Feeling Outnumbered? How to Manage and Enjoy Your Multi-Dog Household. (Paperback)

by Karen B. London (Author), Patricia B. McConnell (Author) "Individual time with you is a great reinforcement for your dog and goes a long way toward helping him pay attention to you when you..." (more)
Key Phrases: body blocks

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Looking for some tips to create a little order out of the canine chaos in your home? Concerned that there might be some tension between two of the dogs in your pack? Not sure if all that growling during play means trouble or not? This booklet has the answers to those questions and many more. Written to help you maximize the joy of living in a multi-dog household, it emphasizes the use of Ethology and Positive Reinforcement to teach your dogs to be polite and patient instead of demanding and pushy. Filled with practical ideas about keeping life fun in houses that have two dogs or many more than that, Feeling Outnumbered is a great resource for all multiple dog owners, whether novice of professional.

About the Author
Karen B. London, Ph.D. After graduating from UCLA with a biology degree, Dr. Karen London received her doctorate in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin, where she studied aggression and the interactions between species that live together. For her dissertation, she researched tropical social wasps in Venezuela, Mexico, and Cost Rica and has enjoyed the switch from wasps to dogs as they are easier to work with and less aggressive. Dr. London began volunteering at Dog's Best Friend, Ltd. in 1997, and became a full time Applied Animal Behaviorist and Trainer there in 1999. In between, she spent a year in New Hampshire teaching play training classes, supervising doggy day care, and grooming dogs. Dr. London does private consultations for dogs with behavioral problems, specializing in canine aggression and play. She also teaches training classes, writes about dog training and behavior, and gives speeches. She and her husband Rich live with their dog Bugsy, who is half Black Lab and half handsome stranger.

Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D. received her doctorate in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin researching communication between people and dogs. She is the owner of Dog's Best Friend, Ltd., which offers family dog training classes and treatment for serious behavioral problems, where she and Dr. London specialize in the evaluation and treatment of aggression in dogs. She is Assistant Adjunct Professor in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin, teaching "The Biology and Philosophy of Human/ Animal Relationships." Co-host of Wisconsin Public Radio's "Calling All Pets", Dr. McConnell gives advice about behavior problems on over 110 radio stations across the country. She is the behavior columnist for the BARk magazine and a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Comparative Psychology. Currently she is working on a book for Ballantine/Random House titled "The Other End of the Leash, comparing human behavior to that of our four-legged best friends. She can be found either nestled within a pack of four dogs, one cat and a flock of sheep, or traveling to give speeches and seminars around the country.

Product Details

• Paperback: 38 pages
• Publisher: McConnell Publishing Limited (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891767062
• ISBN-13: 978-1891767067
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #26,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected, April 3, 2003

By	Christine (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

I have to say that I was disappointed with this booklet. I think I should have read the description better as I was expecting a book and got a 38 page booklet.
I didn't find the information all that helpful in dealing with my three-dog household. I felt most of it was in umbrella terms and there were very few specifics. Also many topics on things to do with your dogs, but for more details or the how-to's you were referred to a book-list in the back of the book.
Most of the information was common sense.
Probably good for beginning owners of multiple dogs but if you have owned multiples for awhile, I don't think this information will be new.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars short and sweet, November 25, 2002

By A Customer

Nice little booklet. I don't have many problems with my pair of dogs, but I like to think I can spot new issues and head them off pretty quickly - she gave me more signals to watch and more tools for dealing with the issues.

She has interesting ideas about group naming and group commands. Good advice for when another dog is being added to an already extant group of dogs - she also differentiates between an adult and a puppy - which are accepted differently by dog society.

Great pointers on when play is play, play is 'powerplay'and when to stop the powerplay from becoming a fight. My dogs can play rough and sometimes I am aware that it is becoming a grudge match - it was nice to have someone say that its alright to break it up and you DON'T have to let them 'sort it out'(sometimes I just don't want to listen to 15 minutes of growling and banging around during the 'play herding' phase). I find after a couple times that I have stopped the 'powerplay' that they seem to be playing more politely/quietly because they know that I am watching and ready to tell them 'go bed'.

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Intro, April 24, 2004

By A Customer

This is a good place to start for those with multiple-dog households. It serves as a great consolidation of multi-dog topics from other books, many of which I have also read. The authors have done a great job of referencing the topics, so if you want to learn more, it is easy to pick out the longer book that most applies to that topic. I found it very helpful in teaching me how to train my dogs together (seperately), as well as defining what is play and when it's time to cool off. It's a good reference to have on hand when you just need a quick review of pack dynamics, and don't have the time to sift through a longer book for the information that you're looking for.