Posts Tagged ‘book review’

Book Review: Scaredy Dog! Understanding and Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog by Ali Brown

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

Tonka (3)

What a fantastic book with practical applications for working with a reactive dog.

If you have never read a dog behavior book before and you are trying to work with your own, or help someone with their reactive dog, then this book will be immensely helpful.  The beginning of the book covers basic dog behavior, how dogs learn, and what can cause reactivity. Brown also covers basic learning theory and ways to manage a reactive dog safely before you even start training.

When clients call me with reactive dog issues they are scared, frustrated and want it to end… NOW please. And boy, can I relate. Dogs can become reactive for all sorts of reasons, you can have a very well socialized dog that as he gets older decides he doesn’t like to be bowled over and jumped on by ill-mannered puppies. Or maybe a single traumatic event happens and now he thinks all dogs are scary. For whatever reason you now have a reactive dog and you are struggling to manage your dog’s triggers. This situation is stressful, it is frustrating, but believe me, you are not the only one with a reactive dog and there are effective ways to manage the situation and help your dog learn to cope.

Rehabilitating a reactive dog can take weeks or months. Rehabilitation never really ends. You will always have to maintain a certain level of practice for your dog to continue to feel safe and non reactive. Learning how to rehabilitate your dog is more of a lifestyle change than a training program. This can seem daunting, but when your dog is a member of your family and a good friend, it is much more daunting to think about giving them up and passing on your responsibility to someone you don’t know and may just make things worse (yes I know I have trust issues).

So if you are struggling with a reactive dog, stop being embarrassed, realize that many people have gone through this before and have successfully  rehabilitated dogs. Get this book and get a good behaviour professional to help you out!

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Book Review: Bones Would Rain from the Sky by Suzanne Clothier

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Gee

This is one of the most important books on dogs I have ever read. When I decided to commit myself to becoming a really excellent dog trainer and behaviourist, Suzanne Clothier really clarified for me what kind of trainer I wanted to become.

As I first started reading this book I initially thought, uh-oh this might be a little too touchy-feely for me, just a little too soft hearted. I have never felt that you needed to be mean to be a good trainer, but I also had a strong influence (growing up in the time of dominance theory) that you had to be extremely firm and assertive when working with dogs.

While reading “Bones” I realized I had been much too focused on what to do if the dog “got away with something”, instead of why the dog might be trying to get away! Suzanne talks a lot about the importance of trust in the relationship with your dog and that has come to be a very important part of how I teach people to communicate and build the bond between them and their companion.

If you have ever longed for that complete understanding, or that ability to communicate that is almost supernatural some people seem to have with their dogs, then this is absolutely the book you need to read. It is a real eye opener into the reasons why some relationships work and others don’t. Suzanne talks about not just being your dog’s leader, but being their trusted, benevolent leader who they would do absolutely anything for.

Basically anyone who owns a dog or is thinking of owning a dog would benefit so much from the ideas presented in this book. If you are a dog trainer yourself and haven’t read it, then do, you will have so much fun!

Suzanne Clothier’s Website

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Book Review- Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

There are so many books out there that dog lovers should read. This one is a book for anyone interested in ANY animal, even the human animal. Ms. Grandin is a woman who is living with Autism. If you are anything like I was, you don’t know the first thing about Autism. Grandin gives deep insight into a subject that most people find confusing or even uncomfortable. And she does it in a way that makes even the most casual reader able to follow and enjoy. Animals in Translation takes the idea that because animals have very similar brains to humans with some mental “illnesses”, you can hypothesise how animals feel and react to the world by observing how someone with Autism does.

I won’t go into all the details, as I am not nearly as clear a writer as Ms. Grandin, but I believe if you are a first time reader of books related to animals then this is a perfect book to start with! Grandin adjusted my view of animals in a way that helped me clarify to myself what kind of dog trainer I wanted to be.

If you are not used to looking at situations from your dog’s perspective, this book will show you how to see the world from your pet’s point of view, or even your livestock’s! Why is this important? Because all too often we are caught up in our own humaness, we see life from just one perspective. This can cause us to completely misunderstand and react with frustration to a situation that, if we look at with a set of canine eyes, we can see a simple solution to.

I have advocated to my students “think like the animal you are working with”. This philosophy has helped me train animals that others felt were difficult or impossible; it has even saved my life on at least one occasion. Ms. Grandin can show all of us how to see life more like our animal companions and because of that I believe this is one of the most important books for a student of animals to read.

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