Katz on Dogs

October 3, 2005
As a journalist and columnist on the topic of dogs, and as a lifetime dog owner, Katz manages to breathe new life into the pet-care genre. Though occasionally preachy and redundant, the manual has an empathetic tone; Katz makes clear that he hasn't always been an expert: it was after living with many dogs and only after adopting "a demented border collie" that he was forced to "either learn how to train this hooligan or get rid of him." What Katz stresses above all is that every dog is different-due to breeding, environment and temperament, to name just a few factors-and therefore, every human-dog relationship varies. As a result, Katz's book says there can never be one universal, inflexible methodology for training-unlike most training manuals, which usually argue one practice is superior to others. Says Katz, "training methods fail... if they don't take into account the owner's psyche as well as the dog's." Despite these beliefs, Katz leans on positive reinforcement and offers numerous practical solutions to common behavioral problems. He reiterates that dogs are "comparatively simple animals" that we all too often personify-much to the detriment of the human-dog bond. Photos. Agent, Richard Abate.

September 15, 2005
Two books, one topic, two different approaches. Hotchner ("Pregnancy & Child" "birth"), a screenwriter and journalist, has written a comprehensive, accurate, readable, and reasonably priced encyclopedia of dog ownership for the lay reader (illustrations not seen). Similar in scope to "The Original Dog Bible", edited by Kristin Mehus-Roe, this book covers the entire spectrum of canine concerns: selection, training, nutrition, health, and more. The checklists in each chapter succinctly summarize the text. A unique feature directed to children, "Scooby's Twenty-Five Rules for Kids," teaches them how to coexist peacefully with dogs.

Katz ("The Dogs of Bedlam Farm"; "The New Work of Dogs") addresses many of the same topics. But he relates them through his own experiences with three dogs: from their selection and veterinary care to their training (which he emphasizes must be daily and lifelong), problem behaviors, and more. He draws on the works of experts like Patricia McConnell ("The Other End of the Leash") and Stanley Coren ("How Dogs Think"), plus his study with leading trainers such as herding authority Carolyn Wilki, to expound his "Rational Theory," which tailors the teachings of these professionals to the personalities of the individual dog and owner. His commonsense approach and skill as a storyteller make this an appealing, informative book. Both titles are excellent additions to public libraries, but if your library already owns Mehus-Roe, you need not purchase Hotchner. -Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2005
Katz began as a reporter, columnist, and author of suburban detective mysteries, and had pretty much always had a dog. But when he began working out of his home, he got serious about dogs and dog training. The result was a series of superb dog books (" A Dog Year," 2002," The New Work of Dogs" , 2003, and" The Dogs of Bedlam Farm" , 2004) that explored the relationship between the author and his dogs as well as the place of dogs in human society. In his new book, Katz takes what he has learned from his dogs, other people's dogs, and various dog trainers, and synthesizes a commonsense approach to dog training. In 13 chapters he covers the basics--choosing a dog, why training matters, and basic training--as well as the more esoteric aspects of the dog-human relationship, including multiple-dog households, setting boundaries, and loving and losing dogs. Katz writes in a calm, measured tone (seeming to follow his own advice about calming a dog before training it) and fills the text with examples, both positive and negative. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)