Dogs for Dummies, 2nd ed.: A Review

Dogs for Dummies (2nd ed.) / by Gina Spadafori

. (Wiley, 2001) Paperback, 380 p. ISBN 9780764552748

This 2nd edition of Dogs for Dummies, Gina Spadafori serves up both an excellent reference work for dog owners and a guidebook for people planning to get their first dog. She is pet care columnist for Universal Press Syndicate and host of AOL's "Gina Spadafori's Pet Connection."

Many dog books describe characteristics of particular breeds, so Dogs for Dummies contains relatively little breed-specific information. It does contain material about how to select a breed appropriate for the reader's lifestyle and where to pick one out. For purebred dogs, she shows how to research breeders to weed out both the incompetent and dishonest ones. She warns that too many pet stores come from puppy mills that have little regard for the health, safety, or living conditions of their products.

Since so many dogs eventually wind up in shelters, left there by their owners for various reasons, Spadafori strongly recommends adopting a dog. Some shelters are so overcrowded that animals cannot stay there long before facing euthanasia. Beyond selecting a dog, Dogs for Dummies covers how to introduce a new dog to its new home. Puppies, older adults, or dogs entering a household that already has one or more all require different treatment.

Dogs are pack animals.

Owners must have some understanding of pack behavior in order to train their dogs well and gain their respect as well as their love. Spadafori covers dog psychology thoroughly and also covers what owners need to know about taking care of a dog, including training, feeding, bathing, grooming, socializing the dog to both people and other dogs. She covers veterinarians, all the stuff dogs need (crates, bowls, collars, leashes, brushes, toys, etc.), travel, tricks, and trivia.

Dogs for Dummies serves up all of this information with good humor, clever illustrations, and an excellent index. As much as it contains, it does not pretend to be the only dog book you'll ever need. It devotes a lot of space to other sources for special information needs.

All-Purpose Guru Alert offers high-quality books like this every day. Stop by often.

Dogs for Dummies, 2nd ed.: A Review

By: All-Purpose Guru

POST COMMENT

The Hunting Dog Basenji Cracking The Mba Entrance- Cat Aggressive Dog Training - Train Your Dog To Protect You Properly Train A Dog Not To Bark Snake Cube Puppy Dog Training -train Your Dog To Use A Toilet Dogs, Training And Obedience Benefits Of Dog Training Classes Puppy Supplements- Are They Needed? Constipation In Dogs and How to Resolve It Does Your Dog Need A Dog Supplement? Why Use Pet Supplements? Kane & Lynch 2 : Dog Days