Chapter One deals with the "Alpha or Pack Leader." Chapter Four, "These Paws are Made for Walking" is about exercise, and Chapter Six is "Practice Makes Perfect, But Not the Way You Think."
Each chapter highlights things that you often encounter with your dog. This is not a step-by-step training manual. It is a thoughtful approach to situations that all dogs owners encounter and hear about.
The book is filled with "little extras." Each chapter contains resources for reading and learning more, refers to current research, and suggests items you can order from Applied Animal Associates/Behavior Education Network.
Written by a PhD animal behaviorist who writes clearly with short, useful real-life examples. It explains dog behavior so that we can understand our dogs better, helps you read dog body language, clears myths on the alpha dog theory, and explains the problems with anthropomorphizing dog behavior; that is, attributing human characteristics or behavior to your dog.
The book got a thumbs up from a certified dog trainer, Laurene, who said,
"This book is easy to read, to the point, and is a great resource to help dog owners prevent training mistakes. I love the section on crate training, because crates are widely misunderstood and misused. I love the section on the need to catch your dog doing behaviors you like. It is likewise refreshing to see a section on punishment that acknowledges its misuse and the potential fall out, but also how it can be done strategically if it is used at all..." Read her full review here.
