The Dog Behavior Answer Book: Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Canine Questions (Answer Book (Storey)) (Paperback)

by Arden Moore (Author)
Key Phrases: local dog park, doggy day care, doggy bed, Achieving Harmony, The Nature of Being, Dash of Doggy Discipline (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
It happens all the time. Just when Max’s owner thinks she has him figured out, he exhibits a bewildering fear of the neighbor’s skateboard. Or, despite endless corrections, Bailey still refuses to understand that she doesn’t belong on the leather armchair.

Then there are the dogs that almost always behave appropriately and predictably but can still display a few surprise reactions in situations that disturb their routines. Houseguests might be ruining Buster’s sense of order — taking over his favorite room and distracting his humans from important things like fetch and dinner. And that dog park near Sadie’s new house is terrific, but she might be having a tough time understanding the rules of etiquette.

To all these situations and a hundred more, dog expert Arden Moore provides answers that clearly explain canine actions and reactions, and then helps readers with suggestions for modifying unacceptable behavior. For every canine misdeed, there is a human counter-response to fix the problem. Read about both sides of the story in these friendly questions and answers, taken from real-life situations with real dogs. There is hardly a behavior that will not have dog lovers nodding their heads in recognition.

The Dog Behavior Answer Book will solve the mysteries of canine shoe theft, food guarding, and grass eating for puzzled humans everywhere.

About the Author
Arden Moore is the author of 20 books on cats and dogs, including The Cat Behavior Answer Book, The Dog Behavior Answer Book and Real Food for Dogs. She is the editor of Fido Friendly magazine, editor of Catnip, an animal behavior consultant and host of “Oh Behave!” weekly radio show on Pet Life Radio.com. She has appeared on Fox News, CNN Headline News, HGTV’s "Smart Solution," Martha Stewart Living Radio, NPR and hundreds of radio and television programs. She is known as "America’s Pet Edu-Tainer™" and gives pet talks throughout North America. She shares her Oceanside, Ca. home with dogs, Chipper and Cleo and cats, Callie and Murphy. Learn more by visiting her website: www.ardenmoore.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (November 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580176445
• ISBN-13: 978-1580176446
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #300,915 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Behavior Book !!!!, November 22, 2006

By	Florence Frum (Oceanside,, Ca. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading Arden Moore's The Dog Behavior Answer Book, I wish I had had this book when I first got my puppy. I would have saved myself a lot of money and aggravation. Arden sure knows how a dog thinks and her solutions are "right on". I recommend this book to ALL new and OLD dog owners.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystery solver, November 6, 2007

By	Sally Deneen - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Aha! This easy-to-read resource confirmed my suspicion as to why my new dog Lucy barks madly at the FedEx guy (see p. 97). But I never figured out why she did some other odd things until I found the answers in this helpful book. It solved such mysteries as:

Page 100: Why dogs sniff the crotches of guests.
Page 103: Why dogs vigorously, messily splash water out of the water bowl with their front paws!
Page 107: Why dogs do the "dead fish dance," such as the time Lucy threw herself atop a dead Dungeness crab and wiggled wildly. Yuck.
Page 95: How to get dogs like Lucy to not bark nonstop when the pizza guy comes to the door.

The forward of this book is written by John Grogan, author of famous "Marley & Me," and owner of trouble-boy Marley. He includes some humorous insights, plus says The Dog Behavior Answer Book "could have helped us in a big way. Had we had Arden's commonsense expertise then, we would have better understood what motivated Marley's bad-boy behavior and been able to formulate a strategy to change, or at least, temper it."

What particularly impresses me is that Arden doesn't just write about dog behavior, she lives it. My husband and I have known Arden since the 1980s. When she recently met our German shepherd mix Lucy in our home, I was nervous. Lucy barks at visitors -- looking at it most charitably, I suppose it's in hopes that she'll remain the center of attention.

Arden wisely surmised that visitors typically make rapid movements and, among other things, reward Lucy's barking by giving her treats as she barks.

Arden employed an altogether different strategy.

Examples:

1) She initially met Lucy outside the home on neutral turf.

2) Arden took a seat on our living-room sofa several minutes before Lucy returned to the home from a walk. So, there never was a barkathon at the front door since Arden already was on the sofa, sitting calmly.

3) As Arden sat calmly on the sofa, she kept yummy treats visibly nearby. Intelligent Lucy noticed that by acting like a polite dog, Arden occasionally rewarded her with yummy treats. That reinforced Lucy's politeness.

Lucy *never* had a barkathon during the several hours she was with Arden.

Thank you, Arden, for showing us Lucy can be good with visitors!


-- Sally Deneen, co-author, The Dog Lover's Companion to Florida The Dog Lover's Companion to Florida: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Guides)

3.0 out of 5 stars Just okay, March 11, 2009

By	S. M. SHEA-BRESSETTE "dingleart" (Belchertown, Ma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Okay book for a beginner dog person. Was hoping for a bit more detailed insights.