Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

Rating:
Summary: Excellent insight into dog behavior!
Review: I have been a long-time dog owner. Despite what I thought was a fairly good grounding in dog behavior, I was recently confronted with a puppy who changed my attitudes about what I knew. In trying to train and work with my dog, Gizmo, I was looking for guidance and help from any source possible. I happened across this book at my local pet supply store. (In fact, I'm ordering another copy of the book because Gizmo ate the first one!) It turned out to be one of the most educational and helpful books I've ever chanced upon. I would highly recommend it to any dog lover who wants some greater insight into their dog's behavior and positively altering with gentleness and understanding.

Rating:
Summary: Should be titled "Problem Prevention"
Review: If you have a dog who is already set in his "ways" this book is a waste of time. The emphasis is on how to prevent your dog from developing bad behavior. Some of the tips are not practical at all and did not work on my dog. The beginning of the book WAS informative, however, and might be useful to a puppy owner or buyer.

Rating:
Summary: For the library...
Review: This book has a brisk, no nonsense attitude to encourage positive training. I like the easy references (and cross references), so that you can go directly to the behavior you're interested in right away, and also the insightful explanations. A very useful addition to the shelf. They do often proceed from the starting point and may not be able to solve deeply ingrained problems (and of course I disagree with their assertion that shelter dogs are a bad bet; quite the opposite!), but I find it helpful to consult a variety of books when sizing up a situation, and these writers present some original ideas and creative solutions (without clickers or "training" collars).