Customer Reviews

The Perfect Puppy: How to Choose Your Dog by Its Behavior

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

There were times when I wanted to throw this book on the floor and shout "No! No! No!" First, I think Hart & Hart were far too discouraging regarding adoptions of adult dogs, although since the book is aimed at puppy buyers, I can look past this. If only that were the book's only foible...

The authors suggest that bringing a female dog into a home where there is already a female dog is just as trouble-free as bringing a male dog into the same situation, which I just haven't found to be true. (In my experience, one dog of each sex is preferable in a multiple dog household.)

Many of the breed rankings seem really off. Australian Shepherds and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, for instance, significantly differ from the profiles Hart & Hart present. Chessies are far more dominant and territorial. Further, this book encourages people to conflate Chessies with Labs, which is not helpful, since there are pronounced differences in the temperaments of the two breeds.

This book is worse than worthless, it is misleading and can give people a false sense of security.

If you are looking for a puppy or dog, a much better bet is Brian Kilcommons' "Paws to Consider," or for a lighter, mongrel-centric touch, Kilcommons' "Mutts: America's Dogs," which contains short profiles of the more common mixes. I found both of Kilcommons' books to be right on target.

Although this book is great for the dog breeds it covers (only 56 of them) if you are interested in one of the less popular breeds (like the Papillon, Norwich/Norfolk terriers or Australian terrier) I would recommend Michele Lowell's Your Purebred Puppy. If you want a Poodle, Golden Retriever, or other popular breed, this is a very good guide to their behavioral traits.

I don't know where the author got his information, but I surely don't think he's ever met an Australian Shepherd. If the other breed profiles are as mis-guided as this breed profile, Purebreed Rescue Groups are likely to see an influx of dogs purchased by those who thought they'd done their research. For the record: Aussie's *don't* read your mind without training, and a family with children had better have the time and commitment to devote to training this breed. In my experience, Aussie's are a highly excitable, high-drive breed with a profound instinct to herd. This herding drive requires focused training so that the dog will learn what is appropriate and what is not. Woe betide the intruder that thinks my male is a "benign" watchdog, or the poor soul who thinks my female, who is quite literally *never at rest*, is "relaxed". And if you think an Aussie won't challenge your dominance, think again: not only will some of them challenge your dominance, they'll challenge your intellect, patience and SAT scores (and probably top them too)! And a low rating on excessive barking? PUHLEEZE!

Don't get me wrong... Aussie's are the perfect breed for the *right* home, provided that home has made an informed choice and is fully committed to appropriately training and exercising their Aussie. If that home has used this breed profile they'll be expecting an "out of the box" mind-reading-mild-mannered-
playful-perfect companion, and they'll be unpleasantly surprised by the amount of training it will take to get that perfect companion, and quite unprepared for the level of exercise this breed requires.

While the intent of this book is admirable, it's execution falls far short of the mark. Readers would be better informed simply by consulting a responsible breeder for research, a local kennel club for references, or by contacting the purebreed rescue club... these rescue groups are more than happy to educate people about the characteristics of their breeds, and have a vested interest in preventing "uninformed" choices.

By all means, read this book for some light reading, but if you're looking for accurate and substantive information on which to base your selection of a new four-footed family member... keep looking.

This book provides some very misleading information. Take the Australian Shepherd for example -- according to this author, the Aussie makes the perfect family pet because it is a "benign watchdog" that will not challenge its owner's dominance! How wrong! The Aussie, as a herding dog, is bred to handle tough situations, to turn a bull around, grip a 250 pound ram in the nose, etc. They like to "herd" children, tell them what to do, and if there is not a strong leader in the family, will happily take over that role! The evaluation of the Aussie could mislead people into believing they are buying a laid-back, easily trained pet, when in fact, they acquired a strong-willed herding dog, looking for a job to do, with an insatiable need for exercise, training, and strong leadership. Not given the right leadership, Aussies can easily become destructive. The breed standard describes them as "reserved around strangers" and poorly trained and socialized Aussies may become aggressive! This breed is absolutely wonderful -- for the right owners, willing to provide the right training, exercise and leadership. I would give this book five MINUS stars!

This is a great book. I have brought one for each member of my family. Lets you know what breeds are good with kids and which onesprefer adult households. Plus lets you know how much exercise and grooming various breeds need,and gives you a couple of other breeds with similar profiles to the breed you are considering.

I found The Perfect Puppy extremely useful in shopping for my last two mixed-breed dogs. I concede that no dog will conform to all characteristics attributed to the breed. But reading the profiles made me sensitive to different traits, and I used that sensitivity in shopping individual dogs.

This book was a big disapointment. First of all, the book only discusses 56 breeds, which represents only about a third of all AKC registered breeds. Considering a Basenji or a Whippet? Forget it. They are nowhere to be found in this book. Want to know if a dog sheds? You won't find that out in this book. How much exercise will your dog need? Not here either. Temperament, dominance, snapping and biting (behavioral traits) make up a great deal of the content of this book . While on some levels there is some help offered in matching breed behavior to owner needs, but what is provided is superficial, leaving the reader wanting more information but not getting it.

A much better book, worth every penny, is Michele Welton's "Your Purebred Puppy". Her book is a substantive work providing a prospective dog owner a variety of important information and cautions. It discusses exercise needs, amount of trimming or clipping a dog will need, how much it sheds, its ease of training, the breeds intelligence and sociability with strangers.

In my opinion, Welton's book is also a better book than Tortura's detailed but overly obtuse review of breeds.

It's a great book to help you choose a dog/puppy by your style and a breeds compatibility with you. This will save a lot of dogs from going to the pound just because it didn't suit your needs. Becuase puppie's are designed to be cute!