5 comments about Living With Blind Dogs: A Resource Book and Training Guide for the Owners of Blind and Low-Vision Dogs, Second Edition.

1. The majority of us dog owners love our pets but know little about what happens--or in the present case fails to happen--behind those happy eyes. Caroline Levin's lovingly written guide to living well with and for man's best friend when he can't see is a tremendous resource for such human pack leaders, brimming over as we are with good intentions but a little slim on the science side.
   
   It's telling that so many reviews of Levin's work begin by telling the story of a beloved dog's loss of vision. Few of us come to Levin's instruction out of theoretical knowledge. Rather we desperately need to know what to do.
   
   This reviewer and his family have not seen a dog lose his vision. Rather, we recently adopted an abandoned Rhodesian Ridgeback who is already blind. Sammy joins a home with a seeing Ridgeback who has done extraordinarily well in adjusting to life with the bumptious fellow.
   
   Levin's book helps me understand our new dog's psyche, how to ameliorate his fears, and why he loves our voices and cowers when strangers speak the same words.
   
   Sixteen chapters begin with the basics of how people and dogs grieve, how the canine eye is designed to work, and the reasons why it stops doing so. From there the author expertly leads us through behavior change and how to adjust our lives to that our sight-impaired pets can get on with theirs.
   
   The book is peppered with photos of blind dogs and their owners and affectionate reassurances that living with a blind dog can be as joyful as tragic and often more so.
   
   The book has large print--one wonders whether a nurse of ophthalmology presses her editors for this concession--and wide margins. As such, it reads quickly. In this reviewer's case, it will occupy an easily accessible place on a shelf for quick reference as we help our Sammy rediscover the playful, confident sub-alpha male that bounds playfully in his dreams and behind his happy smile.



2. My vet recommended that I get this book. I am so glad that I did take his advise. What I have read so far has been a big help. Before getting this book, I felt helpless. Now I know that Merlin and I will still have a great life together. Thank you so very much.
   
   Sincerly,
   Peggy Parker



3. This book was such a big help I thought my dog that went blind in three days would never have a good life. But since reading this book and using the information I gained from it I and my dog are enjoying things again and we are doing all the same things but just a little different.



4. I didn't find this book to be very helpful. It seems to be geared to having a pack of dogs as opposed to a single dog.
   
   Either my dog is incredibly bright (okay, he is) or the book implies that dogs need far more training than I have found it to be for my dog.
   
   My dog is completely blind. It happened over a period of a couple of months. He does very well at home and away and does not require all the aids the book suggests a blind dog might need.



5. My senior dog recently lost most of her vision. This book is excellent in providing ideas that work to help her navigate in the house, down the stairs and outside. The rug at the top and bottom of the steps helps her find her way and the scents added to certain door frames allowed her to find her way in and out of rooms without bumping her head or causing panic. I recommend this book to anyone who has blind or sight impaired animals.

1 comments about Broadway Tails: Heartfelt Stories of Rescued Dogs Who Became Showbiz Superstars.

1. With the plethora of dog-training books and television shows available to consumers today, it was natural to believe this book would be the superstar amongst them - just as its subjects are superstars of the canine world. However, though the stories conveyed in this book remain inspiring - and the book's message (that rescuing orphaned animals from shelters and supporting that worthy cause) comes through loud and clear - the book reads more like a chronicle of events rather than a grab-the-reader-by- the-seat-of-their-pants- with-amazing-tales-of-unbelievable- feats-by-dogs story. It rather reads like a journal kept by the trainer to recall the events of each dog's story and the anecdotes sometimes associated with each (and these anecdotes, again, while interesting in content are told so robotically as to become I-guess-you-had-to-be-there moments. It's too bad. This book, in the hands of a more skilled writer could've become a classic. Still an interesting read; but be prepared to add your own 'umph'.

5 comments about John Lyons' Bringing Up Baby: 20 Progressive Ground-Work Lessons to Develop Your Young Horse into a Reliable, Accepting Partner.

1. This book needs to be in every horseman's (and women's) library. Clear, concise, easy to follow, great photos and best of all AWESOME Advice!!!



2. This book is a great book when starting your weanling on a course of training. Unfortunately for me I had already read Imprint Training by Dr Robert Miller and most of the training covered by John Lyons had already been covered in the Imprint Training book. However if you were to start training at weanling stage this would be an excellent book to begin with. Both methods are very similar the choice is up to the individual whether they wish to begin training @ birth or wait until they are weaned. All in all a very informative book. Highly recommended.



3. My baby isn't born yet but this book is easy to understand and should be very helpful in the future.



4. I find John Lyon's Bringing up Baby very informative! The pictures do a great job illustrating each lesson. I just purchased a filly, and I want to give her the best life possible. I think by following John's techinques you can't go wrong. His videos are great too!
   
   Sometimes we forget to use common sense when working with horses, and if you pay attention to them and learn to properly communicate, you will find a great new enjoyment with your horses!



5. this book is great for illustrating kind, consistent lessons to educate yourself and you young weanling. if you want to establish a good relationship, and have your youngster become willing, accepting and to like you, then buy this book.

5 comments about Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food.

1. This book raised and answered a lot of questions about what, exactly, is in the food I give my dogs. It also includes great advice on how to read pet food labels, and how to decipher the pet food "lingo" on the packages. I recommend this book for any dog or cat owner, to help them make good choices about the food they give their pets.



2. This book is difficult for me to read because I thought that I have always fed my dogs wholesome food when I was actually poisoning them because I bought into the lies of the pet food industry.
   
   I found the layout of the book to be very helpful in identifing what the "real" ingredients in pet food were, and most times, they are shocking; meat and bone meal = road kill and euthanized companion animals, among other things. The book shares what should and shouldn't be on the ingredient label. The author presents information on why the food industry is the way it is, and the newest revised addition explains the details pet food recall of 2007.
   
   The suggestions the author makes are very user friendly. She does not assert that animal caretakers must stick to one type of diet, but expains the pros and cons of all diets (commercial, home cooked and raw foods like BARF) in a relatively unbiased way.
   
   This book is an extremely important resource to have for those of us who love our animal companions and want to ensure we provide them the best life possible.



3. I am a veterinary student and read this book for a project. I could not believe the inaccuracies that this author presents in her book. She bases all of her "facts" on emails and assumptions. First, there are no antibiotics in your meat! There is a little thing called the "withdrawal period" for all drugs used in food animals. Cows cannot go to slaughter until the antibiotics are out of their systems. This is a law. The withdrawal periods are established when drugs are created and approved by the FDA. Second, the amount of hormones that are put into cattle are so minimal that they cannot do you or your pets any harm! One 3 oz piece of steak contains approx. 1.9 ng (that is .0000000019 g) of estrogen. A 3 oz portion of cabbage contains 2000 ng of estrogen. The average man produces 136,000 ng of estrogen everyday! So what is 1.9 ng going to do to you, really. Third, yes, pet food companies use rendered meat in their foods. However, they also cook the meat at extremely high temperatures and pressures to kill the bacteria, spores, and parasites. I would like to see fresh meat used in pet food, but until consumers are are willing to pay twice as much for dog food, that is not going to happen. And finally, homemade diets are a bad idea. Raw meat contains deadly bacteria, parasites, and more. Plus the bones are an intestinal obstruction just waiting to happen. There are many many other problems with this book that I could go on about, but my review is long enough. So you may read this book for fun, but realize that the majority of it is just fiction and should be dismissed.



4. LITTLE DOES THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT THE DOG FOODS THEY FEED THE FAMILY PET CONSISTS OF ROAD KILL, EUTHANIZED PETS, CANCER/CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS AND ALL OTHER ANIMALS THAT ARE RENDERED FROM ANIMAL HOSPITALS/SHELTERS/HUMANE SOCIETIES AND EVERYWHERE ELSE...UNLESS YOU PAY FOR A SPECIFIC CREMATION OF YOUR PET, IT IS RENDERED WITH MILLIONS OF OTHER PETS...RENDERED IS BOILED UNTIL MEAT IS OFF THE BONES, OR IN HOT OIL. RENDERED PETS ARE PUT IN DOG/CAT FOODS AND MAKEUP, AND ALOT OF OTHER PRODUCTS THAT ARE LABELED "ANIMAL PROTEIN" OR "BONE MEAL" OR EVEN "MEAT BY PRODUCTS" THAT DO NOT SPECIFICALLY SAY THAT IT IS BEEF, PIG, CHICKEN OR TURKEY...ALL THESE CHEMICALS ARE MAKING OUR PETS SICK AND GET CANCER AND DIE AT A YOUNGER AGE. I TRUSTED THE FAMIOUS NAMES AND BRANDS AND THEY ALL HAD THE POISON THAT CAME FROM CHINA...I WORKED IN THIS FIELD FOR YEARS AND COULD NOT TELL THE PUBLIC, BUT NOW I AM FREE TO SPEAK MY MIND...WAKE UP AMERICA!



5. If you love your dog or cat this is a must read. Some parts are hard to get through. And I'm sure pet food manufactures don't like it.

5 comments about Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog.

1. If you're looking to train your dog, this is a good book that shows you how. I would recommend Train Your Dog - The Positive Gentle Method and maybe a dog obedience class (that will help your dog learn to socialize) also.



2. When this book was published in 1985 the concept of natural training was revolutionary. The Monks of New Skete followed in 1991 with a book advocating the same concept of training. However, the principles of a more natural training method have been greatly refined over the years and some of the advice that is contained in this book is wrong (or wrong in most situations).
   
   The author is adament that food should not be given as a reward, reward should be positive attention only. The Monks also believed this but weren't so adament. More recent books have recognized that different breeds respond differently. Breeds bred for close human interaction, primarily the herding breeds, are more closely focused on humans, breeds bred to act independently such as Beagles, and other hounds, and terriers, are not closely attuned to humans and respond better to food rewards. Hey, it's animal behavior 101 that lab rats are rewarded by food and learn from those rewards. Interestingly both Benjamin and the Monks work primarily with German Shepards.
   
   Benjamin also maintains that you can bring a dog back to the scene of its crime, i.e. where it destroyed a pillow, show it the destroyed pillow and correct the dog's behavior. All the recent books acknowledge that you can only correct a dog's behavior if you catch the dog while it is in the act.
   
   Potentially dangerous advice that she gives is to grab a dog by both sides of the neck and get in its face to stare it down. That is threatening and confrontational and may work with puppies but other books warn against that approach with agressive dogs as it will incite them to attack and bite.
   
   There are better books out there pass on this.



3. I have been a dog trainer for many years. This is one of two books that I suggest to my clients. So much common sense with a dash of humor. Easy to read and implement to your training program. Great book.



4. This is a very good book for training yourself to talk to dogs.



5. Big suprise, dogs know that we aren't dogs. The gig is up, dogs don't relate to us the way they relate to dogs. Get a book that really teaches you how dogs think and learn.

No comments about Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life.

5 comments about Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History.

1. Ever since I received this book, my customers get the opportunity to bring photos of their corla for me to identify them. This is wondrful!



2. I'm new in salt water aquarium. I'm reading, studing, looking for informations to care my reef with safe and with environmental responsability. This book was essencial to construct the knowledgement that helped me in this challenge (to keep sea life above sea level).
   
   Aquarium Corals is: "This is a new field of discovery --come and be part of it." (Foreword by Dr. J.E.N Veron)



3. This book has and continues to help us. I feel it is well worth the money.



4. Great reference with some pretty good insight to go along with it. I wish it would have been more in depth when describing water flow and lighting but it does cover alot of other topics including feeding and coral toxicity. I will refer to it often.



5. This is a valuable asset for any marine aquarium hobbyist, it is well written, easy to read and understand and is a useful resource tool for the experienced and novice reefer.

No comments about Chicken Soup for the Soul: Loving Our Dogs: Heartwarming and Humorous Stories about our Companions and Best Friends (Chicken Soup for the Soul).

5 comments about Horses For Dummies (For Dummies (Pets)).

1. This makes a great gift for 1st time horse owners or even old pros. it has very useful information laid out in an easy-to-read format.



2. I have always had an interest in horses. Recently I decided to dive in and start learning about the horse from the hoofs to the ears before starting lessons and buying a horse. This book was so fun to read and easy to understand. I loved the colored inserts, icons and photos diagrams. It has helped me understand what to expect and what I need to do to prepare myself...Get it, I know you will be glad you did! :)



3. We just purchased our first horse, & this book is great! It covers all the areas that we have questions about, and it is in an easy to read format.



4. This book provides a lot of basic information on horse care. It is a must have for the new horse owner or someone taking up the sport. I was hoping for a little more information on feeding, but overall it was a good buy.



5. I learned a lot. A great book for anyone who is thinking about or owns horses. Easy to read and understand. I think even the more experienced horse owner can learn a lot from this book. A good read.

5 comments about A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere.

1. The subtitle of this book is "the true story of Baby and the mission she inspired to help dogs everywhere." Baby was a puppy mill breeder, the kind of dog which is confined in a tiny cage, forced to have litter after litter, and then "disposed of." Because of the abuse, Baby had only three legs when Jana found her through petfinder.com. She decided to adopt Baby, and flew from Chicago to California to pick up the 9-year-old poodle. This book also has some celebrity commentary on animals, and makes the reader aware, in a fairly gentle way, of the conditions to which animals purchased at a pet store or online may have been subjected. Jana also brings up the provocative question: Where does society draw the line for cruelty? I particularly liked two of the quotes in the book. The first is from Dr. Albert Schweitzer: "Until man extends the circle of kindness to all living creatures he will not find peace." The second is from Gandhi : "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."



2. RESCUE RESCUE RESCUE - yes - please RESCUE a dog. This book is amazing and anyone who even THINKS of buying a dog should read this book first!



3. The author needs to make distinctions. Breeders are not the bad guys if breeder has a few dogs, shows the dogs and breeds after dog has gained status and only with carefully selected partner. A puppy mill, on the other hand, is something to be outlawed. There must be a distinction. A person (breeder) who competes in shows with one or two dogs, worries about their diet and coat texture, makes sure every dog is trained and socialized, takes years to decide on the right mate (if that decision is ever made), cannot be lumped together with a person who treats their 150 dogs like chickens in battery cages just popping out profit like eggs from a hen. Read that line "a friend who worked in animal welfare, and she was horrified that I would even consider buying a dog from a breeder". Horrified to get a dog from a breeder? That is where we part company. Also, has anybody every looked at some of the nastiest puppy mill operators, the Amish, for example, who treat their animals so badly they shame us all. The Amish dump uncounted puppies into the system every year for profit...and where are the controls for any of these puppy mills? Overall a well written book and on a subject that needs to be in the public eye. But, let's get rid of the puppy mills and not the honest and caring breeders. There is a very big difference.



4. If you love animals, especially dogs, buy this book(the proceeds go to the Humane Society in the fight against puppy mills.) I bought several for family and friends and everyone loved it. Some even gave money to donate to the Humane Society who are working with Jana to make puppy mills illegal.



5. This is a must read book. This is an important and compassionate story about a woman's journey to find a dog. In a search for her dog Baby she encountered the horrible conditions dogs endure at the hands of unscrupulous breeders. As a result Jana became inspired to do something about it. She and the now famous Baby, her three legged dog, travel the United States to speak to groups about changing the laws that allow puppy farms to exist. An inspiring story that moves one to action. Bravo, Jana Kohl.