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Understanding And Training

This book is a "must" for every pet owner, especially for those adopting a dog. Perfect for a 12 year old to read and understand!
Carol Lea Benjamin has written a witty, sound and thoroughly appropriate book on the extraordinary advantages that each of us who has second-hand pets knows first-hand. If you're thinking about sharing your life with a pet or with another pet, read this book first!" John F. Kullberg President ASPCA

A book written by an Applied Animal Behaviorist that is so engrossing it is hard to put down! Written in a different prospective you will learn insight on why YOU do what you do around your dogs! Highly recommended!

The Other End of the Leash begins with an eloquently simple premise: "All dogs are brilliant at perceiving the slightest movement that we make, and they assume each tiny movement has meaning." With that in mind, all of Dr. Patricia McConnell's recommendations for communicating with your canine make immediate sense. Don't we all automatically bend forward when coaxing a dog to come and play? Break eye contact when we wish to avoid a confrontation? While these instinctive behaviors are right on target, a number of other habits aren't so positive, and McConnell helps us break them with both humor and common sense.

Chapters are categorized by senses such as sound, sight, and smell; specific pack behaviors such as dominance and play also merit their own sections. McConnell uses the same humor and patience she recommends with dogs on her readers. Whether she's referring to maggots as "a value-added commodity in canine economics" or ruminating on attempts to verbally cue her dogs to exit the house one at a time, her wise and gently self-deprecating book brings training--of both dogs and humans--to new levels. Jill Lightner

An excellent training book. Westies do not repond to the jerk and pull training methods so popular today. Highly recommended you read this book.

Now Karen Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and through numerous fascinating examples reveals how this art can be applied to virtually any common situation. And best of all, she tells how to do it without yelling threats, force, punishment, guilt trips--or shooting the dog. 8 methods for putting an end to all kinds of undesirable behavior. The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior--for results without strain or pain through "affection training." How to combat your own addictions to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, overeating or whatever, how to deal with such difficult problems as a moody spouse, an impossible teen, or an aged parent. Plus. . .House training the dog, improving your tennis game, keeping the cat off the table, and much more!

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Another book that we highly recommend you read. Very interesting information about the why's and how's of your dog's behavior. Training without the use of force!

OK.You're dog doesn't live to please you. There, we've said it. Contrary to what you've always heard, not all dogs want to earn their owner's approval. Sometimes they seem as if they could not care less. But this is no secret to you -- you know your dog's not Lassie.
With this book you will come to understand and appreciate that for hundreds of years dogs were bred for qualities like independence, dominance and determination. While these traits make dogs excellent hunters, trackers and fighters, they can make day-to-day living with your pet a real challenge. Betty Fisher and Suzanne Delzio will teach you how to employ or overcome the traits that make your dog difficult to train. They will show how to use body language, food, voice, training structure and style to convince your stubborn dog to do what you ask. Without force, you can turn your difficult dog into a perfect pet, or even a successful show dog.

A must for those who really and truly want to understand your dog. Jan Fennell is a very well known English dog behaviorist...and she writes well and succinctly.
Standard dog training has long advocated the use of force choke collars, sharp smacks, harsh language. Fennell, a dog trainer in England for 30 years, wants to change all that. Expanding upon the theories of horse trainer Monty Roberts (the basis for The Horse Whisperer), Fennell believes one can best train dogs by emulating natural behaviors, that is, by treating them as they would treat each other in the wild. Her intelligent, straightforward and humane method has engendered controversy and increasing enthusiasm. After Fennel's dog Purdey went manic, injured Fennell's young children and had to be euthanized, she was fearful of owning a dog again. Lured back into it by the pleasure of showing spaniels, she adopted a high-strung young shepherd, Sasha, and investigated alternative training methods. Fennell's simple and succinct method posits that domesticated dogs are confused, believing themselves to be the pack leaders, and humans their subordinates. Fennell retrains dogs to accept a human as their alpha leader. She spurns the use of force, even in training language, employing instead a system of Pavlovian rewards. Those wanting true canine companionship will find Fennell's commonsense approach attractive and easy to apply with puppies as well as with older dogs. She addresses common problems, from separation anxiety to barking at guests to the mistrust of strangers that rescued dogs often harbor. Her knowledge and love of dogs is expansive and her concern for their well-being balances kindness and appropriate discipline. (Aug.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Monks of New Skete developers of the now famous puppy temperment testing have a new book...a really good read!

How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend, an informal, friendly guide by The Monks of New Skete, is really two books in one: a step-by-step training manual and a philosophical discussion of the spiritual benefits of owning a dog. The Monks, who support their community in upstate New York by breeding and training German shepherds, reveal a profound devotion to all breeds in this detailed guide to every imaginable aspect of dog ownership. They cover it all: naming the puppy, training with eye contact and jingling keys, establishing the best sleeping arrangements, even dealing with pet loneliness. Owners are advised to think of themselves as the dog's alpha figure, to train with praise instead of punishment, and to beware of becoming the dog's maid or doorman. Throughout, the authors reflect on the deep spiritual connection possible between humans and dogs. Generations of dogs have been trained with the bestselling 1978 edition of this book. With this update, the Monks are bound to gain many new fans--happy humans and obedient canines alike. With modesty and generosity, the Monks offer an extensive list of other helpful books about dogs, as well as a useful appendix of American Kennel Club titles and terms. --Judy Fireman

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Everything Westie

At last, a book about your pet that emphasizes total care, training and companionship! You'll not only learn about the species-specific traits of your special pet, you'll also learn what the world's like from your pet's perspective; how to feed, groom and keep your pet healthy; and how to enjoy your pet through training and activities you can do together. The West Highland White Terrier is written by a breed expert and includes a special chapter on training by Dr. Ian Dunbar, internationally renowned animal behaviorist, and chapters on getting active with your dog by long-time Dog Fancy magazine columnist Bardi McLennan. Best of all, the book is filled with info-packed sidebars and fun facts to make caring for your pet easy and enjoyable.

Owning a Westie is rewarding and fun! Get all you need to know about feeding, training and caring for your dog's health in The Essential West Highland White Terrier. Special features include professional color photos and expert tips on how to make your dog a wonderful addition to the family. Learn how to have a great relationship with your pet with The Essential West Highland White Terrier.

It is a great because it gives the history of the West Highland White Terrier. Also information on how to train them. Also how to take care of you West Highland White Terrier. And great pictures. At a great price.

 

The book has excellent color pictures and is very informational on aspects of the dog. I would rank this book five stars if it was more recent. Beautiful pictures of a very tough and protectful breed.

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For Children

Kelly has found the perfect Christmas gift for her Grandpa, who has come to live with her family. It's an adorable Westie puppy. But Grandpa has a surprise of his own - a Westie puppy for Kelly!

 

It's off to dog-training class for everyone's favorite Westie in McDuff Goes to School by Rosemary Wells, illus. by Susan Jeffers. McDuff hits it off with the new neighbors' dog, Marie, but makes no points with Marie's French-speaking owners when he won't get off of their sofa; he is enrolled in school to learn basic commands. Readers get a few lessons, too, in the French words for sit, stay, come and heel along with a fun twist at the end. The artwork captures every nuance of the dogs' expressions.

On a Fourth of July picnic with his human family, McDuff, a beloved but trouble-mongering white terrier, inadvertently allows "silent invaders" (namely, ants) to make off with the entire contents of the lunch basket. Luckily, McDuff has a way with strangers (and their picnic baskets), and in no time flat, he's finagled an invitation from a lonely older man to share his meal with the family.

Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers's series about the earnest pooch and his expanding community of friends and family harkens back to quainter days, when baby carriers were buckled into cars with leather straps and kind gentlemen didn't mind sharing their fried chicken and devil's food cake with strangers. Jeffers's inviting paintings of 1930s cars and fashions, and of course the little white dog himself, are warm and appealing. Readers who loved "McDuff Goes to School" and "McDuff's New Friend" will enjoy this summery entry in the series. (Ages 3 to 5) --Emilie Coulter

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The lovable West Highland white terrier makes a holiday appearance. On Christmas Eve, McDuff's owners anxiously scan the snowy sky looking for Santa Claus. Unable to spot him, Lucy and Fred go about their evening business, feeding the baby and walking McDuff. Eventually, they succumb to sleep while a blizzard rages. The dog hears several noises and each time, Fred gets bundled up and digs a snow tunnel so the little pup can go outside and explore. After two false alarms, McDuff strikes out on his own and finds Santa in the garage and the sleigh in a snowdrift. Unfortunately, the story, like Santa and his sleigh, has trouble getting off the ground. The plot is slight, with limited tension or development. The strong point of this collaboration is Jeffers's outstanding, full-color artwork. For hard-core McDuff fans only.

In another winning story about the perky West Highland white terrier, McDuff, and his owners, Lucy and Fred, a new baby joins the family. Since the infant interferes with the dog's favorite activities of listening to the comics read aloud, taking woodsy walks, and enjoying a nightly musical program on the radio (not to mention no longer being the center of attention), he rebels by glowering at the plump child and then by refusing his food. His understanding owners immediately resume McDuff's beloved routine, and he begins tentative communication with the little girl. This gentle lesson about overcoming sibling rivalry is told very simply and is perfectly illustrated with full- and double-page softly realistic paintings of the winsome Westie, with his expressive face and his comfortable, middle-class family, set against a 1930s background.

Another delightful McDuff story book....a oure delight for children and adults!