The Other End of the Leash - Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs

At long last, dogs will know just how smart their owners can be. By unlocking the secrets of the hidden language of dogs, psychologist Stanley Coren allows us into the doggy dialogue, or "Doggish," and makes effective

communication a reality.

Drawing on substantial research in animal behavior, evolutionary biology, and years of personal experience, Coren demonstrates that the average house dog can understand language at about the level of a two-year-old human. While actual conversation of the sort Lassie seemed capable of in Hollywood mythmaking remains forever out of reach, Coren shows us that a great deal of real communication is possible beyond the giving and obeying of commands.

A “transformative,”* inspiring book with the power to change the way we understand and communicate with our dogs.
 
Few people are more qualified to speak about the abilities and potential of dogs than Jennifer Arnold, who for twenty years has trained service dogs for people with physical disabilities and special needs. Through her unique understanding of dogs’ intelligence, sensitivity, and extrasensory skills, Arnold has developed an exemplary training method that is based on kindness and encouragement rather than fear and submission, and her results are extraordinary.

To Jennifer Arnold, dogs are neither wolves in need of a pack leader nor babies in need of coddling; rather, they are extremely trusting beings attuned to their owners’ needs, and they aim to please. Stories from Arnold’s life and the lives of the dogs who were her greatest teachers provide convincing and compelling testimony to her choice teaching method and make Through a Dog’s Eyes an unforgettable book that will forever change your relationship with your dog.
 
*Publishers Weekly

If you're like most dog owners, you want a trustworthy companion you can take on family vacations, to ball games, on hikes, and to cafes and festivals. You want your dog to behave when you have guests, stay peacefully at hotels, ride calmly in elevators, and maintain proper doggie decorum in all kinds of situations.

Chances are, you've watched and admired assistance and therapy dogs who are attentive to their owners' needs no matter what. This book taps into the secrets of assistance and therapy dog trainers and shows you how to use focused foundation socialization training to make sure your dog is well behaved--even in unfamiliar environments loaded with distractions and temptations. It goes beyond typical behavioral training and basic commands and covers:

• Evaluating your dog and recognizing traits that will affect her needs
• Using reward-based processes to teach complex behaviors and self-discipline
• Creating a socialization program that makes your dog focused on you and confident in different environments
• Reading your dog so you can anticipate her reactions and keep her focused on your directions

Steven Kotler was forty years old, single, and facing an existential
crisis when he met Lila, a woman devoted to animal rescue. "Love me,
love my dogs" was her rule, and Steven took it to heart. Spurred to move
by a housing crisis in Los Angeles, Steven, Lila, and their eight
dogs-then ten, then twenty, and then they lost count-bought a
postage-stamp-size farm in Chimayo, New Mexico. A Small Furry Prayer chronicles their adventures at Rancho de Chihuahua, the sanctuary they created for their special needs pack.

While
dog rescue is one of the largest underground movements in America, it
is also one of the least understood. An insider look at the "cult and
culture" of dog rescue, A Small Furry Prayer weaves personal
experience, cultural investigation, and scientific inquiry into a
fast-paced, fun-filled narrative that explores what it means to devote
one's life to the furry and the four-legged. Along the way, Kotler combs
through every aspect of canine-human relations, from humans' long
history with dogs through brand-new research into the neuroscience of
canine companionship, in the end discovering why living in a world made
of dog may be the best way to uncover the truth about what it really
means to be human.