Books

Some of our favorites are below:

This book gets 4 paws up.. I highly recommend this to all adoptive families.

Author Carol Lea Benjamin offers a better understanding of the shelter puppy, why its needs are so special and what you must do to be sure your chosen puppy grows up well adjusted and happy. Here's a guidebook through your shelter puppy's most important formative period and as your passport to the lifetime of joys waiting you both.

This is the perfect book for anyone who dreams of rescuing an adult dog from a shelter or wants to adopt a dog whose owner can no longer care for it anymore. And if you're thinking of adopting a particular breed, you'll find specific guidelines about a variety of dogs.

Are you thinking of adopting a dog? Do you know which good-natured breeds adore kids-and cats? Which ones grow into loyal "one-man" dogs? Which courageous canines challenge intruders-and friends dropping by? Which "cute" breeds can turn into demanding pests? At long last here is the only guide to selecting a dog that looks at your lifestyle, takes your needs into consideration, and helps you choose accordingly.

This book is a must for anyone considering a canine addition to the family. Nearly 150 breeds are presented with a full photo for each and a complete checklist including personality and physical characteristics, as well as both possitive and negative attributes

As a professional dog trainer, Benjamin focuses her advice on positive training techniques designed to help both parent and teen through the tumultuous adolescent period. Many of her insights are portrayed through the eyes of a canine, and help to illustrate the types of thoughts entertained by the teen dog. These range from the dog who responds to his owner's calls of "Come" with "When Pigs Fly," to the dog who demonstrates his tenacity by staking out a mole hill with a flag that says "Never Say Die." Also included are techniques for effective training, guidelines for appropriate dog-owner relationships, and tips for dealing with specific dog "problems." Case studies of real-life dogs offer substantial evidence to back up Benjamin's recommendations.

If you've ever loved an animal and hated to see it suffer, you now have the good fortune to meet Dr. Allen M. Schoen, whose integration of conventional and alternative medical techniques is revolutionizing the practice of veterinary medicine. Drawing on his experience of treating many different kinds of animals, as well as his knowledge of the healing power of the human-animal bond, Dr. Schoen teaches us:

* How love for our pets can literally save their lives, and how their love for us can be transforming
* How we can establish a deep connection with our pets that will improve their health and well-being, as well as increase our ability to communicate with them
* How the simple techniques of "listening," "touching," and "feeling" can bring comfort to our pets and a deeper understanding of their needs

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Invoking the "mystical, magical, or metaphysical" aspects of our relationships with animals, veterinarian Schoen (Love, Miracles and Animal Healing) recounts his dawning awareness of amazing acts of courage and compassion by animals toward both their human companions and one another. Early in his career, his golden retriever, Megan, came to act as his "ecumenical guide" and veterinary assistant, responding to the distress of an injured lamb, kitten or cow--or panicked human onlookers--with loving licks. In an engaging work that is part memoir, part argument for a more holistic approach to veterinary medicine, this "left-brained" man of science tells how he gradually learned to observe and respond to an animal's emotional state, as well as to the physical needs he was trained to focus on.

An invaluable language manual for people who need to communicate with dogs, How to Speak Dog is far more than a simple training guide. Author Stanley Coren discusses at length the evolution of language in many species, and focuses as much on body language as he does on verbal communication. This is a man with his own theories on language development--when disagreeing with Chomsky or Darwin, he backs up his arguments with plenty of thorough, firsthand experience.

The following is an excerpt from this book:

"My husband and I originally got the puppy for our two young children. it's now become an absolute nightmare. The kids are afraid of the puppy. The dog continues to chase after them and bites them on their hands and legs. If you can't help us, we're getting rid of the dog..

We just adopted a young dog from the animal shelter. She's so sweet but she continues to play-bite and it hurts. My mother, who is sixty-five lives with us and she's had to go to the doctor twice now because the dog keeps nipping at her hands and she ends up with infections.

I can't even put my dog's collar and leash on without getting mauled. It's embarrassing. He won't let me check his ears or even brush him. this isn't what I expected with this dog. I'm ready to give him back to the breeder."

This is a GREAT book to help with those training problems.

Dog psychology is a relatively new branch of veterinary science. Until 20 years ago, treatment for undesired canine conduct was referred to dog trainers. Dr. Dodman, professor at the renowned Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, is an expert on domestic animal behavioral and psychological research. His work with problem dogs has led to humane therapies. Rather than putting a beloved pet to sleep for seemingly unchangeable or dangerous behavior, Dodman has diagnosed and successfully treated dogs for aggression, noise phobia, elimination problems, obsessive licking, and separation anxiety. "

Caroline Knapp is head over heels in love--not with a human being, but with her mixed-breed dog, Lucille. From the moment Lucille first locked eyes with Knapp through the bars of an animal shelter cage, the intelligent, pointy-eared mutt began to transform Knapp's life. Reeling from the deaths of both her parents, a breakup with a long-term boyfriend, and her newly won sobriety after a 20-year battle with the bottle (which was skillfully chronicled in a previous memoir, Drinking: A Love Story), Knapp found in Lucille not only companionship, but "consistency, continuity, connection. In a word, love." Although she doesn't regard Lucille as a replacement for alcohol and lost loved ones, Knapp does believe "that in loving her I have had that sense of being filled anew and essentially redirected, an old identity shattered and a new one emerging in its stead." In Pack of Two Knapp, with the help of dog psychiatrists, trainers, breeders, and owners, explores the partnership between human and dog and the mysteries of the canine mind--how dogs love, how they think, and how they see human beings. And despite her findings that the dog will remain essentially "mysterious ... unknowable," Knapp is ultimately at peace with this, still devouring the moments when dog and human can "transcend the language barrier" to "understand what the other wants and feels." This book pays homage to the wonderful and complex relationship between one woman and her dog. --Naomi Gesinger --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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