This booklet (a little more than 50 pages) offers practical training advice for improving the behavior of “feisty” dogs who growl, lunge, or bark at other dogs when on leash. Authors Patricia McConnell and Karen London explain how to teach essential skills, including “Watch” (”a little exercise with big results”), “U-Turn” (”to leave trouble behind”), and the “Emergency Sit/Stay (”and other useful panic buttons”). Also included: “training tips worth remembering” and a section on prevention and management. The “Special Cases” chapter provides some solutions for dogs who are so afraid of other dogs they won’t even look at them (until they get too close, which can cause an explosion) and information on “Abandonment Training” which can be helpful with dogs who are a bit clingy and insecure and with dogs who may be possessive of their owners.

Buy Feisty Fido from Amazon.com

Buy Feisty Fido from Dogwise.com

I’d seen a lot of references to this book by Dr. Karen Overall � but its high price tag (about $70) kept me from actually buying it. But I finally bit the bullet - and boy, am I glad I did! This book is incredible, a real gold mine of information and protocols for dealing with behavior problems in dogs and cats. It starts out discussing normal canine and feline behavior, and goes into increasing detail from there. There’s a chapter on taking a behavioral history, extensive information on aggression (both canine and feline), and discussions of management and behavioral modification techniques for a variety of problem behaviors. (more…)

Buy “Click to Calm” from Amazon.com

Buy “Click to Calm” from Dogwise.com

“Click to Calm,” by Emma Parsons, provides an excellent program of desensitization and counterconditioning to help aggressive and reactive dogs maintain themselves in their “thinking brain” rather than their “reacting brain.” (more…)