Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 169
 highly recommended September 25, 2008
Just Me (here and there across the USA)
Great insights into how dogs view the world and how we can best interact with them. Leads us to a greater understanding of how to develop a deep and loving relationship with our dogs based on understanding. Also leads to practical training advice. It's easier and more rewarding to train a dog that you understand. Great for pet owners and advanced trainers.
A must read for anyone who lives with dogs September 15, 2008
M. K. Horton (Simi Valley, CA)
I am recommending this book to all my friends and family with a dog. I started using some tips right away with my 6 yr old dog and have seen immediate results---getting him to stop barking and come to me with a single word is the BEST so far! Many of the things Dr. McConnell writes of regarding a dog's view of human behavior seem like common sense, I am not sure why I didn't "get it" before. I wish I had read this book before I got a dog because it really illuminates all the behaviors I have that simply confuse, confound, and frighten my canine friends.
 Dog lover's book July 25, 2008
G. Burak (Portland, OR)
This book was the first one I read when we got our new lab puppy. It started a bit sloggishly, but then started describing things I could relate to and caught my interest as I read on. The author's love of dogs shines through. Pictures would have helped me at some points, like when the author is describing the commissure of dogs, I could not visualize what she meant as she described the tale tell signs of a dog ready to bite based on the description of commissure. Perhaps more experienced dog handlers are used to this term, I could only guess what she meant.
It Was Great May 27, 2008
Gladys Finkelstein (Columbus, Oh)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Don't go into this book expecting a manual and you will not be disappointed. It's a conversationally delivered comparisson of primates and canid behaviors, and how they sometimes (often) conflict, with some stories that make it all seem more relevant to real life, mixed in. I enjoyed this book because I find this topic fascinating. The next time I trained a dog after reading this book, I was more aware of what I was doing, and the training went much more easily. When studying Ethology, I've found that people don't like to think of themselves as animals, and not necessarily controlling absolutely every signal other animals perceive, so it may offend some people to compare primates to humans, but I think the comparissons are helpful and find them extremely relevant.
If you are looking for a manual on training, I suggest Beginning Family Dog Training, also written by Patricial McConnell. It IS a manual, and the majority of the dissatisfied reviews about this book I've seen would probably have been eliminated if they'd read that book too. Having trained animals for a while now, I would suggest reading both of them, but not having expectations of a manual from The Other End of the Leash.
If you're interested in communicating with animals, dogs in particular, this can be a very interesting read. Using bodily signals you aren't really aware of, you're communicating all of the time. This book helps to point them out, make you aware of them, and gives advice on increasing the helpful ones and eliminating the not-so-helpful ones. You end up training yourself, and really helping your dog understand what you want communicate, and not just what they've seen you communicating.
Sooo helpful! May 27, 2008
K. Ellis (Arkansas)
PLEASE read this book!!! I would recommend this to anyone wanting to understand dogs better and become a better dog owner!
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