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The Latchkey Dog: How the Way You Live Shapes the Behavior of the Dog You Love
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Collins Living (2002-03-01)
ISBN: 0062736663
EAN: 9780062736666
Dewy Decimal #: 636
Paperback: 224 pages
Release Date: 2002-02-19
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Does your dog's schedule need more arranging than your own? Does the mere prospect of leaving your dog make your spine stiffen? While you are at work earning the money to buy dog food, is your dog having your dining room chairs for lunch? If the answer to even one of these questions is "yes," the odds are that you are living with a Latchkey Dog.The Latchkey Dog offers a remarkably insightful and unprecedented view of the modern dog and owner. Using as examples the dogs and owners she's come to know through many years of canine training, Jodi Andersen gives extremely clear and manageable step-by-step instructions that will permit you to get your house back in order, while teaching your dog to be a useful, working member of your family. The result will be a return to a harmonious and healthy household -- for you and your dog.
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Customer Reviews
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A must read for potential dog owners
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-04-02
If it were up to me, people would be forced to read books like this before adopting. The book clearly shows how damaging it can be to a dog to be left alone all day or treated like a human. It shows that dog ownership is NOT easy and that even healthy, well behaved dogs can learn to behave badly when they are not treated correctly. Buying yourself an already trained dog or going to basic obedience alone are not nearly enough to prepare you for the truth behind the dog.
One of the things that this book stresses a lot, is that dogs need some sort of a "job." They are left alone all day with too much energy, and when we get home we expect them to behave perfectly. The book helped me realize that my dog's behavior isn't just annoying... he DOES accept the cat as a pack member, but he wants some sort of purpose so much, that he fixes his attention on her and basically wants to guard and monitor her because he has no other outlet for his energy. I believe that with regular exercise and training that works WITH his guarding instincts instead of against them, he will be a much healthier and happy dog.
Another thing that I thought was particularly important, was the reason basic obedience is so important. It's not about making your dog do tricks just to show off... it's important to have some form of communication that you can both understand. I imagine how hard it would be to live in a foreign country, not knowing their ethics or beliefs, and only understanding one word. That's the life of so many dogs out there. The communication between owner and dog are so blurry that the dog is lost and behaving in his own natural way, not the way that you want.
This book is full of a lot of stories of different dogs, and I was sad to find that there wasn't a single dog in the book that resembled my dog enough for me to use the same feedback, but it was interesting to read. There are a lot of stories about the different dogs the auther had worked with. I was interested enough to read the book almost nonstop.
This is a good book if you want to arm yourself with general knowledge and a better understanding of WHY things need to happen the way they do for a dog to be happy. This is NOT a training guide though. Think of it as more of an insightful novel than a training guide, and you won't be dissappointed.
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A must have for any dog owner
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-03-24
This book should be read by all those who are new dog owners or those who already own dogs who are having behavioral issues! My Vet suggested I read this book to help me better understand why my dog's behavior. It is easy to read and makes so much sense to those of us who love our dogs but need assistance in training them and yourself to being a better owner.
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it covers dog *and* owner behavior
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-07-28
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am only partway through this book, but have already told friends how useful it is already. I've talked to vets and trainers, and read some other training books to deal with my two recently adopted 8 year old dogs, and this is the first one that really gets into how the owner's behavior affects the dog's behavior beyond "be alpha."
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A philosphical look at dog training
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-09-03
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is by far the best dog book I have ever read. If you are looking for a quick set of exercises that will help you fix some acute problem with your dog right now, then this is probably not what you are looking for. The book really talks about how to approach training. The author gives some basic ideas about how dogs communicate and then leaves it to the reader to work through with their dogs. There is no substitute for professional training. However, this book really gives you a construct of a successful dog and dog-owner relationship. Anyone who is getting or thinking of getting a dog should read this book cover to cover. Also very well written, its a casual straight forward tone. A pleasure to read
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Dog behavior unleashed!
Rating (4)
Date: 2003-10-06
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book was too good to pass up cosidering the title and subject matter. It seems that our canine friends are much more intelligent and perceptive than we give them credit for. The author believes the our own behavior impacts our canine companions behavior. Much of the book examines this dynamic relationship.I enjoyed the stories and the systematic approach by the author to resolve them, in a break it down into pieces to tackle each behaviorial issue seperately. I wish the book would have included a list of common behaviorial problems and solutions on how to resolve them in an appendix for quick reference. I would highly recommend this book to the owner at his wits ends with his dogs behavior.
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Retail Price: $14.95
Amazon.com's Price:$2.90
That's 81% Off!
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