The Complete Idiot's Guide To Choosing, Training, And Raising A Dog [Paperback]

Sarah Hodgson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha Books / Macmillan Co. (1996)
• ISBN-10: 0028610989
• ISBN-13: 978-0028610986
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #920,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Hodgson has been a dog trainer for twenty years and owns Simply Sarah, Inc., a dog training school in Westchester, New York. She has written five books about dogs, including the bestselling DogPerfect and Puppies For Dummies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great, but not bad either..., September 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide To Choosing, Training, And Raising A Dog (Paperback)

Like most of the other folks who have reviewed this book, I also did not particularly appreciate the use of the book as a platform for selling special leashes. However, it is a decent general book that covers the basics pretty well in an easy-to-read format. I did learn a lot from the chapter on puppy personality and how to choose a puppy with a temperament you can live with and know how to handle appropriately. And there are some good ideas for training, but some are too strict for my tastes. My best luck so far has come from reading several training books to see how different experts handle the same situation, and then pick the method I think will work best for me and my dog. I just didn't pick as many from this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but there's much better out there, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide To Choosing, Training, And Raising A Dog (Paperback)

I agree the "buy my leash" stuff was irritating, but this book wasn't bad overall. I read the online reviews and decided to get Dogs For Dummies as my second book -- I just wanted a good reference to keep around the house. The Dummies book is lots better. I also liked the UCDavis Book of Dogs, for a good medical reference.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The author wants to sell her leash system, March 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide To Choosing, Training, And Raising A Dog (Paperback)

I was not very impressed, yes there are a few good ideas, but to be honest with you, I am sorry I paid for it, I don't use it and to me it was a waste of money...the author is constantly pushing this leash system also, everything is related to it. There is better out there!