Living with a human/dog reactive dog can be very stressful, and finding the right help can be very difficult. Owning such a dog, I have read many of the books on dog aggression and feel this is the best one out there. Pam Dennison has gone through the trials of rehabilitating her own human aggressive dog, as well as helping many others rehab their own dogs. She writes about the science behind positive mototivational dog training in a simple to understand manner, and describes in detail a step by step program for starting the rehabilitation of a reactive dog. I thouroughly recommend this book to help owners of reactive dogs start the desensitisation process and to understand the importance of getting the right kind of help for their dog. I feel many good dog trainers could become much better by focusing soley on these positive training methods, and by fully understanding the desensitisation process and how tiny steps need to be to see progress. This book helps demonstrate just that. I only wish she lived in the UK so I could go to her reactive dog classes. Good luck to all those with reactive dogs trying to help their dogs without using out-dated punishment techniques.

At last companion animal professionals, dog owners, and adoption counselors have a superb comprehensive reference source for canine development and physiology, learning theory, behavior, health and disease, and nutrition, all in a single volume. Previously it was necessary to have on hand several books, each covering one or at most two of these topics. While the primary audience for The Dog is undergraduate students in animal sciences programs and other students in professional programs, the book readily serves a broader audience of breeders, trainers, kennel operators, humane society personnel, and veterinarians, and it is entirely accessible to the general dog-owning public. Separate sections on the benefits and responsibilities of dog ownership and factors to consider in selecting a dog make the volume particularly valuable for shelter personnel, adoption counselors, and anyone considering acquiring a dog.

Case combines academic credentials as a specialist in companion animal nutrition (her previous book is Canine and Feline Nutrition: A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals, 1995) with training and long experience as a behaviorist, dog trainer, and college educator. Not surprisingly, the chapters on nutrition are thorough yet concise, offering important information otherwise unavailable to the non-specialist interested in the nutritional needs of dogs and in industry practices of dog food formulation and production. The sections on behavior provide cogent explanations of developmental stages, communication signals, social interaction, the principles of learning, and training techniques, as well as an excellent overview of behavior problems. Case's balanced and incisive discussion of the dominance model of social interaction (and its misuses) is particularly welcome.

At $34.95, the volume is priced between a college textbook (many of which now cost twice this price) and a trade book. In fact, we can be grateful to the Iowa State University Press for keeping the cost of this excellent volume within reach of the general public. Separate works on canine behavior, nutrition, and health would easily exceed the cost of this publication. The Dog is hardcover, beautifully illustrated with line drawings, and includes an extensive bibliography of recommended readings, a glossary, and an index. Volunteer adoption counselors at the Champaign County (IL) Humane Society are highly encouraged to read The Dog to expand their knowledge of topics frequently raised in the course of counseling adopters. A companion volume on cats is reportedly in the works, and we at CCHS eagerly await its publication. --Mary Stuart (Mary Stuart is a former member of the CCHS Board of Directors and has taught adoption counseling to shelter staff and volunteers for the past 10 years.)