Other End of the Leash Patricia McConnell - 246 pages

Patricia McConnell PHD received her doctorate in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison researching dog behaviour and communications between trainers and working domestic dogs. She has a world renouned behavioural and training practice helping treat serious behavioural problems in companion animals.

The Other End of the Leash begins with an eloquently simple premise: All dogs are brilliant at perceiving the slightest movement that we make, and they assume each tiny movement has meaning. With that in mind, all of Dr. Patricia McConnell"s recommendations for communicating with your canine make immediate sense. Don"t we all automatically bend forward when coaxing a dog to come and play? Break eye contact when we wish to avoid a confrontation? While these instinctive behaviors are right on target, a number of other habits aren"t so positive, and McConnell helps us break them with both humor and common sense.

Chapters are categorized by senses such as sound, sight, and smell; specific pack behaviors such as dominance and play also merit their own sections.

McConnell uses the same humor and patience she recommends with dogs on her readers. Whether she"s referring to maggots as a value-added commodity in canine economics or ruminating on attempts to verbally cue her dogs to exit the house one at a time, her wise and gently self-deprecating book brings training - of both dogs and humans to new levels - Jill Lightner