[.ca] The Perfect Match: A Dog Buyer's Guide (ISBN 0876057679)

The Indispnsable Book:
In my years as breeder referral chair for a local kennel club I just about wore out my copy of this book. It has all the pertinent information arranged in chart and narrative form for each breed. The articles have the ring of veracity. Authors who really know the breeds are telling it like it really is. It is simply the most useful dog book I ever bought, and I have bought many. John Culleton Wexford Irish Terriers

This is all surface tension:
For years I have been trying to find a book to replace, The Right Dog for You, by Daniel F. Tortora, because his book now does not include an number of breeds. I thought The Perfect Match might be the one. What a disappointment. I wanted to learn about the breeds and how they react and interact in their environments. Some breeds have more information, but there are no cautions about puppy mills or the effect they have on the breed. There is no consistent information about heriditary defects, the life-span. This is not a buyers guide, it doesn't give you the information to make the educated decision a buyer of this book is hoping to make. I wish Tortora would write another book.

Ideal overview, with photos:
Great encyclopedia, overview of 150 dog breeds, with B & W photos. Also includes the inherent traits and characteristics of each breed, to help the future owner match their personality to that of their dog. Wish everybody would read this before acquiring a new canine. Arlene Millman, author of BOOMERANG - A MIRACLE TRILOGY (The tale of a remarkable Boston Terrier).

Ideal overview, with photos:
Great encyclopedia, overview of 150 dog breeds, with B & W photos. Also includes the inherent traits and characteristics of each breed, to help the future owner match their personality to that of their dog. Wish everybody would read this before acquiring a new canine. Arlene Millman, author of BOOMERANG - A MIRACLE TRILOGY (The tale of a remarkable Boston Terrier).

Buy the author's other book!:
I rated this book only three stars because the same information, expanded and updated, appears in "Choosing a Dog for Dummies," by the same author. The newer version is worth four or five stars, I believe. Both are easy to use, thanks to the telegraphic evaluations preceding each write-up. Despite there being no color pictures, this is a good reference for the price.