Dogs: As They Are the first in a series of ebooks that present collected essays by author and dog trainer Eric Brad. Previously published for an online magazine, these essays have been been put together on the theme of dogs and their nature. The book covers a range of topics from the origin of dogs to their biology, psychology, and ethology. The importance of understanding our dogs for who and what they are cannot be overstated. As our closest domesticated animal partner, it is often easy to assume too much (or too little) about our dogs. Each essay is introduced by the author with some insight on its inspiration and how it came to be written. The book also includes all new Introduction and Epilogue essays that highlight the thematic nature of the book and discuss the larger concepts that the author tries to cover.
Teaching Dogs: Effective Learning is the second in a series of ebooks that present collected essays by author and dog trainer Eric Brad. Previously published for an online magazine, these essays have been been put together on the theme of how and why we train our dogs. Training our dogs has evolved mostly out of necessity and science has not had much to do with it. Over the past 40 years, dog trainers have become familiar with behavioural science pioneered by Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, and others and a new kind of dog training is emerging. These essays offer a look into the author’s journey from more traditional methods of dog training to a more modern, scientific approach. It is a journey filled with delightful surprises, frustrations, and a lot of learning. Each essay is introduced by the author with some insight on its inspiration and how it came to be written. The book also includes all new Introduction and Epilogue essays that highlight the thematic nature of the book and discuss the larger concepts that the author tries to cover.
The American dream is possible with these patriotic pups! Wag your tail and wave your flag for the founding principles of freedom and liberty. In One Nation Under Dog, you can celebrate the loyalty and enthusiasm of our faithful four-legged friends and honor your country like never before. Each page offers a tribute to the American dream through the inspiring words of our nation’s greatest leaders and heartwarming photographs of puppies and dogs that bring their words to life. Revel in the abundant freedom, liberty, and pursuit of happiness across the United States with furry friends in Mary Zaia's One Nation Under Dog.
Before there was Max, there was Mike. A true story much like the touching movie, Navy SEAL Dogs explores the incomparable relationship between trainer and military dog. From the author of Team Dog, Trident K9 Warriors gave readers an inside look at the Navy SEAL teams' elite K9 warriors-who they are, how they are trained, and the extreme missions they undertake to save lives. From detecting explosives to eliminating the bad guys, these powerful dogs are also some of the smartest and highest skilled working animals on the planet. Mike Ritland's job is to train them. This special edition re-telling presents the dramatic tale of how Ritland discovered his passion and grew up to become the trainer of the nation's most elite military working dogs. Ritland was a smaller-than-average kid who was often picked-on at school-which led him to spend more time with dogs at a young age. After graduating BUD/S training-the toughest military training in the world-to become a SEAL, he was on combat deployment in Iraq when he saw a military working dog in action and instantly knew he'd found his true calling. Ritland started his own company to train and supply working and protection dogs for the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, and other clients. He also started the Warrior Dog Foundation to help retired Special Operations dogs live long and happy lives after their service. Navy SEAL Dogs is the true story of how Mike Ritland grew from a skinny, bullied child, to a member of our nation's most elite SEAL Teams, to the trainer of the world's most highly skilled K9 warriors.
Now in paperback and with an update about pets during COVID. In the last 20 years pets have gone from the backyard to sleeping on our beds, then showing up in every corner of America. Pet Nation tells the story of this seismic shift and the economic, media, legal, political, and social dramas springing from this cultural transformation. Since 1998 the pet population in the U.S. has almost doubled -- about two-thirds of the country now owns a pet. No longer left to wander the neighborhood, dogs and cats eat special food, get individualized medical attention, and even fly in the cabin. As founder of the Animal Policy Group, Mark Cushing provides an inside look at the rise of Pet Nation, tracking the myriad ways pets are acquired (a "Canine Freedom Train" runs south to north), reporting on pet rights legislation (and the unseen problems that come with elevating their status), pet healthcare (revealing the truth and myths about large scale breeders), and discovering that despite what many organizations would have us believe, there is a shortage of dogs. Insightful, surprising, and full of great stories, Pet Nation opens our eyes to the big changes happening in front of us right now. It shows us not only what our love of animals says about pets, it shows us what it says about ourselves.
In 1924, Professor Ueno Eizaburo of Tokyo Imperial University adopted an Akita puppy he named Hachiko. Each evening Hachiko greeted Ueno on his return to Shibuya Station. In May 1925 Ueno died while giving a lecture. Every day for over nine years the Akita waited at Shibuya Station, eventually becoming nationally and even internationally famous for his purported loyalty. A year before his death in 1935, the city of Tokyo erected a statue of Hachiko outside the station. The story of Hachiko reveals much about the place of dogs in Japan's cultural imagination. In the groundbreaking Empire of Dogs, Aaron Herald Skabelund examines the history and cultural significance of dogs in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Japan, beginning with the arrival of Western dog breeds and new modes of dog keeping, which spread throughout the world with Western imperialism. He highlights how dogs joined with humans to create the modern imperial world and how, in turn, imperialism shaped dogs' bodies and their relationship with humans through its impact on dog-breeding and dog-keeping practices that pervade much of the world today. In a book that is both enlightening and entertaining, Skabelund focuses on actual and metaphorical dogs in a variety of contexts: the rhetorical pairing of the Western "colonial dog" with native canines; subsequent campaigns against indigenous canines in the imperial realm; the creation, maintenance, and in some cases restoration of Japanese dog breeds, including the Shiba Inu; the mobilization of military dogs, both real and fictional; and the emergence of Japan as a "pet superpower" in the second half of the twentieth century. Through this provocative account, Skabelund demonstrates how animals generally and canines specifically have contributed to the creation of our shared history, and how certain dogs have subtly influenced how that history is told. Generously illustrated with both color and black-and-white images, Empire of Dogs shows that human-canine relations often expose how people—especially those with power and wealth—use animals to define, regulate, and enforce political and social boundaries between themselves and other humans, especially in imperial contexts.
Maira Kalman, with wit and great sensitivity, reveals why dogs bring out the best in us Maira Kalman + Dogs = Bliss Dogs have lessons for us all. In Beloved Dog, renowned artist and author Maira Kalman illuminates our cherished companions as only she can. From the dogs lovingly illustrated in her acclaimed children’s books to the real-life pets who inspire her still, Kalman’s Beloved Dog is joyful, beautifully illustrated, and, as always, deeply philosophical. Here is Max Stravinsky, the dog poet of Oh-La-La (Max in Love)-fame, and her own Irish Wheaton Pete (almost named Einstein, until he revealed himself to be “clearly no Einstein”), who also made an appearance in the delightful What Pete Ate: From A to Z. And of course, there is Boganch, Kalman’s in-laws’ “big black slobbering Hungarian Beast.” And that’s just the beginning. With humor and intelligence, Kalman gives voice to the dogs she adores, noting that they are constant reminders that life reveals the best of itself when we live fully in the moment and extend unconditional love. “And it is very true,” she writes, “that the most tender, complicated, most generous part of our being blossoms without any effort, when it comes to the love of a dog.”
It's been said politics makes for strange bedfellows. In this case, those fellows just happen to be furry. In Dog vs. Cat: A Nation Divided, cartoonist Don Asmussen creates a fun and fluffy mix of politics and pets that's outside the box. The litter box, that is. It has become ever apparent in recent years that divisiveness is poisoning our national debate. Discussion and compromise have been replaced by name-calling, bullying, and veiled hate speech. Never in our history has our country been so fractured between these two groups . . . dog lovers and cat lovers. Using metaphors from the political scene of both yesterday and today, Dog vs. Cat humorously parodies government silliness and squabbles through the eyes of a cartoon canine and kitty. Humorist Don Asmussen takes us behind the scenes for an investigative look at the controversial Spot vs. Mittens election - one that nearly scratched and clawed our country apart. The media gets accused of cat bias in its coverage of Mittens's affair with JenniPURR Flowers. Meanwhile, Spot's dog license is called into question at the Cat National Convention. Perfect for the pet owner who keeps an eye on the political arena, Dog vs. Cat scoops the stories - and then the yard - of all the funny, quirky things that cat lovers, dog lovers, and elected humans can do, all in the name of creating a pet-ter tomorrow.
The acclaimed author of The Honest Truth delivers his most emotionally powerful novel yet. Brodie was a good dog. And good dogs go to heaven.Except Brodie can't move on. Not just yet. As wonderful as his glimpse of the afterlife is, he can't forget the boy he left behind. The boy he loved, and who loved him in return.The boy who's still in danger.So Brodie breaks the rules of heaven. He returns to Earth as a spirit. With the help of two other lost souls -- lovable pitbull Tuck and surly housecat Patsy -- he is determined to find his boy and to save him. Even if it costs him paradise. Even if he loses his eternal soul.Because it's what a good dog would do.
Get to know your best friend better: “Everyone who owns a dog, breeds or trains dogs, or works with dogs should read this informative book.” —Library Journal Just think about the different behaviors you see at a dog park. We have a good understanding of what it means when dogs wag their tails—but what about when they sniff and roll on a stinky spot? Why do they play tug-of-war with one dog, while showing their bellies to another? Why are some dogs shy, while others are bold? What goes on in dogs’ heads and hearts—and how much can we know and understand? Written by award-winning scientist—and lifelong dog lover—Marc Bekoff, Canine Confidential not only brilliantly opens up the world of dog behavior, but also helps us understand how we can make our dogs’ lives better. Rooted in the most up-to-date science on cognition and emotion—fields that have exploded in recent years—Canine Confidential is a wonderfully accessible treasure trove of new information and myth-busting. Peeing, we learn, isn’t always marking; grass-eating isn’t always an attempt to trigger vomiting; it’s okay to hug a dog—on their terms; and so much more. There’s still much we don’t know, but at the core of the book is the certainty that dogs do have deep emotional lives, and that as their companions and trainers we must recognize them as the unique, complex individuals they are—so we can keep them as happy and healthy as possible. “Bekoff shares his own studies and others’ research, along with real-life stories, in a winning tone.” —Booklist
