Saturday Dogs...and the owners they trained

ISBN: 0980219957

Author: Overfield, Susan

Condition: Used

Though the recent history of dog training suggests otherwise, treats, choke chains, and shock collars ignore what makes a dog a dog.In fact, the overuse of such stimuli in combination with owner ignorance has created generations of hyperactive, disobedient dogs, some of whom are put to death.In this critically acclaimed book, Saturday Dogs...and the Owners They Trained, Susan Overfield outlines her proven training approach, focusing on the dog's behavior and social identity in a relationship-oriented way.Written in the spirit of James Herriott, Saturday Dogs is an anecdotal manual that examines common mistakes owners make in the realm of dog behavior.Brand, a Labrador retriever the size of a professional linebacker, takes his owner on a "Nantucket sleigh ride." Kit, for all his diminutive size, knows he's the King and not about to give up his throne, not even for the woman he loves. Bonnie, a Border collies whose world is a terror-filled place, is miserable. These are the real-life anecdotal stories brought to Susan Overfield, a professional behavioral-obedience trainer, for help.They, and the other dogs, have one common problem--their owners don't have a clue as to how to communicate in order to make a dog happy and well-adjusted so that it wants to behave for its human. The dogs are training the owners--and it's getting ugly! Each dog has a different issue. Each owner has a different challenge. Each pair learns how to develop the relationship that we all long to have with our dogs--that of a loving, trusting companion.Overfield's unique insight to both man and dog focuses on the stress and misery caused, often unintentionally, by owners. Her stories focus on clients with common behavioral problems that cause their animals to dig, chew, bark, jump, pull, fight and bite.Her method trains the owner to see their dog for what it is--a dog--and analyzes how the behavior and response of both parties results in either joy or abject misery.Written for any owner who has ever been trained by a dog, Saturday Dogs opens the door to a relationship with long-term stability within the behavioral, psychological, emotional and social parameters of man's best friend.