Think Dog!: An Owner's Guide to Canine Psychology

by JohnFisher (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1990

  $4.35

  John Fisher is a specialist dog-trainer, consultant to the City of London Dog Section and a qualified instructor. He has made a study of antisocial behaviour in dogs, and in this book he examines the psychology of the dog with examples taken from his practical experience, with the aim of explaining to owners how the world appears from a dog's point of view. The first section traces the ancestry and inherent behaviour of dogs from their origins as pack animals related to the wolf and the jackal. Comparisons are made between the wolf's behaviour and that of the dog in a human pack, explaining what the dog learns from the way in which humans live with him. In the knowledge that dogs will never understand human values, the author sets out to explore canine values, which humans have the ability to understand. The second part examines what many people describe as problem behaviour, which is just normal canine behaviour exhibited in the wrong place. There is detailed discussion of the influence of diet and training, and of the merits of different forms of punishment and reward. The book ends with an A-Z of common problems, their causes and cures, and a section on training which explores the way in which dogs learn.