Good Dog, Bad Dog

Siegal and Margolis, coauthors of When Good Dogs Do Bad Things , have revised and greatly expanded their 1971 classic. Their bent here is explicit rejection of ``the `one size fits all' approach to dog training.'' Readers are first urged to identify their dogs by personality type: high-energy/outgoing, shy, strong-willed, calm/easygoing or aggressive. Then, as the writers outline a basic obedience course, from housebreaking to heeling, they describe the proper techniques (specifying the owner's frame of mind, body language, tone of voice, type of voice corrections and leash corrections, and place to train) and propose modifications for each temperament. This strategy is not completely convincing--not every dog will fit in the categories designated--but their instructions are so thorough, clear and patently grounded in good judgment that even a first-time owner will soon have Rover equably in tow. An added boon for fanciers, an appendix draws on Margolis's experience in schooling about 25,000 dogs to profile individual breeds in terms of their general responses to training. Good Dog, Bad Dog , good book. Publicity. (June)