Customer Reviews

Bark Busters: How to Solve Your Dog's Behavioural Problems

I had hoped that this book would offer me tips on how to retrain my dog's aggressive behavior, but the tips given focus mainly on keeping a dog from biting you and not on how to stop bad behavior.

If you are interested in a new approach to canine aggression psychology, you might be interested in this book. If you are interested in dog training, I recommend trying a different book instead.

I found Ms. Wilson's section explaining why service personnel has such a high bite rate to be ridiculous, insulting and unfounded. She attributes the bite rate among meter readers et.al. to "fear of the unknown". Also, she claims misinformation is perpetuated through "lunch room talk", describing 3 types of people: those who advocate agression toward dogs, those who believe everything those people say, and folks who know what they are doing yet remain silent.

First of all, her research is suspect - meter readers are in the field all day. Where is this mythical lunch room upon which they converge and discuss work?

The reason we get bit is not through fear, and I resent her depiction of us as a bunch of cowering morons who don't know how to act around a dog. The number one reason we get bit is SURPRISE, not fear. And by the way, there is very little "unknown" for us to fear. We know our routes, we have information about almost all the dogs we must interact with. We get bit when a new dog shows up out of nowhere, or when their behavior changes suddenly i.e. the owner shows up on the scene and the dog becomes protective. Or when an owner actually sics their dog on us.

These are people who must enter a strange dog's home turf hundreds of times a day. I think this qualifies us every bit as much as dog behavior professionals as the author. Meter readers are a courageous bunch with a lot of heart - we have to deal with danger on a daily basis, and not only from dogs. I'd like to see the author spend the day breaking into backyards in a high crime rate neighborhood in 100+ degree heat for 8 hours. Then she would be qualified to tell the world how little courage we have. We are not a fearful group by any means, and the majority of us LOVE dogs.

If you are a beginner, take to heart the advice here. Don't corner a dog, don't offer your hand, don't stare, be extra careful around multiple dogs, be aware the behavior can change suddenly with the presence of the owner, etc. If you are a professional, don't waste your money. You already know everything in this book.