95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book on dog behavior, May 6, 2006
This review is from: The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior (Howell Reference Books) (Paperback)
This book is an excellent guide to dog behavior and, although not being a training manual, it includes a lot of information on how to train your dog. Apart from discussing how dogs learn (e.g. by observation, classical conditioning, or operant conditioning), it includes a short list of "canine learning" rules and an appendix that teaches you how to teach commands, as well as how to correct behavior problems by counter-conditioning (training him to do something else instead of its undesirable behavior) and desensitization (teaching him to accept the stimuli that cause unacceptable behavior).
The first part of the book covers material on dogs anatomy and physiology, including their genetic background (that of wolves), their brain characteristics and hormonal system, their senses (that might include a sixth sense), and the basics of their communication system. The latest part is essential to understand and properly interpret your dog's gestures and the sounds he emits in different situations.
The second part, on dog psychology, is, in my opinion, the really interesting part of this book. It describes how dogs develop their "personality" traits, how the learn, and how they behave as social animals. Many aspects of dog behavior are clearly explained, from their fears and phobias (and how to treat them) to their innate habits. Breed differences are also discussed, as well as how to deal with behavior problems (e.g. aggressions or house training).
I cannot but recommend this book to anyone who lives with dogs. There are similar books with a less formal style (as Patricia McConnell's "The Other End of the Leash"), but they are not as thorough nor as informative as this book is. It should be noted that, despite its undeniable scientific rigor, "The Dog's Mind" is far from boring. It is quite easy to read and even momentarily humorous.
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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great behavior guide, June 6, 2004
This review is from: The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior (Howell Reference Books) (Paperback)
This is NOT a training manual, this is a dog behavior manual. It teaches you how to read and understand your dogs behavior and why he does the things he does. This is very understandable and enjoyable to read. Bruce Fogle gives lots of in depth information on genetics and how early learning can effect your dog. This is very scientific, and not necessarily an "easy" read. Some of the information can take a while to digest. This isn't a book you can read in two evenings. Bruce Fogle is very articulate and well read, and knows what he is talking about.
I recommend this book to anyone who owns a dog, whether or not the plan on professionally training them or not. It has new information for even some of the most knowledgable people.
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly The Best Dog Book, March 19, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior (Howell Reference Books) (Paperback)
I have owned this book for over three years now and still think it is the best dog training/understanding book that I have ever seen. As a trainer of shelter animals and owner of 4 dogs I have seen almost every kind of "bad dog". Before getting this book I trained using the "commercially" prescribed techniques without a true understanding of the motivation behind the dog's behavior. After reading this book, I was able to develop my own methods tailored to each dog and have had great success. I would love to see every dog owner in the U.S. have a copy of this book as it would prevent a lot of animal abuse and neglect currently present here.
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