For the Love of a Dog

Mixing research by scientists and behaviorists with her own observations of dogs and their owners, Dr. McConnell presents compelling insights into the minds and hearts of man's best friend. McConnell's stories of her own "forever dog" establish solid credibility with anyone who has ever been blessed with such an animal. Ellen Archer's fresh voice maintains a lively tempo while dropping its timbre for ironic asides and projecting compassion when relating tales of unsuccessful rehabilitation attempts or a description of a dog's grief. The audiobook's one flaw is the lack of a companion CD or booklet containing the photographs and drawings presented in the print version. McConnell frequently refers to these in describing canine facial expressions, and without them we can only imagine. R.L.L. 2007 Audies Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

June 12, 2006
Animal behaviorist, dog trainer, syndicated radio talk show host and prolific author on all things canine, McConnell (The Other End of the Leash
) presents a compelling combination of stories, science and practical advice to show how understanding emotions in both people and dogs can improve owners' relationships with their pets. This is more than a simple dog-training book: much of what McConnell discusses concerns how dog owners can learn "the language" of dog by recognizing important signals and reading them correctly. She provides numerous helpful examples of how owners can observe dog behavior, especially differences in posture and facial expressions, in order to help dogs be better behaved and help dog owners to be better handlers; her discussion of the meaning of a dog's "tongue flicks" is alone worth the price of the book. Her overall goal is to help owners provide their pets with "a sense of calm, peaceful benevolence," and she skewers current dog-training fads that emphasize "dominance" over a dog. "Don't fool yourself: if you yell at your dog for something he did twenty seconds ago, you're not training him; you're merely expressing your own anger."