Customer Reviews

The Perfect Match: A Dog Buyer's Guide (Howell reference books)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Most dog encyclopedias or "pick the best breed for you" books are just photo albums with breed descriptions straight out of the AKC info snippets. They tend to have very little practical info on breeds or their quirks. I dont know where the information came from for this book, but breed after breed I found it right on the money. Having worked as a veterinary kennelworker for 3 years and in a groomers shop for 2 I have had experience with most common breeds and this is THE book I hand out whenever people ask "What should I get?". I really had to laugh at gems in there like "Shih tzu, special abilities: Shadow" or "Bearded collie, protection: may bark.. if they think burglar has come to play with them". Spot on! :)

I bought THE PERFECT MATCH to add to my collection of many dog breed books, and found it to be very informative; Even moreso than some of my other books. The descriptions are very well written, even giving information for the buyer to consider before a purchase of the particular breed (for example....would it be a good breed with small children in the home, or in an apartment, or in the city, etc.) The dog breeds are all listed by catergory (an example would be: Basset hounds are listed in the Hound category), and their are even listings of rare dog breeds. The only drawback I found to the book, and the one reason why I did not rate it a 10, was the fact that it was not printed in color. It would have been very nice to have seen some of the darker breeds pictured in color, because their coats often came across as being very dull. This did not deter from the writing or descriptions however, so all in all, I would say it is one of the best breed dog books on the market today. This is an excellent book for people considering a dog as a pet, and also it is an excellent reference guide for those of us who enjoy attending dog shows. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT

Overall, I think this is a very useful and informative reference guide. It provides an easy-to-understand snapshot of all the most popular breeds, plus many of the more obscure ones. The writing is clear and readable, and the pictures are (for the most part) sharp and attractive. The section on evaluating potential pets and the places you get them is also very helpful.

So why only four stars? Because the text descriptions of each breed are WAY too short. There's one breed per page, but the page is filled with large type, a picture and lots of white space. Many breeds are described in just two short paragraphs -- that's three or four sentences total. I found myself having to check other sources for basic information on almost every breed. The book would be much better if the descriptions of each breed were three to four times longer.

"The Perfect Match" was certainly one with me, it's my favourite breed-book. I'm a dog-lover, book-lover and rather a control-freak. So naturally I read breed-books, own some, chose my dog who accompanied me for nearly twelve short years, very carefully amongst the dogs of the world. Many of my aquaintances and friends scowl on my attidude (which isn't totally relieable, no doubt about that), but after a short while with the dog-dog they choose I hear them sigh: if only his hair wouldn't mat, if only he wouldn't be so full of boundless energy, if only he wouldn't slobber, snore, bark that much... WELL! Read "The Perfect Match" and then say: "Although Mrs Walkowicz did say the grooming was a task, I underestimated it.." sounds so much better, doesn't it? I think her book is unique in the truth spoken about requirements and character (with children! With other dogs!). She treats all breeds equally fair, that's great. My points of criticisms are: to me as non-native-speaker of english, the health clearance remains partially mysterious. The terms are really complicated, not what the prospective dog-buyer (perhaps first dog buyer) knows about. Some of the requirements should be rubbed in more. Example: teeth-care, that is daily hmpf, okay, weekly brushing and cleaning at home and professional cleaning for small breeds... Then, well, there are some breeds missing, I think mostly european breeds, but on the other hand, there are so many breeds NOT missing! I believe, one should warn of aggressive breeds (or potentially aggressive breeds) - "supervision suggested" is not enough.. and one should encourage the choosing of non-aggressive and the healthier breeds. But that would spoil the fair treating of the variety. To sum it up: This book can help and will help, if taken seriously.

I always read breed books. This is undoubtedly the best. While most of the others appear to crib material from each other, thus passing on incorrect information, Ms. Walkowicz clearly went out and found correct information about breed personalities of the rarer breeds. She is the only one who characterized the papillon as wanting to be dominant to other pets in the household (true) or standard schnauzers as being very bright but jet-propelled monsters until age 2 (also generally true). On the basis of the information she gives about breeds I do know, I trust her for correct information about other breeds I don't know so well.

I rated this book only three stars because the same information, expanded and updated, appears in "Choosing a Dog for Dummies," by the same author. The newer version is worth four or five stars, I believe. Both are easy to use, thanks to the telegraphic evaluations preceding each write-up. Despite there being no color pictures, this is a good reference for the price.

In my years as breeder referral chair for a local kennel club I just about wore out my copy of this book. It has all the pertinent information arranged in chart and narrative form for each breed.
The articles have the ring of veracity. Authors who really know the breeds are telling it like it really is. It is simply the most useful dog book I ever bought, and I have bought many.

John Culleton
Wexford Irish Terriers

For years I have been trying to find a book to replace, The Right Dog for You, by Daniel F. Tortora, because his book now does not include an number of breeds. I thought The Perfect Match might be the one. What a disappointment. I wanted to learn about the breeds and how they react and interact in their environments. Some breeds have more information, but there are no cautions about puppy mills or the effect they have on the breed. There is no consistent information about heriditary defects, the life-span. This is not a buyers guide, it doesn't give you the information to make the educated decision a buyer of this book is hoping to make. I wish Tortora would write another book.

I think this book is the book that every dog and pet lover shouldnt be without. It tells great detail about each breed. This book has important categories about the breeds. Like how the breed is with children, energy, protection, shedding, life expectancy, other animals, and health clearances and abilities. I hope you dog lovers can experirance the greatness of this wonderfull book. Cant live without it.

This is a pretty good book about dog breeds. There is a photo of each breed (black and white). The best thing is at the top of each page all of the info you want to know is broken down in categories. How are they with kids, guarding, energy, size, who that breed is recommended for and who it is not. This book is definitely worth the price. It is a lot better than some of the $60 books about dog breeds. You'll get you moneys worth.