A growl in many instances is considered a sinful act when really it’s beautiful, perfect communication.
Why did I get this book?
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a true fan of Sally’s work, but with that out of the way, I really got the book because I love language, and adding one more to my repertoire is never a bad idea. I, as many of you, live with dogs every day, and being able to communicate with them is truly vital to our sanity. We also owe it to our dogs to learn their language as much as we expect them to learn ours. And since two-way communication is the best way to build up a great relationship, I simply had to pick up this book.
What does this book do?
What it says on the can. Seriously. This book takes you through all you need to know about canine communication in an easy-to-read language, spiced up with both illustrations and beautiful stills.
The book itself is divided into two parts. The first revolves around illustrations while the second focuses on still photos. The first part is punctuated by a little quiz to help you make sure you got it all, as well as every chapter, is wrapped up with a single page of takeaway points (one of the reasons I really like Sally’s books, actually) to help you sum up the chapter before moving on.
The book overall focuses a lot on the individuality of dogs and teaches us as humans to live with our dogs and how to respect their individual boundaries. It also devotes an entire chapter to aggression, which I believe is a subject that the average dog owner, and the general population, know far too little about. So, if you’re not convinced you need this book yet, at least buy it for the sake of chapter nine. You won’t regret it.
What does this book not do?
Nothing? Well, of course, that’s not entirely true because it doesn’t touch down on any of the subjects it’s not about, but why would it? This is a language book, and it does that absolutely perfectly, but if you’re looking for a large set of photos to analyze, you may want to upgrade a bit (Canine Body Language – A Photographic Guide” by Brenda Aloff can do that for you), but there’s truly nothing this book doesn’t do that should keep the average dog owner from reading it. The same goes if you’re a pro really. Just read it.
Where do I get this book?
Amazon is your friend, but I’m sure your local book store can order it home if you want to support your local small businesses.
