Customer Reviews

German Shepherds For Dummies

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'll tell you why.:
Little story, my husband surprised me with a GS puppy last year when I came back from a weeklong vacation. I did not want a puppy yet because I've never owned a dog before and I wanted to do some reading on the subject, especially with a GS. It's not the kind of breed that you can just buy and say "ok, we have a cute puppy" and that's it. Every dog deserves a well informed owner. But I ended up using my intuition and common sense to do the majority of training for my dog (who I now love dearly). This book taught me nothing that I hadn't already figured out on my own. And I must add that there is only about 10% of this book that is actually geared towards GS's. It's a very broad based book on how to train a dog, not just a GS. There are many other books out there that will tell you about the breed and what to expect about there intelligience, personality and the AKC standards for this breed. I learned more things browsing through GS magazines at PetSmart. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK !!!! There are MUCH better books about German Shepherds !!!!!!!

I'm new to dog ownership and I just adopted an 18-month old German Shepherd Dog from a local shelter. I wanted to learn as much as I could about dogs, specifically GSD's so I ordered this book. My observations are:

1) The book is informative and covers I wide range of topics, i.e., training, feeding, housebreaking, etc.
2) This book can be used as a reference guide so you don't need to read the entire book if you just need advice on specific issues.
3) This book was easy to read and I read the entire book in a few days.
4) Although I gained some knowledge from this book, many of the items covered I was able to find quite easily on the internet for free.
5) This book was inexpensive and available through Amazon with free shipping, which is how I got it.

Bottom line: If you don't mind spending a few dollars, this is a nice reference guide to have. Otherwise, you can find this information for free on the internet.

= A Champion Read

As a German Shepherd owner in northern Ontario, Canada, I found this book of valuable assistance. There is little help in a practical sense for animals in this part of the world, but this book has really helped. Chapters 12 and 13 on pet care are the best chapters in the book: they help you to dedect ailments early on and so you can avoid expensive trips to vets or even losing your loved animal.
Each chapter is clearly set out and has spacing between main paragraphs and sections.

It is obvious that this book is written by a true professional: it is thorough, yet not boringly over detailed. It mentions in one chapter about dominant aggression of the dog, but also, as always, goes to the root cause of the problem , which, of course, helps the breeder or owner alike, to be beware and maybe prevent such behaviour from happening in public.

As I say, it is a very practical book. It starts with a practical plan of how much it would cost to keep a German Shepherd at your home and then goes on to point out how it would fit in the family, how to house it etc. In another chapter, it gives really good advice on what to do with the "undesirables" such as how to remove a stink from your home to removing ticks from the dog.

Beautiful black & white as well as colour photos accompany the chapters.

Only a dummie would skip buying this book !

Glen M Darlow

This book has some pretty good general advice, but I was very disappointed. I really expected better. This is the same author who wrote several other 'Breed for Dummies' books, and it's pretty obvious she doesn't (and couldn't) have extensive experience with all of them. Couldn't they find a knowledgeable person within the breed to write the books for them? Also, in the training section, she makes no mention of any other training methods or what to do if her's fails. The one she suggests is decent enough, but she seems completely closed-minded to others. In the discussion of whether to get an American or a German line GSD, her point of view seems to be limited to 'American dogs win the dog shows and German dogs have roach backs'. Hardly objective, and not very accurate. The section on breed history is pretty good, although like most books it focuses on the herding section of the breed's past, while putting Max von Stephanitz's role in the breed down as 'formed a club and sponsored dog shows'. I wouldn't spend the money on this book.

I am well aware that owning a pet of any kind is a HUGE responsibility, I don't need it shoved down my throat every other paragraph. Furthermore, the author had a grim way of reinforcing the fact that neglected Shepherds would indeed be problematic...well, duh! Sardonic predictions and lack luster descriptions of this beautiful animal made me doubt if indeed the author had ever actually owned a German Shepherd.
That being said, if there are individuals out there that don't know that a dog of any kind is a huge undertaking, this wouldn't be such a bad read.

Having purchased several "other" guide books - this is the only one I will need. D. Caroline Coile writes this book for the common folk to understand and throws a few chuckles in with her skillfull knowledge. And excellent, understandable guide to raising and loving your German Shepherds! Thank you D. Caroline Coile for making me understand to think as my pups do, with a gentle loving hand! I recommend every German Shepherd owner to purchase!

I liked this book because it gave me a lot of information on how to take care of a german shepherd and general techniques of what to do if they are sick, what to feed them, etc.

This is the most useful and user friendly of all the GSD books I have in my library! It has a lot of information none of the other books have.

A really simple guide though alot of information that is general for all breeds. This is a nice way to get an introduction to the breed but please take your dog to a trainer who is pleasant and non agressive. This dog breed does better with a light hand and lots of affection and good food... not just dry food but real bones . Autumn of Blessed Acres service dog

Unless you know absolutely NOTHING about German Shepherds then I would not recommend buying this book. It gives only the most basic of knowledge, and in my opinion is not worth your time. Find a better book if you really want to learn about training or behavior!