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Right Dog For You Paperback – March 31, 1983

by Daniel F. Tortora (Author)

68 customer reviews

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How to find the perfect match for you...

Here is a systematic and enjoyable way to choose a dog. This highly informative and useful book will take the guesswork out of choosing a dog while leaving in the fun. It will tell you about more than 110 breeds and help you to select a dog compatible with your personality, family, and lifestyle. Choosing a dog can become easy and enjoyable as you learn everything there is to know about the breeds, including:

-physical characteristics—height, weight, strength, coat color and texture, tendency to shed, and food requirements

-temperamental characteristics—indoor/outdoor activity level, emotional stability, sociability, training potential, and watchdog/guard-dog ability

-popularity, background, and unique qualities of each breed

-This fully illustrated guide includes easy-to-read tables and pages of practical advice, plus a miniquestionnaire to help you narrow down your selection to the perfect match for you, your family, and your lifestyle.

Right Dog For You

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Product Details

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Touchstone (March 31, 1983)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 067147247X
ISBN-13: 978-0671472474
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1174 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Zoology
- #2434 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Pets & Animal Care > Dogs

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Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

5 star		60%
4 star		22%
3 star		13%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Top Customer Reviews

The best match-up service for dogs and prospective owners!

By A Customer on February 22, 1999

Format: Paperback

This book desperately needs to be updated, as there are several breeds who need to be included, but aside from that, this is the most extensive and helpful book anyone could have in choosing the right dog for your personality and lifestyle. Unlike most personality matchup tests which ask very vague and general questions for which "yes" or "no" answers are not enough, Tortora's book leads you step by step through a very detailed personality questionnaire, narrowing the list of dogs as you go, to find the ideal match for your personality, lifestyle and activity level. Tortora also includes the negative information along with the positive. Too often, the information from breeders who love the breed is all positive and they typically omit the breed's mischief, destruction or temperamental propensities. Tortora's book was the most helpful in steering me away from breeds I'd always liked, but who wouldn't fit my personality. So many dogs end up in shelters because people don't do enough research on a breed prior to buying and they end up with a dog who clashes with their personality and/or lifestyle or whom they cannot control. If you're a non-assertive female who has always loved the Kuvasz, for example, Tortora's book might make you think twice about whether you can handle such a strong, dominant dog who is prone to take control over someone he considers submissive to him before you find yourself in the heartbreaking situation of giving him to a shelter. In my opinion, Tortora's book is the best on the market and it only falls short of 5 stars because it needs to be updated. I recommend using it in conjunction with Chris Walkowicz' "The Perfect Match: a Dog Buyer's Guide" to cover the breeds not included in Tortora's book. Hopefully, if more people research the breeds to find one that will be a more perfect soulmate than just going on curb appeal or popularity, then there will be fewer animals in shelters and pounds.

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Most informative I've found

By Keerawa on July 31, 2002

Format: Paperback

I am now buying my third copy of this book. I loan it out to any aquaintance thinking of getting a breed of dog they are not truly familiar with. If propsective owners went through this book, there would be much fewer animals ending up in rescue! Here are "The Right Dog for You"'s major advantages:
1) The book is honest about breeds, warts and all. Tortora is a man who has seen how different breeds go wrong, and it shows in his writing. Some reviewers don't like this somewhat negative slant, but I think it is absolutely vital when picking the right dog. Books that gush about how each breed is "wonderful in it's own way" aren't giving you the info you need to make an informed choice about what dog to spend the next decade of your life with.
2) The information is broken out in a consistent, analytical way that makes comparisons easy. I love those detailed temperment charts! Also, having indoor / outdoor activity levels listed is vital for making a good match between your lifestyle and a breed's habits.
3) Near the end of a book is a series of "quizzes" about your lifestyle and ideal dog, which result in a list of compatible breeds. If you've taken a Cosmo quiz, you can do this! It's strightforward, and gives you a specific set of breeds to look up in other sections of the book, or in other resources. I like the fact that this makes it harder to cheat, like you might in leading other books. "Gosh, that's a gorgeous dog! Hmmm ... vigorous exercise and assertive personality? .... Well, I guess that could be me!"
The book's major disadvantages:
1) Not intuitively laid out. The front and back halves of the book would be more useful if they were integrated together.Read more ›

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Still one of the best of its type

By zyx on May 27, 1998

Format: Paperback

Tortora's book IS dated, but it is one of the most valuable sources of the breed-choosing books. He's not afraid to mention negative traits, which isn't always the case. (Look for out-of-print "D is for Dog" for some really candid descriptions). The long parts in the back about matching your own personality, family type and lifestyle is not just useful, it's fascinating.
Anyone who is serious about choosing a dog with as much forethought as they SHOULD, to make that match-from-heaven for 10-15 years, ought to read all the breed-choice books available. Some are contradictory regarding certain breeds. If one of those breeds appeals to you, try to find out why the contradictions. When you finally make a "short list", get to know some real dogs. And don't just think of behavioral traits, size and coat type. Look on the net at the OFA and other hereditary disease sites--the OFA lists breed incidence of hip dysplasia (range between breeds is from about 70% to 2%!). Cavalier King Charles Spaniels seemed to be temperamentally the ideal small dog, but more than half of them have congenital heart defects (and pups cost about $1200!).
If you want my soapbox opinion, here goes. Don't buy a breed that is so deformed it can't live a normal life. Dogs that can't breathe properly, have serious eye difficulties due to some exaggerated appearance thing (round pop-eyes or extremely droopy eyes, for example--or the "collie eye" problems of several herding breeds), or routinely have to be propagated by AI and Ceasarian sections have been taken too far by "fanciers". As a pet owner, you can encourage better dog breeding.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

The right way to find your dog!!

Helps you to choose your dog the best way: by personality! They are all cute! But this helps you to - as the title says - choose the right dog for you. Read more

Published 6 months ago by joey

Five Stars

The best dog book out there and I read a lot of books before choosing our breed!

Published 9 months ago by Cindy Swanson

Best book I have ever read about dog breeds

I bought this years ago and was fascinated by it. Most books talk in euphemisms like "loyal" (code for" it will take the head off a stranger on your doorstep! Read more

Published 9 months ago by Betty Lee

Five Stars

Love this book - bought it for a friend considering a new dog and she wasn't disappointed.

Published 12 months ago by Halle Davis

Highly, HIGHLY recommended!

I used this book years ago when the kids wanted a dog and we were totally clueless about dogs, and I still give it to friends. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Linda A. Neilson

Best book out to help you choose the right dog for you!

Best book out to help choose a do for you! We used it 14 years ago and have given it to friends.

Published 14 months ago by Mary Catherine Goodin

Top notch.

If you are considering adding a dog to your family, get this book. It is excellent.

Published 19 months ago by Elizabeth H. Glew

Five Stars

This book has information that could help you find the dog for you.

Published 19 months ago by Ricky J. Richard

most useful book

This book is terrific--a set of quizzes leads you through what you are willing to do, and not willing to do, to have a dog as a pet. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Ellen S.

A little outdated but on the money

I had this book for years and lost it when a co-worker threw it in the shredder in error. If you want a HONEST opinion regarding the needs and personalities of different breeds of... Read more

Published 21 months ago by L. Bottino

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