Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 64
 For the Love of A Dog November 29, 2007
Beardie 3 Mom (Minnesota)
3 out of 23 found this review helpful
This book was a little too text booky for me. Not all that interesting
 Best of Everything November 24, 2007
Sherry Saunders (Orlando, FL United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I love to read dog books that are wonderful, heartwarming stories that I can learn from. Dr. McConnell has given us those stories (some, sadly, not so heartwarming), along with a huge dose of the scientific explanations of emotions in humans and dogs. I run from science - not my type of reading at all. But I was enthralled with the wonderful information in this book, made possible by the layperson-oriented writings. Just in the time I've been reading the book, I have seen so many things in my dog that I had not known before.
Besides being a wonderful book, easy to understand as well as captivating, the Reference section is amazing. Not only does she give us her chapter-by-chapter references, but she has notes about the ones that were most helpful in her research, and why. It seems to be a great jumping-off place for further learning.
I got this book from my local library, but it is at the top of my Christmas list as something that I have to own. I can see myself using this information for years to come.
Help in Understanding Dogs November 13, 2007
Niki Morrissey (Colorado)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am a dog trainer who works with a lot of novice dog owners. This book is really helpful in explaining to clients what their dogs may really be feeling and why. It is a great book for anyone who wants to understand their dog and improve the relationship. Although it is not a dog training book, it is very helpful to improve training success and communication. It is also an enjoyable read.
Warmly informative - should be on every dog owner's bookshelf November 7, 2007
Joseph A. Soltero (New York, New York United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My partner and I have a beautiful and loving Shetland Sheepdog as part of our family. I purchased this book in an attempt to better understand him, why he does the things that he does, how to know if he's happy, and what I can do if he's not.
Patricia McConnell writes with such warm concern and intimate tone that you feel as though you're sharing a cup of coffee or tea with her somewhere. Her writing is lucid and witty, her anecdotes personal and insightful, and her level of detail and explanation show a deep, genuine passion for what she does.
McConnell addresses the question of whether dogs (and indeed animals in general) feel emotions, and if they are aware of them. While she presents both sides of the argument down to the scientific explanations either way, she is quick to share her belief and experience that dogs do feel, express, and may be aware of their emotions - though not in the same way as humans - and she devotes entire chapters to emotions such as fear, anger, happiness, and love to show exactly how that is.
She details examples of a dog's facial expressions and posture (with pictures) and then compares them to those of humans to illustrate their physical similarities and how they surface on similar occasions. From this we can argue that just as we show happiness by pulling up the corners of our mouths, crinkling our eyes, and rounding our face, so too must a dog showing these same facial features (plus the added wagging tail) be interpreted as a happy dog. The fact that a dog never exhibits all of these features together and then, say, bites a human can be submitted as proof that the dog is feeling happy. While this may seem obvious to many of us, McConnell is quick to discuss scientists of both today and centuries ago who discredited this explanation as hopelessly anthropomorphic, believing these to be simply automatic and emotionless responses to external stimuli.
McConnell also explains the important differences between human and dog behavior. I had no idea that dogs prefer not to be hugged. I never would've questioned it until seeing her pictures and reading the discomfort in her dogs' faces, and then even trying it out on my own dog and feeling him remain motionless and looking away. Indeed she argues that many adult dogs have learned that hugging is a human expression, which they'll tolerate, but caution must be had with puppies who may feel threatened by this behavior.
These kinds of differences sometimes are the cause of negative relations between a human and his pet dog. McConnell's job as an Animal Behaviorist is meant to bring both human and pet to a kind of understanding when possible, to enable the human to read his dog's signals, and, more often than not, to train the human to be conscious of his actions and movements in order not to mistakenly give off the wrong signal.
This book provides a wealth of information about these topics and more, such as how our brain differs from that of our dogs, how to train or condition your dog to be loyal and obedient, and what to do when you need help, for she reassures owners that they can't always do everything. I greatly enjoyed and recommend reading this book, and am eagerly reading her other book, The Other End of the Leash.
Good story, but not a training book October 17, 2007
Libby Nance (Chesnee, SC)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was looking for a book to teach me some training tips. This is not it. I can't seem to find one that simply says, "Do this, and this and the dog will do this and in two weeks he/she will be a happier dog and you will be stress free!" There ain't one. This is a story about her love for her dogs and it is a great story, but buy it for a story, not training.
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