cover image Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog

Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog

Ian Dunbar, Dr Ian Dunbar. New World Library, $19.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-1-57731-455-4

The star of the British television show Dogs with Dunbar has been teaching pet owners to train their dogs humanely and thoroughly for over 30 years. In this compassionate and honest volume, the veterinarian shares his definitive opinions about the way dogs should be trained. This is a great tool that anyone who wants to get a dog should peruse before they bring their pup home because, as the author points out, owning a dog is a big responsibility, and""millions of dogs are euthanized each year simply because their owners did not know how to housetrain or chewtoy-train them."" Dunbar includes information that prospective dog owners should know before they select a puppy, and he also explains how to meet his proscribed series of important Developmental Deadlines (two of which come up even before the dog reaches its new home!). In addition to a step-by-step guide to every stage of puppyhood, the book includes practical services, such as a pre-puppy shopping list and lists of the best dog training books and videos.