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Rating: 
Summary: ... a different kind of book ...
Review: ... This is a very good read ... this book offers much more than the usual approach of 'tell the dog to sit, and reward it with a treat' ... the author approaches the problem of bad dog behaviour from the owner's perspective, as well as from the dog's perspective ... a holistic approach that avoids harsh punishment ... The author tells us that in order to correct a dog, oftentimes we must first as owners correct ourselves, our approach ... our whole attitude ... we are encouraged to try and learn the nature of dogs, their instincts and propensities ... the numerous case studies are also extremely useful ... All in all, a very good book, informative, sensible and effective.
Rating:
Summary: ... a different kind of book ...
Review: ... This is a very good read ... this book offers much more than the usual approach of `tell the dog to sit, and reward it with a treat' ... the author approaches the problem of bad dog behaviour from the owner's perspective, as well as from the dog's perspective ... a holistic approach that avoids harsh punishment ... The author tells us that in order to correct a dog, oftentimes we must first as owners correct ourselves, our approach ... our whole attitude ... we are encouraged to try and learn the nature of dogs, their instincts and propensities ... the numerous case studies are also extremely useful ... All in all, a very good book, informative, sensible and effective.
Rating: 
Summary: Good information, poor organization
Review: A book is only as good as it is useful. I wanted to copy something for my sister, new to dogs, but gave up after 5 minutes of not being able to find it. Because the author really only has 3 recommendations for any given problem (leadership exercises, counter-conditioning ("Jolly routine," in his verbiage), and distract-and-redirect), he should have laid those out somewhere in the book and then applied them to the problems he discusses.That said, the very strong "pros" of this book are:
(a) one of his first tasks is to explain how dogs perceive the world (and, thereby, show why they don't instinctively understand people!);
(b) he speaks in terms of "leadership" instead of "dominance";
(c) he does not compare dogs to wolves or human children -- they are neither!;
(d) he very importantly points out that almost every dog "misbehavior" is due to frustration, and that a dog's basic temperament will determine how it responds to this frustration (outward or inward); and
(e) his solutions are practical, humane, and focused on altering the cause, not punishing the effect. The "minuses" include:
(a) poor presentation of his methods;
(b) criminal lack of proofreading;
(c) some unfortunate outdated terminology (I cringed at every use of the term "correction");
(d) presentation of his "pet" issues of a high-protein diet, and treatment of hyperkinetic dogs. The buyer should also know that he expects you to have trained your dog basic obedience, as he uses basic commands in some of his solutions.
Rating:
Summary: ... easily the best ...
Review: Ever since we got our dogs ... we have been reading and reading dog related books ... mostly out of interest and sometimes because we needed advice with particular issues we're encountering with our canine family members ... Some books were far too general, a few (fortunately very few) actually contained bad or poor advice ... most were reasonably good & useful ... But by far ... this is the best we have come across ... The author makes no pretence at offering quick or instant solutions ... in the first few chapters and without emotional tangents (we all think our dogs understand us *laughs*) he takes the reader through the psychology and mindset of a dog, ... it becomes very clear that the author believes a dog cannot be effectively trained simply by rote, punishment or treats ... but through a process of learning to understand their true nature and positive healthy reinforcement ... But what makes the most difference is that ... the author is prepared, without fear of alienating his readers, to require dog owners to delve into their own psychology and inner nature ... This approach makes the book all the more useful ... it made me realise the futility of trying to train our dogs, without first considering how I might be affecting them, with my behaviour and reactions (conscious & subconscious) ... I was asked to consider how my own understanding or lack ... might be causing or contributing to the dogs' good as well as bad behaviour ... The book also provides useful case studies and plenty of practical advice. It does require a little more concentration than one would normally devote to the reading of a pet training book ... but the effort is well worth it ... any dog owner, new and experienced will benefit ...
Rating:
Summary: the BEST canine behavior book in my library
Review: When faced with problem behaviors in a rough collie back in the 70's, I read every dog behavior book on the shelves at the time. William Campbell's book was the only reference which addressed the issues I needed to understand. Campbell's description of 'active defense reflex' vs 'passive defense reflex' dogs made all the difference in my understanding of Shasta's behavior. He gave me all the advice I needed to turn this behavior around with very specific instructions which worked to perfection. We went on, after reading this book, to earn a CD in obedience whereas before I could not even touch his body without being bitten ('active defense reflex'). I recommend this book to anyone I contact who is dealing with dog behavior problems and I'm very interested to see how this new edition compares to the one I purchased in the 1970's!
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