Grrr!: The Complete Guide to Understanding and Preventing Aggressive Behavior

Within a week of following the advice in this book, she had stopped exhibiting any agressive behavior towards me, and within three weeks I was seeing changes in her behavior towards others as well. I am continuing to do 1/2-hour obedience training walks with her twice a day plus at least 30 minutes of massaging and direct one-on-one attention, as well as allowing her to follow me around the house (still leashed at this point) as I do chores or as I sit at my desk writing all day. We still have a ways to go, but I see improvements almost daily, and in the process, she's becoming an extremely well-behaved creature who I can trust to be a safe and loving companion in my house.

Thank you to the authors for giving me my friend back, and for giving me back to her, too.


Nothing new here   July 22, 2000
 13 out of 16 found this review helpful

I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. I have read a couple other books on general dog training, and this one offered absolutely nothing new above what I had seen before. The case studies presented about dogs retrained at the author's institute struck me as nothing more than a blatant advertisement. If you have no experience with dog training whatsoever, then maybe you will find this book useful. But if you already have some knowledge of basic training and are looking for some advanced insight and more effective ways to deal with canine aggression, save your money. The information here is too superficial.


Grrr! - Get It!   April 9, 2000
 34 out of 36 found this review helpful

Finally! For those of us who have kept our eye trained on Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis via his TV specials "Woof", and on Mordecai Siegal through his many articles and books, hoping to get more than the already generous advice they both have offerd on dog-basics, "Grrr!" is the perfect companion for understanding dog aggression. And, for those of us who have lived with an aggressive dog and are frustrated with the media in general for not treating the topic in a factual and prescriptive manner - but hyping or hiding it instead - it's about time we have thorough and professional expert advice for a change! The book is divided into 7 tidy chapters focused on helping the reader identify aggression, understand its general and specific roots, and develop skills to deal with it. The content is thorough, motivating, and easy to understand. For anyone who has previously read a Siegal/Morgalis book, this volume does not disappoint in either its customary straight-forward and practical style or its hallmark wit and common sense. As usual, the authors provide clear direction, illustrative examples, and concise reference to back up their assertions. "Grrr!" also offers a welcome departure from some of their early works, which can look somewhat like carbon copies of each other. "Grrr!" provides extensive information exclusively on aggression and leaves the rest of dog basics to the other volumes. For anyone looking to have complete reference materials, "Grrr!" and any one other Siegal/Margolis title - say "Good Dog/Bad Dog" - would certainly do the trick. And, for anyone dealing with the heartache of loving an aggressive dog, "Grrr!" is pretty much the only book you'll need. The book's only pitfalls are that is does get a bit overly preachy about owning up to having an aggressive dog and in an attempt to make each chapter complete, should the reader foolishly skip parts, some of the material is overly repetitive. In fact, chapter 7 could be discarded entirely and the book would still be an absolute gem. Other than that, "Grrr!" would have to be rated as a welocme addition to the general literature of dog training and a must have for aggression issues.