the book that made "walkies" fun again (Think Dog: An Owners Guide to Canine Psychology - John Fisher)

Member Name: pania22

Product:	Think Dog: An Owners Guide to Canine Psychology - John Fisher
Date:	18/10/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: educational, insightful and amazingly well written

Disadvantages: only one, the dieatry problems chapter is a bit heavy going! but not worth loosing a star!

"The dog family, to me, is the most interesting family in all animal life outside the family of man himself. In many ways he is much like man, so much so that we can study our own behaviour best by studying the behaviour of dogs."

Clarence Pfaffenberger, 1963

At the age of 21, all grown up, engaged and owning my own house I decided that the time was right for me to finally indulge in my dream of owning my very own dog. Fast forward through RSPCA visit, falling in love, coercion of other half, house check and purchase of more items than deemed necessary for the arrival of a k9 pal (think "more like arrival of a newborn baby" and you'll be on the right lines!) to the arrival of an 8 year old GSD named Crystal to our home.
When we visited her we were advised that she had been in kennels for over a year, she had been rehomed once and returned to the centre when she "snapped at" the owners adult son. However the son admitted he had cornered her so our concerns weren't overly raised.
Had I have known better the alarm bells would've rung. Poor crystal turned out to have more mental issues than bronson, hannibal and the two guys in twelve monkeys put together and me, being a completely novice dog owner, took barbara woodhouse to the nth degree therefore making the problem miles worse and being completely unable to help her. A few years later and darling Crystal was no longer with us and I developed a very intense interest into canine behaviour and training to prevent other dogs going through what my lovely lady had done at my hands.

Enter Mr John Fisher. John was a professional canine behaviourist, who, throughout the 80's aimed to revolutionise the human understanding of dogs and eradicate as far as possible the old woodhouse mindset of "punishment leads to obedience". His education led to dog owners looking into the mindset of the dog and understanding why he acted in a certain way. The emphasis being on how to turn that behaviour into a positive from a negative. I've always advocated a sympathetic approach to all animals and would not feel right "punishing" a creature for not doing my bidding so this nature of training certainly appealed.

The first book I read was "think dog". Divided into 3 parts I found the book to be packed with information on canine psychology and behaviour. the first part, entitled "what is a dog?" would probably make you think "eh? of course i know what a dog is!what is the old fool on about!" Reading on further it becomes apparent that the answer to this question isnt so simplistic. Talking us through the early stages of canine history and the scientific evidence of the link between wolf and dog, Fisher covers in great detail the development of a pup from birth to 4 years of age. How dogs learn, thought patterns, emerging dominance, how to test a litter of pups for dominant through to submissive characteristics and how this translates to their position within their social group ie our household.
Accompanying each chapter is a useful, lightly written case study that underpins the content of the chapter. Anecdotal and frequently amusing, Fisher does an excellent job of relaying his day to day experiences and this only enhances the appeal to the book.

The second section "Training problems for dog owners" gives an instant shelf level grab reference for any problems that a dog owner is experiencing in an attempt to gain a pointer towards the underlying cause and exercises that may be done to put your relationship back on track.*
For experienced handlers and trainers this section of the book becomes a handy reference and "nudging post" to refresh your memory in the event of a tricky case. I am reading the book again as I have to see an exceptionally dominant, challenging collie over the next few days who is proving a little hard to figure out. I am convinced that the problem is dietary related but the owner will not agree and change the diet so a copy of an excerpt from the "Dietary Problems"chapter may well back my theory and convince her to change.
*NB: A book does not replace professional assistance, only guidance!!

The third and final part of the book is an A-Z of typical problems faced by dog owners and again provides a very handy pointer as to the root cause along with a handy tip on what action may be taken to rectify the problem. Again a good quick reference or referesher guide for all owners and trainers.

***My opinion***

Please note first and foremost this is not a book that will teach you how to train your dog to sit or lay down or come. BUT it will give you an amazing insight into WHY your dog will perform these behaviours for you and become a valued part of your family. Working very strongly on the theory of ignore bad praise good, Fisher's case studies demonstrate that force and punsihment does not need to form a part of our training regimes.
This book is only 176 pages long and as a result doesnt feel as biblical and hard going as many of the canine psychology door stops present in the marketplace. Fisher wrote in a light, refreshing and easy to understand style, devoid of the use of jargon and without a lecturous manner. I fully recommend this book as an educational read for people looking to learn more about their pets, through to a useful reference for trainers and experienced handlers alike.

The book is currently out of print but is available on amazon for £5.99 new or £4.00 used. Other smaller backstreet bookstores are able to order the book for the general retail price of £9.99.

ISBN 1-84403-120-9

Summary: a book everyone that is involved with dogs should read