Product Description

It happens all the time. Just when Max’s owner thinks she has him figured out, he exhibits a bewildering fear of the neighbor’s skateboard. Or, despite endless corrections, Bailey still refuses to understand that she doesn’t belong on the leather armchair.

Then there are the dogs that almost always behave appropriately and predictably but can still display a few surprise reactions in situations that disturb their routines. Houseguests might be ruining Buster’s sense of order — taking over his favorite room and distracting his humans from important things like fetch and dinner. And that dog park near Sadie’s new house is terrific, but she might be having a tough time understanding the rules of etiquette.

To all these situations and a hundred more, dog expert Arden Moore provides answers that clearly explain canine actions and reactions, and then helps readers with suggestions for modifying unacceptable behavior. For every canine misdeed, there is a human counter-response to fix the problem. Read about both sides of the story in these friendly questions and answers, taken from real-life situations with real dogs. There is hardly a behavior that will not have dog lovers nodding their heads in recognition.

The Dog Behavior Answer Book will solve the mysteries of canine shoe theft, food guarding, and grass eating for puzzled humans everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #196760 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781580176446
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
It's hard enough for different people to live together let alone different species. What people often regard as doggy misdeeds are simply cases of dogs being dogs. In the Dog Behavior Answer Book, pet expert Arden Moore unleashes great advice on how to bridge the people-pet communication gap. Read this incredible book and you'll learn new insights into the canine world, prevent problems, and meet your dogs on a richer, deeper level. Go fetch this book!

Marty Becker, Host, The Pet Doctor, PBS

What a great way to learn how to better communicate with our dogs, and why it is they do what they do. This book addresses some quality questions with in-depth answers that help develop that strong bond with Fido. Arden’s writing style packages useful information in a fun and entertaining way.

Nick Sveslosky, Editor, Fido Friendly Magazine

“This concise, small-format book in a question-and-answer format takes you through puppyhood to greet-and-sniff to your aging pet.  Baffling habits and destructive behavior are some of the many topics covered.”

Asbury Park Press, Jan. 15, 2007

About the Author
Arden Moore is the author of 20 books on cats and dogs, including The Cat Behavior Answer Book, The Dog Behavior Answer Book and Real Food for Dogs. She is the editor of Fido Friendly magazine, editor of Catnip, an animal behavior consultant and host of “Oh Behave!” weekly radio show on Pet Life Radio.com. She has appeared on Fox News, CNN Headline News, HGTV’s "Smart Solution," Martha Stewart Living Radio, NPR and hundreds of radio and television programs. She is known as "America’s Pet Edu-Tainer™" and gives pet talks throughout North America. She shares her Oceanside, Ca. home with dogs, Chipper and Cleo and cats, Callie and Murphy. Learn more by visiting her website: www.ardenmoore.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
As dog owners, my wife Jenny and I were — I won’t mince words here — totally clueless. We picked out a puppy without first researching breeds or their personality traits. We didn’t insist on meeting the sire. We went on curb appeal alone, choosing looks over temperament. We ended up falling in love at first sight with an adorable yellow Labrador retriever pup who quickly morphed into a 97-pound steamroller of unbridled energy. We named him Marley and spent the next 13 years trying to get him under control, never quite succeeding.

I, only half jokingly, dubbed Marley the world’s worst dog, and in many ways he was. He crashed through screens, dug through drywall, gnawed furniture, swallowed jewelry, stole food off the kitchen table, and rooted through trash. He yanked at his leash and drank from the bathtub. He joyfully lunged at guests, leaping up on them with muddy paws to plant wet kisses on their faces. He sniffed crotches and flung drool through the air. Not even dog lovers appreciated it.

What I now realize is that Marley wasn’t the worst dog, only one of the worst trained dogs. Jenny and I ran our house like a democracy, and Marley soon learned he had an equal vote. Obey orders? No way! He never did quite get the whole chain-of-command thing.

That’s where Arden Moore’s The Dog Behavior Answer Book could have helped us in a big way. Had we had Arden’s commonsense expertise then, we would have better understood what motivated Marley’s bad-boy behavior and been able to formulate a strategy to change, or at least temper, it. Good, solid advice from knowledgeable experts is the first step to having a reliably well-behaved pet who will bring joy and pleasure to its owners, not frustration and heartache.

Then again, had I followed Arden’s wise advice in this book, Marley might have been so good I never would have been tempted to write a book about him. No doubt about it, bad dogs make for good reading. But good dogs are what every pet owner wants —and deserves. Arden Moore and her team of animal-behavior experts can show you the way.
John Grogan
Author of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog

Customer Reviews

A mystery solver
Aha! This easy-to-read resource confirmed my suspicion as to why my new dog Lucy barks madly at the FedEx guy (see p. 97). But I never figured out why she did some other odd things until I found the answers in this helpful book. It solved such mysteries as:

Page 100: Why dogs sniff the crotches of guests.
Page 103: Why dogs vigorously, messily splash water out of the water bowl with their front paws!
Page 107: Why dogs do the "dead fish dance," such as the time Lucy threw herself atop a dead Dungeness crab and wiggled wildly. Yuck.
Page 95: How to get dogs like Lucy to not bark nonstop when the pizza guy comes to the door.

The forward of this book is written by John Grogan, author of famous "Marley & Me," and owner of trouble-boy Marley. He includes some humorous insights, plus says The Dog Behavior Answer Book "could have helped us in a big way. Had we had Arden's commonsense expertise then, we would have better understood what motivated Marley's bad-boy behavior and been able to formulate a strategy to change, or at least, temper it."

What particularly impresses me is that Arden doesn't just write about dog behavior, she lives it. My husband and I have known Arden since the 1980s. When she recently met our German shepherd mix Lucy in our home, I was nervous. Lucy barks at visitors -- looking at it most charitably, I suppose it's in hopes that she'll remain the center of attention.

Arden wisely surmised that visitors typically make rapid movements and, among other things, reward Lucy's barking by giving her treats as she barks.

Arden employed an altogether different strategy.

Examples:

1) She initially met Lucy outside the home on neutral turf.

2) Arden took a seat on our living-room sofa several minutes before Lucy returned to the home from a walk. So, there never was a barkathon at the front door since Arden already was on the sofa, sitting calmly.

3) As Arden sat calmly on the sofa, she kept yummy treats visibly nearby. Intelligent Lucy noticed that by acting like a polite dog, Arden occasionally rewarded her with yummy treats. That reinforced Lucy's politeness.

Lucy *never* had a barkathon during the several hours she was with Arden.

Thank you, Arden, for showing us Lucy can be good with visitors!


-- Sally Deneen, co-author, The Dog Lover's Companion to Florida The Dog Lover's Companion to Florida: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Guides)

Great Behavior Book !!!!
After reading Arden Moore's The Dog Behavior Answer Book, I wish I had had this book when I first got my puppy. I would have saved myself a lot of money and aggravation. Arden sure knows how a dog thinks and her solutions are "right on". I recommend this book to ALL new and OLD dog owners.

Thank you, Arden! I am now a better quardian to my dog
I have found it - an easy-to-read, complete pocket-size reference book on what to do when my dog does things that confuse or frustrate me. Arden has done a great job of bridging the communication gap between people and dogs. Thanks, Arden. I feel like I know my dog better and I can be a better guardian to her. I highly recommend this book to both new dog guardians and to long-time dog lovers.