary care, training, development, health problems, etc. This is NOT THAT BOOK.

I heard the author speak on NPR and thought it was worth reading his book, since I am buying a new puppy. Being a first time owner, I really wanted to know what I was getting into. The book is quite comprehensive starting from the very first day and extending far beyond. I have been able to fly through it and it is not boring like you might think a manual might be. Chapters are well organized so you can skip over non applicable items and move forward... Really gives you a good idea of all the work, time, and effort that goes into good pet ownership.

This book was written 1n 1993.... even though the basics remain the same, there are other books on the subjet like the ones written by Myra Savant-Harris that are 100% more updated.

Breeding A Litter



If you ever plan on breeding a litter or even if you have one by mistake, this book has some valuable information.

I breed toy poodles and have found this book very useful. Along with advice from a good veterinarian, some background information on genetics, and a solid understanding of the AKC breed standards and you should be ready to go.
It's not easy and it may take a lot of work, and there is definitely no money in it, but if you're truly trying to Improve the breed it can be a lot of fun.


Highly recommended for anyone who breeds a litter.

Gunner November, 2007

I love this book. Great information wether you have a litter on the ground or are just thinking about it. I always reference this book. It's great to have around for everyday dog life as well. There's a lot of detail and I've had 2 litters and this book and The Joy of Breeding your Own Show dog were my staples! I couldn't have been more prepared without them!

I have been trying desperately to find a book that would give me complete and detailed information as far as breeding a litter. This was not easy to do, but Breeding a Litter is a wonderful answer all book. For the person just starting out in Dog Breeding this is a wonderful source. If you have a question this book definitly has the answer. Great Book!

I found the author's views on early puppy socialization to be wrongheaded and even dangerous. With a large potentially aggressive breed the responsble breeder begins handling pups AT BIRTH. The daily frequent contact with pups enables them to handle stress and bond with humans from the beginning of life. It is a very poor breeder who does not handle those babies every day or even several times a day. Cutting nails, etc. begins later but holding, cuddles, breathing on, petting must happen at once. Worst book I've ever read on breeding and puppy socialization!

Very useful book. Good information on dealing with problems, plus background information on animal and parrot behavior.

The Parrot Problem Solver
My sweet lovable Goffin had turned into a biting, cantankerous monster. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what I had done wrong or why he had learned to hate me so much. After reading this book I was relieved to find out that he didn't hate me. He was just trying to communicate something I couldn't understand. After reading this book and putting the suggestions into place (It took only one week, by the way), we are now back on speaking terms. Barbara Heidenreich has saved our relationship!

I know Ms. Heidenreich personally and worked with her for years. As I believe parrots to be the most misunderstood of all pets it is always a touchy subject to discuss parrot behavior with parrot owners. Barb is one of the few "parrot experts" I have ever met after 13+ years in the zoo animal training field. I highly recommend anything written or offered by her. Good luck!

Barbara provided great insight into parrots and why they do what they do. She uses reeal world examples from Parrots and many other animals that she has experience with. This book breaks down the different types of aggression and signs to look for. I wish I had ordered "Good Bird! A guide to solving problems in companion parrots" at the same time as they are complimentary as I understand it. It will arrive this week. One other thing, the book has a ton of great photos as well! You won't be disappointed with this book.

Excellent reference for owners of large parrots. This book will explain why your bird does what it does. It is absolutely the best book I have purchased so far concerning the behavior of my macaw. It takes the mystery out of your birds aggressive behaviors. It explains your bird's natural daily routines. I found it most enlightening. Once you understand how parrots behave in the wild, your bird's behaviors will make a whole lot more sense to you, and that truly helps you provide the best for your companion. This book is a real jewel for owners of large parrots and I think it should be required reading for all who own one. Well written and highly informative, it is by far the best book that I have found on parrot behavior to date. It will really help you understand your bird.