Bryan Bailey

I found this book to be incredibly fascinating and informative. Personally, I'm a cat person - have always been, and always will be - but when offered the opportunity for this book, I figured I'd broaden my horizons and learn something new. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and I was blown away.

The author has incredible insight, but then he speaks from experience. He brings up many, many valid points, including warning us against seeing animals as people. He does stress that animals show more deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, but again, they are not human, so we can not hold them to the same standards as we do other humans. Animals do not understand things the same way we do, and when we understand that, it leads to a lot less grief.

He tells us several stories and concrete examples of the wolf in the dog, and how this affects dog behavior, and what owners can do to understand that inner wolf so that they can live a good coexistence with their dogs. I don't own dogs, but relatives of mine do, and I've spent some time around various dogs - some well trained/behaved, others, not so much. Reading this book has given me a better understanding into their behavior, and also their owners.

Though this book is about canines specifically, I can see how much of this information can also be applied to cats, who, like dogs, are descended from apex predators and carry the instinct within them. Like dogs, cats can attack children (or babies) who get into their space and make them feel threatened. And like dogs, cats suffer at the hands of owners who fail to understand the reason for this behavior, among others. The author highlights other behavior which owners may see as "bad", such as a older dog pinning down a younger dog to teach it its place within the hierarchy. Humans would see this as abusive, but the older dog isn't actually hurting the younger dog, any more than a human parent is hurting their children by giving them time out.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book, whether you're a dog or cat owner/lover, as this book offers much valuable insight into nature and animal behavior. I have definitely learned several things which will help improve my interactions and understandings with dogs in the future. show less

Having rescue dogs with behavioral problems, that came with little or no history, I watched several dog trainer television programs, trying to impose their practices without success, I found the reasons why dogs behave the way they do in this book.

The author uses his expertise from his upbringing and experiences in racing dog mushing events to pass on invaluable advice. He does not tell you how to correct the behavior but why the behavior happens in the first place and if you know the root show more to the problem you can solve it.

The strong message is "nature demands obedience"and your dog, which has evolved from the wolf, needs to follow the rules of being in a pack. Every pack has a leader and all others must follow, therefore you have to be that leader. The author uses excellent examples of pack life, for example; when his pack leading dog was eating a bone, one of the pups tried to take it, the pack leader pinned the pup down to teach him his place. Now if this happened in another home or park a human would have interfered thus upsetting the order of the pack. He also goes on to explain that if the pack leading dog wanted the pup to have the bone he would have given him it, displaying submissive behavior, again the law of nature.

This book has taught me so much more about both dogs and I can now correct their behavior. I am proud to say, so far, it has worked. Big thanks to the author for using his expertise to help me understand my dogs more and it has taken our relationship to a new and better level. show less