5 comments about Small Dogs, Big Hearts: A Guide to Caring for Your Little Dog , Revised Edition.

1. This well researched book covers all of the information that is needed before acquiring a small dog. Darlene Arden covers all of the breed specific information, including temperament, challenges and attributes for all of the small and toy dog breeds.
   
   It is well written, fun to read and very thorough. And... it is a must read for choosing the right breed of dog.
   Marilyn Krieger, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant



2. What a wonderful book! This book explains every concern imaginable for the small dog owner. From basic socialization, to common health problems, to reproductive issues; this book has it all. To top it off, is it loaded with some of the most heart-warming photographs I've seen in a while. You are doing yourself as well as your pint-sized buddy a huge disservice if this reference book is not the most read book in your collection. Reading this book allows you to feel the passion of the author. Feel the passion...read this book.



3. I purchased this book as an expectant toy breed mother. It is a light hearted but informative book on the joys and pitfalls of having a toy breed in your house. I was a little disappointed in the lack of information on my particular puppy, a Chinese Crested, but then I didn't expect a lot of info on the Cresteds since most people know little about them. For more breed specific information, it's advisable to get a breed specific book. However this is a great reference for those who are looking at the toy breeds and don't know a lot about them. It's an easy read and the general information is great. The breed specific information is just enough to perhaps help someone choose which breed is a good fit for their family.



4. As the owner of 4 small dog rescues, I have found all of Darlene Arden's books extremely helpful and "small dogs, big hearts" is certainly no exception. It is filled with valuable information and should be a must read for anyone who has or is even remotely thinking about getting a small dog. Like all her books, this one is well written in Ms. Arden's easy to follow and understand style. I especially like the fact that this book contains mixed breeds and all the pictures are a wonderful addition.
   I applaud Darlene Arden for emphasizing that these small breeds are not toys to be played with, but real dogs with real dog issues and needs.



5. I was very anxious to get this book. In fact by the time I realized there was a second edition of the Irrepressible Toy Dog, I had been waiting several months. This lead me to several other small dog/ breed specific books. This book is definitely top notch However, I was a little biased having read similar information in several other books before reading this book. This made me less excited about its content, however I have to say that it is extremely well compiled, lots of good information and has the best health section on small breed specific disease that I have seen to date. The picture sections are cute, however it could have included more breeds instead of the same breeds over and over. It however was not as much fun as other books, and lacks in the training section when compared to other books. It is a great overall guide on toy dogs and every toy dog owner should keep a copy for a reference guide.

2 comments about The United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship: Intermediate Horsemanship (C Level) (Howell Reference Books).

1. As a begging rider, I was wandering through a local tack shop when I saw the USPCA's Manuals for Horsemanship, D level and C level. I picked up the C level manual and was overwhelmed with the information, so I asked my mom to buy me the D level book. I read the book cover to cover in three days, although I was only ten years old at the time. I was surprised at how much I had been doing wrong (I have a great instructor who doesn't like to overwhelm begginers with directions). Six months later I was capable of completing all the requirments of the D manual, so my mom bought me the C manual. About a year later I joined a local Pony Club, and was very glad that I had read the manuals when I became a D-3 shortly after joining. Three years later, I am still very thankful to Susan E. Harris for writing the manuals. I am now a C-3, and hope to advance to the B level by next spring. I would recommend the manuals to anyone who rides english, however, remember to read them in order, or you will feel as if you are missing information. I have not read the B-A manual yet, but I do think that the C manual is the best of the three for building a sound riding career. P.S. I'm also in 4-H, and have found that Grooming to Win, also by Susan E. Harris, is extremely useful when preparing for Pony Club rallies or inspections, 4-H shows, and just about any other shows. It is also a great guide to daily grooming, trimming, and conditioning of your horse.



2. Like Susan's first volume, this is a marvelous combination of clear language, straight-forward presentation, and logical organization, topped by many wonderful drawings. Once you've read and digested the "D" volume, go on to this one and continue your equestrian education in the most logical way I've found. I'm a long-time riding instructor, especially for the US Pony Clubs, and recommend this book to riders of any age. I also own about 900 horse books and Susan Harris's Manuals are, by far, the ones I consult most often.

5 comments about Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook (Howell Reference Books).

1. This book was bought for my 10 year old daughter. It is wonderful, everything and every question is answered in this book.



2. This is the most complete, concise medical handbook for horse owner's I have found on the market today. It details everything from small medical maladies to major sicknesses and illnesses. It walks you through reproduction and everything you need to know for your pregnant mare too! The language was easy to understand and stated in basic layman's terms, so even if you are a first-time horse owner you can understand the terminology used, but it is also detailed enough for the avid, experienced horse owner. This book comes highly recommended!!



3. This book holds loads of information. It is a very good item for the horse owner to keep handy.



4. While the authors obviously know their stuff, I found it hard to read given the excessive and slightly archaic verbage; I would've preferred something much more consise, perhaps in a "bullet" fashion, rather than a tome.



5. No book is a subsitute for a licensed veterinarian. Now having said that...
   
   I've had this book for years and wouldn't be without it. It got me through my first foaling and also caring for that foal (including vaccinations). While I've not read this book front to back, the signs & symptoms section in the front is invaluable. The chapters are easy to read, yet they are informative and allow you to ask intelligent questions of your veterinarian when it becomes necessary for them to be there.
   
   My mother recently bought her first horse and this book was the first thing I told her to go get.

5 comments about Three Dog Bakery Cookbook: Over 50 Recipes for All-Natural Treats for Your Dog.

1. I have a different version of this book, but its got great recipes and all kind of useful tips, tricks, and ideas. I feel this book is great for kids who want to start out cooking for their dogs. Very colorful and illustrated, with recipes that make your dog drool and beg for more!



2. I have an aged pet that has cancer. I bought this book to make homemade treats for her in an effort to help her overall health. I found the recipes to be easy to make and found most all the ingredients at my local grocery story. She loved the treats and ate them up fast.
   
   If you are a pet owner that is concerned about the type of products used in petfood and pet treats and want to do something about it, this is the book for you.



3. The recipes were good but not great and there was a lack of real variety.



4. Me and my wife bought this book for our two dogs. We enjoyed making several of the treats. Although, our pets don't know the difference between the treats we made vs. store bought treats, it doesn't matter. It's a fun activity for the family to enjoy either way -- if you have the time.



5. I think a lot of the recipes in this book are great, as do my dogs. But there is one very important problem with this book. There are some ingredients that dogs should not ingest, and some of those are included in these recipes! Raisins being one of them. :(

5 comments about National Geographic Complete Birds of North America (National Geographic).

1. This book has excellent content, but the first printing had the stiff binding that wouldn't allow the book to open fully, making it very difficult to read. The second printing has a more flexible spine where the pages are just stuck to it. After four months of very casual use, the pages began falling out. This is the poorest bound book that I have ever seen.



2. Birdwatchers,hello! I am an 8-year old birder. If you love birds and need some good information 'Nat Geo's Complete Birds of North America' has great info on behavior, identification and other important bird stuff! It is the first book I look at if my family or a friend describes a bird they saw today.
   
   I reccomend this highly, and you can buy it at almost every bookstore or library.



3. The single most noticeable thing about this book is how poorly it was manufactured. The spine seems to be made from steel making it impossible to ever fully open the book and an exercise in frustration to read. This problem is greatly exacerbated by the fact that the text runs way down into the deep dark recesses of the crevasse created by the horrible binding. The actaully printing however is very good. The pictures are clear with good color and the paper is of high quality. This makes it even more of a shame that the binding is so bad.
   
   The actual content of the book is quite good. Most of the illustrations were taken from the National Geographic Field Guide as were the maps. The maps have been increased in size which is a definite help. Every species accepted by the ABA is covered with its own write-up. Not surprisingly, some of the rarer species receive much less of a write-up then the regular ones.
   
   In the end I believe that the poor production qualities fatally flaw the book and can only recommend to the bird book obsessed like myself.



4. Well written, good information, well organized. Not a field guide but one of the best reference books I've seen.



5. In typical National Geographic fashion, this book is excellent. It is extremely comprehensive with outstanding artwork. This is a must have for anyone who enjoys birding. You should also buy the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America as an easy to carry companion.

2 comments about Positive Perspectives 2: Know Your Dog, Train Your Dog.

1. One of my biggest pet peeves is 2nd edition books that change a few minor things about the first edition and rename it "2"; this is not the case with PP 2. There are many new things that build on Positives Perspectives. I highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in using positive techniques to train their dog!



2. The name of this book makes it confusing, but this is NOT the second edition of Positive Perspectives. This is an entirely new book, for more advanced owners/trainers. Highly recommended. Pat Miller really knows dogs and positive training, and this is the most advanced book she has made...yet -- Pat, please write more!

5 comments about The Loss of a Pet.

1. Dr. Sife, is a wonderful man full of compassion. love and knowledge and heartfelt feelings for the Loss of a Pet. To read his book, is to know his heart and soul for he, has experienced the same in that we all bond and unify with our animals. God Bless you Dr. Sife!



2. I highly recommend this book for anyone grieving the death of a beloved pet. Dr. Sife gives very helpful information about the grieving process, and most important, reassurance that the pain one feels is very real, and not to be dismissed by anyone. Very well-written, insightful, with numerous photos. I would have been lost without this book.



3. I ordered this book the day after my two dogs were euthanized for some extra support. It is very informative and helpful. I think it would even help deal with the grief of a human relative or friend aswell. I would suggest it to someone in grief with a pet definately.



4. I operated a professional pet sitting service for eight years and this is the book that I always recommended to my human clients when their beloved companions made their transition to heaven. Dr. Sife writes with such compassion that he draws the reader in to assist with their anugish. Dr. Sife suggest many helpful things. From the very important stages of grief, to planning a memorial service, to offering to the reader ways to bare their grief until healing can come. Many books on pet grief are written but Dr. Sife's was pionner in this field. He is a practing therapist with a degree in counseling psycholoy, (Ph. D.). He specializes in pet berevement. He is also the founder of The Association of Pet Loss and Berevement.
   My best friend and I just have suffered a terrible tragic loss of Solomon, a young feline companion that died very suddenly from choking. The Loss of A Pet is a lifeline for our broken hearts. One final note: The Chapter on our pets going to heaven is so comforting. Thank you Dr. Sife for helping the reader travel down this dark road.



5. This book was very helpful to me during a trying time I had not too long ago. Do yourself a favor and buy it. I also read and highly recommend 'How to Roar: Pet Loss Grief Recovery' by Robin Jean Brown and 'Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet' by Gary Kowalski.

5 comments about Hands-On Healing for Pets: The Animal Lover's Essential Guide to Using Healing Energy.

1. This is one of the BEST books I have encountered on healing energy work for animals.
   I use it extensively and highly recommend it to all animal lovers.
   My dogs give it a big "paws up"!



2. I thought it was a little wordy before getting to the "meat of the subject"



3. This is the best empathic book for fellow empaths and pet lovers. As a empathy like my self,she is full of great wisdom,and made her book easy to understand for psychic and pet lovers. I rate #1 on the healing practice,and excellent for beginners of being healers.



4. This was wonderful! This lady knows her stuff. I have her music cd's on healing for pets and animals-they are wonderful, too!



5. I wish I could give this more then 5 stars. It is the most comprehensive book I've read for hands-on healing for animals. The author doesn't just offer hand placements but provides a wealth of information on other aspects that effect the pet's overall well being. The book covers scientific evidence of healing, explains auras and chakras, environmental impacts, animal communication - including a meditation for developing the ability, properties for working with crystal energy, and astrological signs that influence your pet. The last chapter discusses complementary therapies such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and chiropractic.
   
   The only challenge I have is in the beginning of the book the author seems to oversimplify the ability for anyone to provide hands-on healing. I do believe we all have the innate ability to channel universal energy, but I believe a lot of us have "forgotten" who we are and our natural abilities. Later in the text the author does acknowledge it may take years for an individual to develop this inherent ability. Personally I recommend taking a class, whether it is Reiki, TT, HT, or any other energy healing modality if you're interested in hands on healing.

5 comments about Scent and the Scenting Dog.

1. Good book that makes it easy to understand the complex nature of tracking human scent. Opened my eyes and gave me a new prespective!



2. This book is an excellent book for anyone involved in tracking with dogs.



3. I was first introduced to Scent and the Scenting Dog in 1973 when I went through the Seattle Police K-9 Academy. I found it to be the only text to present the facts of scent and scentwork in a scientific manner. The underlaying source information is footnoted and verifiable.This book presents the facts of scent and avoids simplistic methods. It demonstrates to the practitioner the scent evidence available to the dog under differing circumstances and what methods of application/training are likely to succeed. It also describes the physiology of the dog's olfactory system, giving the reader a factually based understanding of the dog's ability and power to receive scent. It is as accurate and valuable today as when it was written. I relied upon this book as a police dog handler, and retained it as a text when teaching future handlers through a 20 year career.



4. This was a great book for theory. Helps you to understanding what you might be seeing when those seemingly unexplainable things happen on the track. It won't teach you to track at all, but it will help you understand the mechanics of your dogs senses and scent. This was the missing link for me.



5. Thorough and easy to understand explanation of human and vegetative scents, their relevance to search dog training, and the ways their properties affect searches and are affected by influences such as heat and snow. A well researched and presented argument for air searching over tracking and trailing. I'd like to see a similarly clear and easily understood essay by Mr Syrotuck on passive and pro-active narcotic dog training. I found this manual fascinating and full of invaluable information.

5 comments about The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird.

1. "At times the earth's fate seems so dire and inexorable that I'm tempted to throw up my hands and say to hell with it." The words are by Bruce Barcott, and they reflect what a lot of people feel when faced with global warming, the current destruction of species that many biologists think is a "sixth extinction crisis" (a previous one wiped out the dinosaurs), or the ruin of natural regions for profit. And yet, Barcott found a story of optimism and hope (even if they might have been eventually misplaced) when he heard about Sharon Matola, better known in her adopted country Belize as the "Zoo Lady". She has become an authority on the scarlet macaw, and led a remarkable effort against strong odds to keep the macaw's only known habitat in Belize from being flooded behind the proposed Chalillo Dam on the Macal River. Barcott tells Matola's amazing story in _The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird_ (Random House). It's a story that might have remained obscure, but it becomes an epic in the way it is told, and it is also a legal thriller as Matola and her cohorts pursue one effort after another within the Byzantine Belize legal and political system.
   
   Matola has quite a history. After leaving a marriage by running away to the circus, she wound up in the early eighties helping to film a nature documentary in Belize. The movie featured orphaned animals, and when it was over, she had a jaguar, an ocelot, a puma, and some exotic birds, little money, and no job. What to do besides paint a sign on scrap wood saying "BELIZE ZOO"? As the nationally-known Zoo Lady, Matola has gotten the populace of Belize interested in its natural resources. There are only two hundred macaws on the Macal River where they make their nests, and a dam would not only destroy the macaws, of course, but drive out other animals like tapirs, pumas, river otters, and howler monkeys. Close evaluation of the economics of the dam indicate that it would result in higher energy rates, not lower. The geological analysis that preceded the dam's construction was full of lies. It claimed that there was granite upon which to build the dam, and there was none. The engineers even arranged to have a map of the site lose by eraser a geologic fault line that could endanger it. In Barcott's words, "the dam was a fiasco: environmentally devastating, economically unsound, geologically suspect and stinking of monopoly profiteering." In the middle of the campaign, the government released its vengeful plan to place a garbage dump adjacent to Matola's zoo, another battle she had to fight. She got the help of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the powerful environmental legal team in Washington, and the battle ranged through the local courts and even to the mysterious Privy Council in London. Barcott takes in each legal battle and financial tomfoolery, producing a book that has a great deal of suspense to it.
   
   I won't spoil the suspense by telling the outcome. "The odds are against us", Matola says late in the book, and gets the answer from an environmental-law solicitor, "The odds are always against us." Matola continues at her zoo, and has taken up, among other battles, the protection and reinstatement into the wild of the endangered harpy eagle. Dams continue to be planned and built, many financed outside the nations that will hold them, and placed in third-world areas containing poor people who won't benefit, and politicians who will. Concentrating the story on Matola makes for a brilliant narrative, spangled with instructive thoughts on matters ecological, financial, and political. In summing up at the end, Barcott writes, "People like Sharon are rare and strange and sometimes aggravating... These people aren't perfect. They aren't simple heroes. They are complex human beings. And we need them. Because without them the world would be lost." Barcott's fine book gives us a deep portrait of Sharon Matola, and she gives us one more reason not to give up on humans and their interactions with their planet just yet.



2. THE BEST FIELD GUIDE TO BELIZE.
   EVER.
   
   
   You probably won't find Bruce Barcott's The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw in the travel book or nature guide sections of your local bookstore or of Amazon.com, but it just may be the best field guide to Belize you'll ever read.
   
   Ostensibly the story of Sharon Matola, founder of the amazing Belize Zoo, and her campaign to defeat the Chalillo Dam on the Macal River in Western Belize and to save the nesting ground of what are believed to be the last 200 Scarlet Macaws in Belize, it's actually a 313-page crash course on Belizean culture, society and politics.
   
   It's also the most riveting, gossipy and entertaining book on the country since Richard Timothy Conroy's 1997 memoir of British Honduras in the 1950s, Our Man in Belize.
   
   Barcott names names. He pulls no punches. As an American writer - he's a contributing editor to Outside Magazine and the author of a book on Mount Rainier, among other things - he doesn't have to worry about making a living in Belize or raising a family there. He points to the high-level corruption that Lord Michael Ashcroft, the British-Belizean politician and entrepreneur, helped introduce in Belize and who "turned the sovereign nation of Belize into his own tax-free holding company," to the fast-buck shenanigans of the second generation of People's United Party politicians, to the seamy Dark Side of the PUP's "Minister of Everything" Ralph Fonseca, to the shrill shilling of party spokesman Norris Hall, to the fellow-traveling of the Belize Audubon Society and even to the bumbling efforts of some well-intended but barely competent Belizeans.
   
   I've been banging around Belize for more than 17 years, but Barcott's book is full of insights I've missed or didn't understand. It took Barcott to tell to me why so many Belizean politicians wear guayaberas and other open-neck shirts (to set themselves apart from their English colonial masters who slaved in the heat in coats and ties). Barcott explained why and how the Belize Audubon Society, which one would think would be on the side of the at-risk Scarlet Macao, helped get the Chalillo Dam approved (the Belize Audubon Society, under President José Pepe Garcia, at that time a quasi-arm of the Belize government, claimed the Scarlet Macao subspecies wasn't really endangered in Belize and that the habitat of the Macal River Valley was duplicated elsewhere in Belize.)
   
   If there's a fault to Barcott's approach, it's that he relies heavily on the gringo side of the outsider-local divide so common in post-colonial countries, including Belize. Many of his primary sources - Matola, ex-Fleet Street newspaperman Meb Cutlack, Lodge at Chaa Creek co-owner Mick Fleming, butterfly expert Jan Meerman, geologist/dolomite miner Brian Holland and others -while long-time residents of Belize and in many cases Belize citizens -- will always be viewed by some Belizeans as expat, white perpetual tourists. Barcott tried twice to interview George Price, Belize's ascetic, incorruptible George Washington, but was turned away: "He's too busy," the retired Price's sister told him. We hear little or nothing directly from Said Musa, King Ralph or Lord Ashcroft.
   
   It also bugs me that Barcott's publisher, Random House, didn't do a bloody index.
   
   Sharon Matola comes across as a complex and sometimes exasperating woman, neither Joan of Arc nor Wangari Maathai. A fluent Russian speaker, a fungi expert, a former bikini-clad circus tiger trainer, the founder and miracle worker of "the best little zoo in the world," Matola, at the height of the anti-dam, pro-Scarlet Macao effort, almost forsake the battle. She became depressed and for a while, as a long-time Rolling Stones fan, turned her focus to a new campaign to get the city fathers of Dartford, a small working class town near London, to build a shrine to native sons Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
   
   Even with Matola at her passionate best, the campaign to stop the dam failed, of course. With most of the economic and political power structures of Belize supporting the pork project, and the giant Canadian utility Fortis dead set on damming as much of the world as possible, there was never much chance it would succeed.
   
   Tellingly, however, Matola did win the Battle of the Garbage Dump. Vindictive members of the government allegedly planned to put Matola in her place by building a dump at Mile 27 of the Western Highway, virtually next door to the Belize Zoo. After some clever maneuvering, some of it involving Britain's Princess Anne, the government backed down and decided to locate the egregious dump elsewhere.
   
   One irony came too late for Barcott to include in his book. The environmental consulting company, Tunich-Nah Consultants, headed by José Pepe Garcia, the former Belize Audubon Society president, conducted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Ara Macao, the overblown planned development on the Placencia peninsula. Ara Macao, Spanish for Scarlet Macaw, received approval to build nearly 800 condos and villas, a marina, casino, 18-hole golf course and 400,000 sq. ft. commercial center, all this on a peninsula with no paved road access and a population of about 2,000. The beautiful, smart red parrots must have shuddered, as they searched for new nesting grounds in their fast-disappearing habitat.
   
   In the end, though, Belize is Belize.
   
   With a population of just 315,000, about that of a small provincial Canadian, U.S. or British city, everybody who is anybody knows everybody else, and it's hard to stay mad. As Barcott visits Belize for the last time in researching this book, in 2005, Matola is getting ready to attend a party at Beer Baron Barry Bowen's Belikin headquarters. Bowen, one of Belize's wealthiest men and the country's political check writer extraordinaire, had helped kick Matola's butt. Now, Barcott learned, it was time to kiss-kiss and make up. That's Belize for you.
   
   ..............
   
   Review and Opinion by Lan Sluder
   
   
   



3. Well written and highly informative, especially regarding the politics of the delightful new country that is Belize. Great background reading if you're planning a trip there - and while there, be sure in include a visit to the Belize Zoo - absolutely amazing!



4. First, a disclaimer -- I'm related to Bruce Barcott, and so was preinclined to like this book because of family and locale references I would recognize. However, this book was much much more than I expected. I'll mention just two things I especially liked about this book. First, it is a true page-turner. I didn't know how the dam project would end, and Bruce's non-fiction story-telling kept me on the edge of my couch throughout. Secondly, I really liked the amount of somewhat tangential information Bruce wove into the main story. He would veer off on some interesting and helpful side road, but always bring the reader back quickly to the fascinating main story and players in the drama. I look forward to the next explanatory journalism that Bruce undertakes.



5. Barcott does a marvelous job of weaving the diverse elements and characters involved in this story into a comprehensive narrative. Better than that, he makes what could be very tedious legal proceedings a stimulating read. Well, the reading is stimulating, as is the subject matter. The situation itself, an instance of convergence on Belize of global forces enacting the doom of another unique wildlife habitat, is less than edifying.
   
   Barcott obviously sides with the environmental forces that ally themselves to fight the erection of a dam that will flood the nesting site of the largest scarlet macaw population in Central America, estimated at less than 200 birds. At times his partiality causes blindness to perspectives he does not share, but overall he does an excellent job of presenting the reasoning of all major stake holders.
   
   Barcott chose his subject well. The story is almost like a novel, with corrupt colonialism-playing politicians, heroic but flawed ex-patriot Americans, big international environmental players and corporations, local businessmen caught in the middle, and even the Law Lords of the British Privy Council. The combatants on both sides are committed, highly motivated, and adept at working the system.
   
   All told, this is a very well-written and enlightening telling of one of many current battles being waged over our planet's last remaining wild lands - what's at risk and what's being done to both exploit and to preserve the remaining pockets of natural diversity.