Superdog: Raising the Perfect Canine Companion - Hardcover

Michael W. Fox

2.6

5 ratings by Goodreads

9780876057414: Superdog: Raising the Perfect Canine Companion

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0876057415 ISBN 13: 9780876057414

Publisher: Howell Book House, 1996

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Understanding the dog's natural responses to people helps readers raise a better pet. This book looks at how dogs learn and interact socially, and how a thorough understanding of canine communication helps owners to well train a dog to fit within a human family group.

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From Publishers Weekly:

Veterinarian Fox ( Understanding Your Dog ) proposes that we cease regarding our dogs as inferiors and instead refine our ability to communicate with them. The care of one's pet, he argues, is akin to a sacred trust; given that centuries of domestication have served to reduce canine intelligence and resilience, it is morally incumbent on the "human companion" (he balks at the word "owner" because "dogs are more than mere possessions") to provide the four Rs of dog rights--"right understanding, right environment, right breeding and right feeding." Accordingly, Fox clues in the reader to signs that a dog is reasoning or expressing itself, and provides numerous practical suggestions on ways to enhance skills (allowing Pooch to win at tug-of-war, for example, will boost his self-confidence, and subjecting him to mild stress in early puppyhood will make him physiologically more resistant to stress later). Spare in its coverage of rudimentary care (there is no information on housebreaking, little on nutrition), the book will gratify dedicated dog owners with its unwavering respect for animals and their powers. Illustrations not seen by PW .
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

The more pet owners know about their dogs' natural drives and breed idiosyncrasies, the more effectively they can raise well-behaved "superdogs," says animal authority Fox. He discusses dogs' capabilities, explains various canine postures and sounds, and shows how to "decode" canine behavior. Every parent should read the chapter on children and dogs, since Fox notes that "most dogs are biologically unreliable," and often treat a child as if it were a puppy, which, especially in the case of babies, can be fatal. All public libraries should have at least one book on canine behavior; this book will fill a gap. Recommended.
- Helen Sondrol, Lincoln Univ. Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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