Book Review: Dr. Sophia Yin's How to Greet a Dog

Every family should read How to Greet a Dog and What to Avoid.

This is a great resource with clear and engaging images that depict a variety of scenarios. It clearly states all the do's and don't's with approaching a dog and explains the why in a way that children can comprehend.

I initially got this book as a crash course for my nephew and admit without shame that I learned a few things myself.  It is just eight simple lessons, so the book is short enough to keep a young child's attention; however, the book uses a few more complex words that maybe a little tough for a child to read on their own if they are just starting out.

Currently the ebook is free on Amazon, with a retail of $.99 (check price before checkout). I will be adding more of Dr Yin's books to my reading list.

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Book Review: Tamar Gellar's The Loved Dog

 The Loved Dog is worthless.

I want to say that pretty much catches you up on this waste of time, but in case you need a little more explanation I'll elaborate.

First off, the entire beginning of the book is an overly detailed description of her life story. There's some merit for explaining your perspective, but this book should not sub as a biography to stroke your ego. You're about a quarter of the way through before she even gets to the subject of dog training.

Then there's the never ending name dropping. I've worked with so and so's dog, I hung out at the beach with this person and there were paparazzi. Here there is absolutely no relevance to training, and it annoyed me to no end.

What made all of this worse was a bombardment of flowery language. Using excessive similes, adjectives, and long tangents, made it a painful read. It read like an amateur prose at a coffee house poetry night.

It comes down to this: She had nothing to say. The book is all filler, and no content. What "patented" training techniques she talks about have been around for quite some time. The basic premise is sugar gets more flies than vinegar. That statement and a Wikipedia search on dog training gives me the same insight and doesn't waste hours of my life. I read this cover to cover and wanted my money back and an apology.

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Book Review: Cesar Millan's How to Raise the Perfect Dog

Trying to be a better poochie parent, I took some time to do some research on pets. I figure while I wait on the next stage of my fostering project I would take the opportunity to review some of the material I have read.

Not overly familiar with his show, The Dog Whisperer, I had heard of Cesar Millan. His book, How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond was the first book I had read on the topic of pets, and I was very glad that it was. Overall the book was easy to follow and had a conversational feel to it. There were plenty of cute stories and good advice to keep the book moving and helpful.

There are two disclaimers with this book. In an attempt to ensure he was conducting a thorough approach to dog rearing, he uses a pack of puppies of various breeds, from various locations to illustrate his points; so, much is made on these dogs background and their personalities and growth. Some will appreciate this more than others.  Second isn't really about the book, but of the author. Cesar Millan does not employ a completely hands off approach to raising pups. There is no harm or violence condoned to pets; he stresses positive reinforcement, but distinguishes his approach with a structure and discipline with which some are simply uncomfortable. In this book it really didn't touch on those ideas and I read nothing I found out of line. However, I have since read criticisms of his methods employed on his show.

This book is geared towards people who are planning on bringing a puppy into their households. If you do not yet have a dog and are thinking of adopting a puppy, I would recommend this as a crash course. Or if you just like to hear stories about puppies, there is plenty to entertain. However, if you are looking for the end all be all of dog training, have specific habits or behaviors you need to work through, or already have a full grown adult dog, there may be other options better suited to your needs.  Overall, I would highly recommend this book.

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