[.ca] The Other End of the Leash (ISBN 0345446798)

From Amazon.com:
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

One of the best on dog behavior:
I love this book! Patricia McConnell brings a very human touch to writing about dogs, reminding us that while we are not perfect, neither are our dogs. This book should be read by everyone thinking about getting a dog, since it really gets into the way a dog's mind works. I found this a very enjoyable read. I liked the real-life examples McConnell uses and how she isn't the "perfect" dog trainer and lets us know that.

interesting and fun but did i learn much?:
i must first admit that i have learnt 2 or 3 useful tips after reading this book. i was hoping that it'd be much more fruitful though. this book is written like the author is sitting down chatting with you throughout a relaxing day about her experience; dropping hints and tips on the best way to handle dogs, the differences between primates (human) and canids(dogs), dog's emotions, how they have personalities, dominance etc. invariably, such 'talks' will involve stories with relevant points, as well as some that stray quite far from the theme. bbeing interesting, i think many readers will not mind the occasional light hearted irrelevant story. despite the fact that there are some useful hints and tips on how to handle our best friends, they are too few and far in between. bulk of this book is somewhat repetitive, and the author tends to be too 'talkative'. also, there is just too much comparisons with other primates like baboons, gorillas etc are often used to draw similarities and differences with dog's behaviours. i hope i do not come across sounding like a sexist but i find that this book will more likely appeal to female readers, who are more emotive. i always like the more text book style, indexed do this, do that; this is bad, that is good etc. this is a good and interesting book to read, but getting only 2-3 useful tips out of 220 pages i feel isnt good enough. a good idea will probably be for you to imagine buying a book by agassi on tennis. you'll end up hearing a many heartwarming stories about his life/marriages; and the other half of the book tells you about tennis, how the ball spins, some techniques on service, returns but generally you'll only learn 2-3 tips about playing tennis well like how your legs should be positioned, what type of racket may suit your style etc.

One of the best books on training I have ever read!!!:
Patricia McConnell has done a WONDERFUL thing for all pet owners... this book is not specifically about dog-training, but about how OUR behavior influences the behavior of our PETS.(That's US onthe "other end of the leash"). This is must have book, whether you live with dogs, cats, other pets or even interact with other humans!!! What can I say but WOW! Fantastic! You have to read this book- you will laugh, cry, giggle and get that wonderful "AHA!!! Now I know why..."moment. Buy this book!!!

One of the best books on dog behavior!!:
I LOVED This book. I've read many books on dog training & this one is truly wonderful. It provides tons of great information on dog behavior & on dog-human interactions. Very easy to read & understand. McConnell is also a very witty, entertaining author. This is truly one of the best dog behavior books I have ever read!

Great book to help you understand your pooch:
Lots of good information about what's going on in your dog's head & what should be going on in your head.