New Dog: Choosing Wisely and Ensuring a Happily Ever After - Softcover

Bruce Fogle; Patricia Holden White

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155407357X ISBN 13: 9781554073573

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2008

Synopsis

A straightforward guide to welcoming a new dog home.

This book establishes a solid timeline for all the key decisions a new dog owner must make, whether adopting a puppy, an adult dog or a rescued dog.

Dr. Bruce Fogle provides his time-tested 20 Essential Tips for a Well-Behaved Dog and offers guidance on the 30 most popular breeds (including purebreds, crossbreeds and problem breeds). Careful attention is given to various concerns, such as allergies and urban, suburban and apartment living.

New Dog is packed with accurate, up-to-date information and wise counsel on a range of such topics as:

• Where to find the right dog
• Known inherited conditions
• Temperament testing and good canine citizenship
• Common problems: inappropriate chewing, aggression, boredom
• Effective communication
• Routine health care and choosing a vet
• Expert training sequences to follow and practice
• Traveling with dogs and choosing a kennel and a doggy daycare.

More than 300 commissioned color photographs, dozens of useful tips, and recent breakthroughs in veterinary science all make this the ideal guidebook for new dog owners.

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce Fogle, DVM. MRCV. is a frequent guest on radio and TV, and contributes regularly to consumer and professional publications. Born in Canada, he is the author of many pet books, including the best-selling New Encyclopedia of the Dog, and runs a practice in London, England.

Patricia Holden White is a professional dog trainer with 25 years' experience in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Her techniques have been widely published in more than 40 countries, and she is a member of the UK Registry of Dog Behaviorists.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Introduction

So you're getting a new dog, are you? Do you realize what you're in for, and how much precious time you'll have to invest in the hairy monster? More likely, you've already done the deed. As the rambunctious creature disrupts your life, are you wondering how on earth you'll ever get your sanity back?

Some of you know I've written quite a few books about dogs their history, variety, health and nutrition; about how they think; and why, when training one, it's vital to understand how its mind works. These books are published around the world, so some of the information in them must seem useful, but when (for the first time ever) I found myself e-mailing chapters of New Dog to clients, before I'd even sent what I'd written to my editor, I knew this would be a really practical book, especially for people who think they're getting a new dog but are, in fact, getting a new puppy, which is an utterly different species.

New Dog could equally be called New Dog Owner because what follows is as much about us as it is about dogs. I did my seven years of veterinary training but realized the blindingly obvious only after I'd entered clinical practice: that almost everything about a dog, especially its health and behavior, is intertwined with us. The luckiest dogs end up in homes with people who understand that they have to invest time, up front, to earn the extraordinarily wonderful rewards that come from living with a canine companion. That's why I've devoted the start of the book to decision-making. Are you sure that a dog can fit into your present or anticipated lifestyle? If your life can accommodate a dog, are you thinking about the right type for you and your family? Rather than just winging it, when getting a new pup or a recycled, rescued dog, have you done your homework, prepared your home and planned how to integrate your new dog into your home, your family, your neighborhood, your life?

I'm not bashful about admitting that I love dogs. I've been a clinical vet for almost 40 years, so I'm a bit of a silverback male. I've got a warm, close family and all the rewards that go with that good luck, but even so, dogs wondrously augment life. There's something about the immutable constancy and fidelity of a dog that's deeply reassuring. Dogs are honest -- sometimes painfully so -- with their emotions. You can trust their integrity, and believe what you see in their expressive eyes. I guess I'm a true dogaholic because, to me, even a smelly, wrinkled, stiff-legged old-timer has a natural dignity, even beauty, about him.

During the time I've been a vet I've watched the intensity of our relationship with dogs heighten. The reasons for our increasing dependency upon the rewards that dogs give us are another story, but if you think this bond of friendship is a product of modern Western affluence, think again. It's an integral part of human nature that all people are suckers for puppies. In 1828, a major in the British Army visiting Stradbroke Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia, saw a dingo pup he admired for its unusual dark color, and he tried to buy it from its Aborigine owner. Major Lockyer wrote in his diary: "I was very anxious to get one of the wild native breed of black colour, a very handsome puppy, which one of the men had in his arms. I offered him a small axe for it; his companions urged him to take it, and he was about to do so, when he looked at the dog and the animal licked his face, which settled the business. He shook his head and determined to keep him."

We're all suckers for the lick on the face. That's a puppy behavior we've intentionally perpetuated into adulthood in many dogs. My own Golden Retriever, Macy, was never much of a face-licker but filled our lives in other ways. Indoors she was a quiet and reassuring presence. Outdoors she was my own personal window into the natural world, the perfect stalker, hunter and retriever. I use the past tense because, as I neared the finish of this book, she died unexpectedly. At first I was too upset by the loss -- she was only six years old and developed a devastating form of cancer -- to do much more than stick to our old routines. I still got up early each morning and went for a 45-minute walk in the park. But soon after, I found myself phoning the rescue secretaries of Golden Retriever clubs, and then the breeder's jungle telegraph took over and some started phoning me, commiserating with my loss and saying that when I was in the market for a new dog, they were there to help. So, quite unexpectedly, I find myself in exactly the same situation you're in. I'm getting a new dog, and I can't tell you how useful it's been to have Patricia White remind me about the nuances of new dog training. For over 30 years, I've referred new dog owners and their dogs to Patricia. In the evenings, she runs the local dog-training club. During the day, Patricia is a literary agent -- mine.

Publishers love to say that a book contains "everything you will ever need to know" about a subject. I'm proud to say that neither my publishers, nor Patricia, nor I claim that this book contains everything you need to know. When it comes to dogs, that sort of claim is just silly. New Dog gives you a head-start, a leg-up, the best first steps for living with, playing with and caring for your new dog. It sets you on the right course. You can refer back to it and point out what we've written to other members of the family, but it doesn't replace puppy classes or one-to-one lessons from a dog trainer who uses positive-reinforcement training techniques or advice from your veterinarian on your new dog's health and nutrition. I can't wait to have a new dog in my home. I hope you have as much enjoyment from yours as I know I'll have from mine.

Bruce Fogle

About this edition

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 155407357X
• ISBN 13: 9781554073573
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192