For more than a quarter century, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend has been the standard against which all other dog-training books have been measured. This expanded edition preserves the best features of the original classic while bringing the book fully up-to-date. The result: the ultimate training manual for a new generation of dog owners--and, of course, for their canine best friends. The Monks of New Skete have achieved international renown as breeders of German shepherds and as outstanding trainers of dogs of all breeds. Their unique approach to canine training, developed and refined over four decades, is based on the philosophy that "understanding is the key to communication, compassion, and communion" with your dog. How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend covers virtually every aspect of living with and caring for your dog, including: Selecting a dog (what breed? male? female? puppy or older dog?) to fit your lifestyle Where to get--and where not to get--a dog Reading a pedigree Training your dog or puppy--when, where, and how The proper use of praise and discipline Feeding, grooming, and ensuring your dog's physical fitness Recognizing and correcting canine behavioral problems The particular challenges of raising a dog where you live - in the city, country, or suburb The proper techniques for complete care of your pet at every stage of his or her life In its scope, its clarity, and its authority, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend remains unrivaled as a basic training guide for dog owners. Like no other book, this guide can help you understand and appreciate your dog's nature as well as his or her distinct personality--and in so doing, it can significantly enrich the life you share with your dog.

“A fascinating, informative and highly entertaining expedition through the highways and byways of dogdom.” —John Bradshaw, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Sense A charming meditation on the relationship between humans and dogs, drawing upon history, science, art, and personal experience to illuminate a magical bond that has endured millennia—from the New York Times bestselling author of Just My Type. “Ludo is now an elderly gentleman, and we would do almost anything to ensure his continued happiness. We schedule our days around his needs—his mealtimes, his walks, the delivery of his life-saving medication (he has epilepsy, poor love). We spend a bizarrely large amount of our disposable income on him, and he never sends a card of thanks. When he’s not with us for a few days, the house feels extraordinarily empty. I feel so fortunate to know him.” Ludo is a dog—Simon Garfield’s beloved black Labrador retriever, one of millions of canines who have become integral parts of our lives. But how did the dog become top dog? How did these faithful animals come to assist us not only in hunting, but in bomb disposal and cancer detection—and ultimately become our closest companions? Dog’s Best Friend examines how this bond developed over the centuries, and how it has transformed countless lives, both human and canine. Garfield begins with the earliest visual representations—dogs depicted in ancient rock art—and ends at the laboratory that first sequenced the canine genome. Along the way, we meet the legendary Corgis of Buckingham Palace, the dogs of the Soviet space program, the world’s first labradoodle, and a border collie that can identify more than a thousand different plush toys. Garfield reveals the secrets of the world’s best dog trainers, takes us inside the wild world of dog breeding and dog shows, and unearths the deep psychological roots of the human-dog link. And Ludo pops his snout in from time to time as well. A celebration of this deep interspecies connection, delivered with Simon Garfield’s inimitable wit, Dog’s Best Friend offers delights and insights for anyone who has ever loved a dog.

Over fifty activities and crafts and dozens of sidebars teach young children how to take care of their dogs while fostering a deep, long-lasting bond betwen child and dog.

From Rick Woodford, the "Dog Food Dude" himself, comes Feed Your Best Friend Better, with easy recipes that will make even humans drool a little bit. Healthy food can enable dogs to live longer, healthier lives, just as it can for humans, and with these meals, treats, and cookies, dogs will never miss commercial kibble. Rick has researched nutrition for dogs and has used the same manuals veterinarians use to develop his recipes. Feed Your Best Friend Better makes the transition to homemade dog food simple, so you can make natural pet food for your dog every day. From nutritional value to portion sizes, these recipes will help dog parents know what their dog is eating. The meals are healthy, and dogs love them. Rick Woodford wants dogs in every family to be healthy and happy. His recipes use a variety of herbs and spices for their antioxidant properties but they smell so good everybody in the house will be drooling. Recipes include: * Puppy Pesto * Bacon Yappetizers * Barkscotti * Mutt Loaf * Gingerbread Mailman In addition to 85 recipes other helpful chapters include: * How to Pick out a Commercial Food; making the ingredient label easy to understand with a breakdown of ingredients that are good for the bowl and those that are best left on the shelf. * Determining Portion Size; information on body type and size help readers understand how much food their dogs need to be in the best shape * Problem Mealtime Behaviors; how to deal with the early morning wake up call, reluctant eaters, counter surfing and more

'Dr. Becker makes some excellent points from a little different perspective. Especially on target where his reasons for sharing one's life with dogs: they help us maintain a hold on our sanity...not to mention our sense of humor.' --Betty White

Provides information about the physical and psychological needs of dogs, as well as about how to choose and care for them as pets.

Discusses how a dog's body works, how it perceives the world, how it communicates and responds, and dogs' health concerns. Includes related activities and experiments.

Your dog is trying to tell you something—are you listening? “Why does my dog do that?” It’s a question every dog owner has asked—whether their best friend is growling at an unseen foe, or rolling in an objectionable scent. Now, world-leading canine experts and fellow dog-lovers Melissa Starling and Paul McGreevy are here with all the answers: How dogs use body language to communicate (with both people and other dogs) What motivates dogs (and what doesn’t) Rules for canine contentment (for example, most dogs don’t enjoy hugging) Subtle signs of discomfort, stress, and fear (like lip licking) And even how to choose the furry companion that’s right for you. In Making Dogs Happy, you’ll learn to see the world as your dog does—full of goals to pursue, resources to guard, and stressors to avoid. Using that knowledge, you’ll be able to communicate with (and train) your dog so that they’re the happiest hound on the block. Decode your dog’s emotions and behaviors—and be the best dog parent you can be.

***The first guide to both raw feeding and healthy homecooked meals for dogs. In the whirlwind of information about local, organic, and whole foods, it’s easy to forget that our canine companions can also benefit from—and deserve—a more natural and nurturing diet. Preparing Fido’s food at home may seem daunting, but it’s really not, says Lew Olson in Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs. Olson discusses canine nutritional needs and explains the research on how home-prepared foods, particularly raw foods, can meet pets’ needs better than commercial, processed dog food. Step-by-step instructions and recipes make preparation easy. The book includes charts with the recipes, instructions on keeping diets simple and balanced, guidelines on preparation, suggestions for finding ingredients, and how much to feed a dog by body weight. There are recipes for healthy adult dogs as well as guidelines for puppies, senior dogs, and dogs with health conditions including pancreatitis, renal problems, gastric issues, allergies, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer. Pet owners seeking to give their dogs a better coat, better skin, and healthier teeth and gums, as well as longer lives and more stable temperaments, are sure to welcome this book. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Dog anatomy, breeding, breeds, equipment, health, law, monuments, organizations, related professions and professionals, shows and showing, sports, training and behavior, types, working dogs. Dogs in popular culture, famous dogs, fictional dogs, films. The dog is a canine mammal of the Order Carnivora. Dogs were first domesticated from wolves at least 12,000 years ago but perhaps as long as 150,000 years ago based on recent genetic fossil evidence and DNA evidence. In this time, the dog has developed into hundreds of breeds with a great degree of variation. This guide details the dog anatomy, breeding, breeds, equipment, health, law, monuments, organizations, related professions and professionals, shows and showing, dog sports, training and behavior, dog types, working dogs, as well as dogs in popular culture, famous dogs, fictional dogs, films about dogs, dogs as pets, and many other related aspects.