Books - Essential Reading

General Dog Training / Activities, Essential Reading

Childproofing Your Dog
A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Dog for the Children in Your Life
By Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, Published by Warner Books, ISBN: 0446670162, Apr 1st 1994

Child Proofing Your Dog

Reviewed by: 
Joan Dillon

If you already have a dog and are expecting a baby, already have kids and want to get a dog, or already have kids and dogs and want to improve the status quo, then this is the book for you. 

To quote the authors, Childproofing is about preventing the preventable as much as that is humanly possible. Thats exactly what this book is about. It is no promise that your dog or any other dog will never harm a child. But it does give you many steps and exercises that you can do with your dog and your child to help them avoid some of the most common problems. 

This book will help you to train your dog to deal with children in ways that are both easy to understand and fun to do. It will also provide you with a good foundation for understanding and communicating with your dog. 

As far as I am concerned this book is the Bible for dealing with kid and dog problems. It covers everything from getting your dog ready to accept a new baby to avoiding problems when bringing the baby home. It covers the subjects of dogs and toddlers and dogs and small children. It even gives instructions for various games for children to play with their dog which will help the dog to understand its proper place in the family. In addition, there is also a section on dogproofing your child to help them understand the rules to follow in dealing with strange dogs. 

Brian Kilcommons is one of the countrys foremost dog trainers as well as the only American to study under the renowned Barbara Woodhouse. He was also the official trainer for the PBS series, The Gentle Doctor: Veterinary Medicine. 

This book provides wonderful insight into the reasons why dogs act the way they do around children as well as ways for dealing with any potential problems before they become major problems. Highly recommended.

Reprinted with permission from Celebrating Greyhounds: The Magazine, Winter, 1996. © Joan Dillon

Reviewed Publication: 

Childproofing Your Dog

http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/sites/adopt-a-greyhound.org/files/publications/books/bc-kilcommons-s.jpg
A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Dog for the Children in Your Life
By: 
Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson
Published by: 
Warner Books
ISBN: 
0446670162
Apr 1st 1994

Master dog trainer and author of Good Owners, Great Dogs, Brian Kilcommons shows readers how to encourage children and dogs to be perfect companions, in a comprehensive manual that demonstrates how to train an older dog to acept an infant, choose the right breed, and more

Out of Print: 
0
Category: 
Essential Reading
General Dog Training / Activities
Review: 
Child Proofing Your Dog

Master dog trainer and author of Good Owners, Great Dogs, Brian Kilcommons shows readers how to encourage children and dogs to be perfect companions, in a comprehensive manual that demonstrates how to train an older dog to acept an infant, choose the right breed, and more


Essential Reading

Guide to Adopting an Ex-Racing Greyhound
By Carolyn Raeke, Published by Tfh Publications, ISBN: 0793818877, Dec 1997

Greyhounds - A Complete Pet Owner's Manual
By D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D, Published by Barrons Educational Series, ISBN: 0812093143, 1996

Greyhounds

Reviewed by: 
Joan Dillon

When I first heard that there was a new greyhound book available, and that it cost only $6.95, I had some serious doubts about its quality. After all, $6.95 doesn't buy much these days. However, I was in for a most pleasant surprise when I purchased a copy of Greyhounds by D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D., Barrons Educational Series, Inc (1996). 

The first thing which caught my eye was the cover portrayal of a gorgeous fawn greyhound with the most soulful eyes. The second was the quantity of color photos available throughout the book (forty nine in all), plus a number of pencil sketches. By the way, don't be mislead by the Ph.D. after the author's name; this is not some stuffy educational textbook! Rather, it is a delightful rendition by someone who obviously not only knows and loves greyhounds but also cares deeply for their welfare. I think that most readers of this book, whether they own a former racing greyhound or an AKC greyhound, will agree with the author that "once that greyhound sashays through your front door, hops onto your couch, and turns those lustrous doe eyes upon you, your life may never be the same" and "you'll know that it has made the transition and formally adopted you the first time you catch it doing something utterly silly and so very unlike the public greyhound persona." 

The only fault I found with the book is in the graphics area. The particular type chosen for the text, coupled with not justifying it (having the type spaced evenly across the page so all lines are the same width, makes it very tiring to read for any length of time. 

As a greyhound owner since 1979, the only lapse I detected was in the collar recommendations. Although almost every photo of a greyhound wearing a collar pictured the humane choke collar which is used and recommended by most greyhound adoption organizations, there was no mention of this type of collar at all. Instead, it was recommended that the greyhound owner purchase a flat buckle collar for around the house and a nylon choke collar for leash walking. With the humane choker, only one collar is necessary, as long as the dog is supervised. It works as a choke collar when the dog is being leash walked and as a regular collar at other times. 

Although I am a long time greyhound owner, even I learned several things from reading this book. For instance, in dealing with the dreaded injury to the end of the tail, there is a pressure point on the underside of the tail near its base. Also, although I have long suspected it, one of the stated "predispositions" affecting greyhounds is osteosarcoma. Additionally, I may have even found the real reason a greyhound died following a routine neutering operation some years back when a tube placed down his throat ruptured something causing massive bleeding. Apparently, some dogs may have a collapsed trachea and in these dogs, the rings of the trachea are not formed correctly and the upper part of the trachea may collapse inward during heavy breathing. 

All in all, I found Greyhounds to be a very informative book and an outstanding reference manual which all greyhound owners will want to add to their collections.

Reprinted with permission from Celebrating Greyhounds: The Magazine, Summer, 1996. © Joan Dillon

Reviewed Publication: 

Greyhounds - A Complete Pet Owner's Manual

http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/sites/adopt-a-greyhound.org/files/publications/books/bc-coile-s.jpg
By: 
D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D
Published by: 
Barrons Educational Series
ISBN: 
0812093143
1996

Everything About Adoption, Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Behavior, and Training. This is a very well written book with great color photographs at a very affordable price.

Out of Print: 
0
Category: 
Essential Reading
Review: 
Greyhounds

Everything About Adoption, Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Behavior, and Training. This is a very well written book with great color photographs at a very affordable price.


The Greyhound - An Owner's Guide to a Happy, Healthy Pet
By Daniel Braun Stern, Published by Howell Book House, ISBN: 0876054319, Dec 1st 1997

amazon.com's description: This is our seventh set of Happy, Healthy Pet titles. These latest books will bring our series up to fifty-five titles and, like the others, they are books pet owners can turn to for the essential information they need to raise a healthy, happy pet. All books contain information on: feeding, grooming, housing, health care, what to expect from the pet, basic training. As our series expands and focuses on different kinds of pets, the emphasis remains on making the pet a companion. Owners of more unusual pets will particularly appreciate the expert advice in these books because professional care for exotic animals can be hard to come by. As always, the instruction on the books is from expertspeople who know their pets intimately but always remember what it was like to have one the first time. Happy, Healthy Pet guides are rich with professional quality color photos and are designed to be enjoyable and easy to learn from. Most new Greyhound owners will be acquiring an ex-racer as a pet, so weve chosen Daniel Stern, an activist for the cause of Greyhound adoptions to write this straightforward guide covering all aspects of their care.


Adopting the Racing Greyhound 2nd Edition
By Cynthia Branigan, Published by Howell Book House, Macmillan Publishing Company, 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022, ISBN: 0-87605-193-X, May 1998

amazon.com's description: This revised and updated edition of the only book on homing the ex-racer tells prospective adopters everything they need to know to make adoption a success. In addition to practical information, such as care and feeding, readers learn the latest about the activities and competitions that are just for ex-racers and their owners. The Appendix lists all the agencies nationwide that adopt out Greyhounds, so an agency is sure to be nearby. For thousands of years Greyhounds have been bred to hunt and run at speed. Because they are used to being with other dogs and people, they make perfect pets. Adopters can be assured their ex-racer will get along with adults and children and other household pets. Cynthia Branigan is director of Make Peace with Animals, which has among its special missions Greyhound rescue and placement. Her second book with Howell, The Reign of the Greyhound was published in 1997. She lives in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Adoption Groups: This book is available for bulk purchases directly from the publisher: More Information.