Product Description

The Other End of the Leash shares a revolutionary, new perspective on our relationship with dogs, focusing on our behavior in comparison with that of dogs. An applied animal behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years experience, Dr. Patricia McConnell looks at humans as just another interesting species, and muses about why we behave the way we do around our dogs, how dogs might interpret our behavior, and how to interact with our dogs in ways that bring out the best in our four-legged friends.

After all, although humans and dogs share a remarkable relationship that is unique in the animal world, we are still two entirely different species, each shaped by our individual evolutionary heritage. Quite simply, humans are primates and dogs are canids (like wolves, coyotes, and foxes). Since we each speak a different native tongue, a lot gets lost in the translation.

The Other End of the Leash demonstrates how even the slightest changes in your voice and the way you stand can help your dog understand what you want. Once you start to think about your own behavior from the perspective of your dog, you’ll understand why much of what appears to be doggy-disobedience is simply a case of miscommunication. Inside you will learn
• How to use your voice so that your dog is more likely to do what you ask.
• Why “getting dominance” over your dog is a bad idea.
• Why “rough and tumble primate play” can lead to trouble–and how to play with your dog in ways that are fun and keep him out of trouble.
• How dogs and humans share personality types–and why most dogs want to live with benevolent leaders rather than “alphawannabees!”

In her own insightful, compelling style, Patricia McConnell combines wonderful true stories about people and dogs with a new, accessible scientific perspective on how they should behave around each other. This is a book that strives to help you make the most of life with your dog, and to prevent problems that might arise in that most rewarding of relationships.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5604 in Books
• Brand: Random House
• Published on: 2003-04-29
• Released on: 2003-04-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .54 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345446787
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
The Other End of the Leash begins with an eloquently simple premise: "All dogs are brilliant at perceiving the slightest movement that we make, and they assume each tiny movement has meaning." With that in mind, all of Dr. Patricia McConnell's recommendations for communicating with your canine make immediate sense. Don't we all automatically bend forward when coaxing a dog to come and play? Break eye contact when we wish to avoid a confrontation? While these instinctive behaviors are right on target, a number of other habits aren't so positive, and McConnell helps us break them with both humor and common sense.

Chapters are categorized by senses such as sound, sight, and smell; specific pack behaviors such as dominance and play also merit their own sections. McConnell uses the same humor and patience she recommends with dogs on her readers. Whether she's referring to maggots as "a value-added commodity in canine economics" or ruminating on attempts to verbally cue her dogs to exit the house one at a time, her wise and gently self-deprecating book brings training--of both dogs and humans--to new levels. Jill Lightner

From Publishers Weekly
It matters greatly that people who love dogs understand enough about them to provide a good environment, writes McConnell (Feeling Outnumbered? How to Manage Your Multi-dog Household) in her thoughtful exposition on improving human-canine communication. An animal behaviorist and adjunct professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, McConnell offers sound advice for dog owners: Pay attention to your own behavior. Believe me, your dog is. Drawing on anecdotes from her professional practice (she specializes in canine behavior problems), research into the work of other dog trainers and personal experiences with her beloved Border collies, the author explains how a dog might be misinterpreting signals from its owner. For example, although humans express affection through hugs, a dog may feel threatened by them. McConnell also provides tips on how to play safely with dogs (she recommends games of fetch rather than rough-and-tumble wrestling) and how to get them to do what you want (the best way to get a dog to stop demanding attention is simply to break off visual contact). She has harsh words for trainers who tell owners to establish dominance over dogs by behaving aggressively to them when they are young, and also for owners of puppy mills. These dog factories, she says, create damaged animals and unsuitable pets. This is a helpful guide for pet owners by a specialist who clearly loves her work. B&w photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap
The Other End of the Leash shares a revolutionary, new perspective on our relationship with dogs, focusing on our behavior in comparison with that of dogs. An applied animal behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years experience, Dr. Patricia McConnell looks at humans as just another interesting species, and muses about why we behave the way we do around our dogs, how dogs might interpret our behavior, and how to interact with our dogs in ways that bring out the best in our four-legged friends.

After all, although humans and dogs share a remarkable relationship that is unique in the animal world, we are still two entirely different species, each shaped by our individual evolutionary heritage. Quite simply, humans are primates and dogs are canids (like wolves, coyotes, and foxes). Since we each speak a different native tongue, a lot gets lost in the translation.

The Other End of the Leash demonstrates how even the slightest changes in your voice and the way you stand can help your dog understand what you want. Once you start to think about your own behavior from the perspective of your dog, you?ll understand why much of what appears to be doggy-disobedience is simply a case of miscommunication. Inside you will learn
? How to use your voice so that your dog is more likely to do what you ask.
? Why ?getting dominance? over your dog is a bad idea.
? Why ?rough and tumble primate play? can lead to trouble?and how to play with your dog in ways that are fun and keep him out of trouble.
? How dogs and humans share personality types?and why most dogs want to live with benevolent leaders rather than ?alphawannabees!?

In her own insightful, compelling style, Patricia McConnell combines wonderful true stories about people and dogs with a new, accessible scientific perspective on how they should behave around each other. This is a book that strives to help you make the most of life with your dog, and to prevent problems that might arise in that most rewarding of relationships.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

This is 'The' authoritative source for canine behavior
Owning an embarrassing number of dog training/behavior books and having kept Border Collies for a long time, I feel qualified to say that if you only bought one book on canine behavior, this would be it. Dr. McConnell provides a clear and lucid explanation of why dogs behave and respond as they do -- all the while being careful to make note of the ambiguities and idiosyncratic nature of both canine and human behavior. There are no 'magic formulas' here. But there are many guidelines and explanations of why some things tend to work, while others tend not to. The strength of this book is that it provides an understanding of why dogs respond, allowing the reader to refine his/her behaviors to better communicate with dogs. This focus on human behavior and how dogs interpret it provides unusual insight into effective interaction and training. Extensive experience and academic preparation in animal behavior and communication have provided McConnell with an exceptional understanding of how much of what we do in interacting with dogs is actually counter-productive because dogs see the world quite differently than primates do. Changing some of my behaviors after reading this book, I could almost see my three Border Collies thinking, "Well, about time you figured that out."

a Masterpiece!!!
This is a book that needs to belong in the library of every dog lover who truly wants to understand the behavior of his/her dog. This is not a training manual. But I suspect it should be required reading for anyone wishing to better understand and train their dog. Please be open minded when you read this book and throw away the traditional WWII era thinking about dog training and behavior. Patricia truly cares about dogs and it is clear in every page of this book. Buy this book, read it, and read it again. It will open your eyes and heart to a new loving relationship with your dog. Every chapter is full of valuable information you should not be without. The chapters about body language (of humans) and sounds were so valuable that I instantly was able to have my dog come to me when called 100% of the time, even when in the middle of a squirrel chase!! Thanks Patricia for your masterpiece.

Insights on Nonverbal Communication with Your Dog
Patricia McConnell is probably best known the co-host of Wisconsin Public Radio's "Calling All Pets." But she has also written a series of books. "The Other End of the Leash" is probably the best known. As an ethologist specializing in canines, she brings a different, professional viewpoint to people's relations with their pets.

Her point is simple: dogs and humans both communicate, but because we are very different animals, we often misread each other's nonverbal cues. The nonverbal greeting signals for a human, for example, are threat signals to a dog. What she does is help dog owners learn to send the nonverbal messages they intend to their dogs, to speak to dogs in the nonverbal dialog that dogs understand.

It's an important, even critical point, in dealing with dogs. Mixed signals, unintended signals and the wrong signals can confuse a dog, and even trigger hostility and attack. It's especially important for stranger dogs. Her points can help you a lot in dealing with dogs.

But what this book isn't is a primer on training your dog. It's a guide to dog behavior, it's not a book on how to train your dog. Make no mistake, Dr. McConnell's insights can be of immense help to you in training and dealing with dogs. A dog that is relaxed and comfortable, that isn't getting the wrong nonverbal signals, is easier to train. But it's not a training book.

As other reviewers have noted, sometimes Dr. McConnell repeats her points a few extra times. Perhaps it is a consequence of dealing with difficult dogs and difficult dog owners for a long time. But that's a minor annoyance. This is a valuable useful book to anyone with a difficult dog or any dog owner who wants to understand his or her dog better.

Recommended.