The Complete English Shepherd Guide: Raising Your Puppy and Caring for Shep--American's Generic Dog (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: farm collie, herding dog, English Shepherd, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now considered a rare breed, the English Shepherd was long the old standby 'farm collie' on most American farms until the middle of the 20th Century. This book is a brand-new title, and perhaps the only extended documentation of the history, standard, care, feeding, training and breeding of these fine dogs. It is because of the intelligence of this gifted and talented dog a special understanding of his merits is required to best appreciate the nature of this lovable shepherd. His quiet gentle ways, his love of children, his devotion to master and mistress call for a unique indulgence in order to better comprehend all of the classic qualities of this most empathetically centered companion.

About the Author

Jame T. Hammond, retired Public Relations/Advertising Executive and educator, has owned and bred English Shepherd dogs for over half a century.Currently he ownes and operates the AppleYard English Shepherd Kennel in Upstate New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (August 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419672886
• ISBN-13: 978-1419672880
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #769,337 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ok book, nothing special, December 7, 2007

By	JR (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

There isn't much information on English Shepherds so when I found this book I was excited to learn more about the breed. Unfortunately, this book falls short. There is more useful information about the breed online then in this book, and even the information that's provided by the author on raising a puppy, training, health etc. is marginal at best. If you want excellent information on raising a dog or a puppy I highly recommend reading two books, The Art of Raising A Puppy and How To Be Your Dogs Best Friend, both written by The Monks of New Skete.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good content; poorly edited, October 9, 2009

By	Ellis J. Stewart (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Mr. Hammond obviously loves the English Shepherd dog, and his book has been valuable to us as we researched the breed. This seems to be the only text on this breed. We also found helpful information on the websites for the United Kennel Club and the English Shepherd Club. Our only criticism of the book is that it is very poorly edited because there are many words misspelled or simply used in the wrong context. Mr.Hammond says he is a lawyer, and we expect such a professional to know how to spell and write. In any case, we did purchase a puppy from an excellent breeder in Iowa, and so far our experience is entirely consistent with Mr. Hammond's writing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Not vanilla pudding readers, September 10, 2009

By	Michaelacarbonelli - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author is obviously an experienced dog breeder who does not march to the conventional drumbeat of the humdrum. It may be upsetting to some who expect the usual banal hackneyed drill about raising the typical dog. The usual and the commonplace, the ordinary and the prosaic, the facile and the trivial seem to be missing in this book.

Instead, there is a forthright common sense approach to dog rearing, which includes many nontraditional approaches to selecting, feeding, training, and healthcare that you won'tfind in most dog books.

I have owned several English Shepherd dogs over the years and found this book to be quite enlightening as well as entertaining.

From my experiene with this breed, it seems to be very comprehensive in dealing with its background and history, its breed standards, nutrition and training. The author is very thorough when he describes puppy selection, and even delves into the areas of breeding, caring for the puppies as well as marketing them. It is obvious that he has a large kennel and is quite successful with insuring the continuance of the several old bloodlines of the breed.

Along with the chapters on training and acclimating your new puppy, I was particularly impressed with his chapters on nutruition. Certainly a bit unorthodox, but revealing about exactly what counts as unadulterated canine nourishment and what is proper and safe.

In all, a different approach to raising your dog, and especially a dog as rare and intelligent as the English Shepherd. A very good read.