What Books/articles Would You Recommend To Help Understand Your Dog?

[PatricksMom]

Reading through a few threads, I've seen people recommend some really interesting books and articles to help us understand our dogs better. I looked and couldn't find one already, so I thought it might be useful to start a seperate thread with people's reading recommendations.

[robinw]

If you have a dog that is afraid or aggressive towards people and/or dogs, this is a great website. I highly recommend her webinars. I live with a dog who is afraid of people and of going outside, and she helped me to "get inside of his head" and to understand fear based behaviours from a dog's point of view.

 

Fearful Dogs

Edited January 31, 2014 by robinw

[Remolacha]

For just general understanding of how dogs think, I highly recommend "The other end of the leash"

[PatricksMom]

If you have a dog that is afraid or aggressive towards people and/or dogs, this is a great website. I highly recommend her webinars. I live with a dog who is afraid of people and of going outside, and she helped me to "get inside of his head" and to understand fear based behaviours from a dog's point of view.

 

Fearful Dogs

Thanks, I'm going to order her book.

[Sambuca]

Anything by her- http://www.patriciamcconnell.com

[Guest k9soul]

I really like Patricia McConnell's stuff. Karen Pryor is good too for learning about teaching and training.

[Guest Bean_Scotch]

Excel-Rated Learning by Pamela J. Reid.

[robinw]

Thanks, I'm going to order her book.

I am going to have a one hour consult with her. I can let you know how it goes if you'd like.

[Guest grey_dreams]

I am going to have a one hour consult with her. I can let you know how it goes if you'd like.

 

I would really love to hear what she says, Robin! Thanks in advance for sharing

 

 

I love Suzanne Clothier. She has some great articles on her website. Her book "Bones Would Rain from the Sky" is excellent. I also learned a lot from her seminar about fearful dogs (available as a DVD).

[JJNg]

My personal favorites are any of the books/DVD by Turid Rugaas. Here's an article a friend wrote with more info about her works. Lots of good info on that site too.

[Guest Giselle]

Dogs by Raymond Coppinger. He is a strong scientist, incredibly bright fellow, and a phenomenal thinker. He takes you through the evolution of dogs as you've never considered it before and makes you think about early puppy development in a totally new light. Plus, he's got a laundry list of strong sources for all his evidence, and he makes it clear when he's writing with his opinion and not with facts. Such a bright and critical mind!!

http://www.hampshire.edu/faculty/rcoppinger.htm

 

For actual training, I was most inspired by Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed". That book was a lightbulb moment. But, as far as understanding dogs, Ray Coppinger is one of the best minds in this field. Also, check out Alexandra Horowitz's Inside of a Dog.

[PatricksMom]

I am going to have a one hour consult with her. I can let you know how it goes if you'd like.

That'd be great.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Anything by her- http://www.patriciamcconnell.com

[DocsDoctor]

John Bradshaw's 'In Defence of Dogs: Why Dogs Need our Understanding' - http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Defence-Dogs-Need-Understanding/dp/014104649X (The US edition is called 'Dog Sense', I think)

 

Bradshaw is a British scientist specialising in anthrozoology - i.e. the science of animal/human interreactions. It's designed for the general reader though, to summarise current scientific knowledge about dogs and how they have evolved in relation to us. A very interesting read, certainly helped improve my understanding of dog behaviour.

 

He does a blog in Psychology Today too, I've just discovered:http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pets-and-their-people

[robinw]

Skype consultation is in 25 minutes

[maximum]

Skype consultation is in 25 minutes

Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

[robinw]

The session went great! I realized that I was doing wrong and what I need to do to help Iker. She didn't really say anything that I hadn't read; she explained things so clearly and with so much enthusiasm that I finally understood and the lightbulb finally went on. I was starting too big. I need to start from the very begining, like throwing food towards Iker to establish eye contact and a pattern of taking treats for good a desired response, even if it is nothing more than picking up the food. Using treats during a walk is just too large a step.

 

Beth, I suggest you talk to her. It was well worth my time and the money, which wasn't really that expensive. She is going to send me a pdf of her book and articles, vidoes, etc.

Edited February 8, 2014 by robinw

[Batmom]

That sounds really cool!

[PatricksMom]

The session went great! I realized that I was doing wrong and what I need to do to help Iker. She didn't really say anything that I hadn't read; she explained things so clearly and with so much enthusiasm that I finally understood and the lightbulb finally went on. I was starting too big. I need to start from the very begining, like throwing food towards Iker to establish eye contact and a pattern of taking treats for good a desired response, even if it is nothing more than picking up the food. Using treats during a walk is just too large a step.

 

Beth, I suggest you talk to her. It was well worth my time and the money, which wasn't really that expensive. She is going to send me a pdf of her book and articles, vidoes, etc.

I'll look into that, thanks for sharing your experience. I've talked to two vets now and neither recommend anyone local for dealing with Leo's issues in a positive way.

[greytpups]

I'm reading Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz. She teaches psychology, canine behaviour and canine cognition at Columbia. Although the book isn't a training guide, it is very insightful if you are interesting in learning more about dog behaviours.