Follow Me by Eva Bodfaldt book review

Eva Bodfaldt is a Swedish dog behaviour consultant with an international reputation and more than 30 years experience helping dogs with all types of behaviour problems. Follow Me - a deal with your dog demonstrates simple, positive and effective training methods to help build a good relationship with your dog and how to improve everyday life with dogs.

Many, many, many, many, many books have been written on dog training and behaviour. I’ve been asked to review a lot of them. Very few of them contain new information; they’re simply re-writes of existing knowledge - they don’t do anything to further the science of pet dog training, or help clarify the wildly contrasting views and advice presented to dog owners.

However, every now and again a book comes along that really stands out and Follow Me - a deal with your dog, is that book. I’m not really a jealous person but I really wish I’d produced this book. It’s probably the most well-produced book available on dog training and behaviour that I’ve seen. Ever.

Follow Me - a deal with your dog is an attractive A5 size paperback book; it feels good in your hands as you thumb through it; it’s immensely colourful and jam packed with some really great photos that fill entire pages. Dog owner, dog trainer, groomer or even veterinary professional; this is a great book containing a wealth of useful and effective information on training and behaviour. I found myself agreeing with nearly everything Eva suggests.

Eva guides the reader through a whole host of case studies, offering practical advice on recall, teaching dogs not to pull on leash, explaining why dogs growl in various situations and more importantly - what to do about it. Basic obedience is included as well as sections on learning why dogs do the things they do, something I tell all of my clients: you must first understand an animal and its actions - why they do what they do - before we can have an opinion on them.

Follow Me is one of the most accessible and comprehensive books on dog training and behaviour I’ve seen in a long time. It’s certainly raised the bar in terms of quality, readable and practical content and design, too. I highly recommend it.

Priced at £15.95
ISBN: 978-91-973578-5-2

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Desperate Housepets by Annaliese Morgan book review

If you’re looking for a practical guide to keeping a healthy pet, with reliable information from a source that you can trust on subjects ranging from health, nutrition, exercise, grooming, illness and first aid, Desperate Housepets: the single person’s guide to healthy pets is it.

Annaliese Morgan DipAVN, RVN, MBVNA, is an award-winning registered Veterinary Nurse, author and owner of luxury pet spa, Fuchsia. In Desperate Housepets, Annaliese’s fifth book, she uses her 15 years experience of working with unwell pets and their owners, to pass on valuable advice in her easy-reading, chatty and entertaining style, on a range of topics from deciding if a pet is really a good idea for you, right through to how to bandage a poorly limb and an entire section on “creepy crawlies”!

I instantly warmed to Annaliese while reading this book; she has a wonderful balance of compassion and professionalism, her humility a refreshing change to the advice genre. Clearly very knowledgeable (one of only 250 Veterinary Nurses in the UK to hold a surgical diploma), she has written an accessible guide jam packed full of practical and effective tips and solutions and at 93 pages, with some fantastic full colour illustrations, this book should feature on every dog owners shelf.

Priced at £12.99
ISBN: 978-1-78003-145-3

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Thinking of getting a puppy and looking for advice? Get your free copy of Before You Get Your Puppy book

Jez has teamed up with one of his colleagues and scientific advisors to offer a copy of the excellent book BEFORE You Get Your Puppy - for everything you need to know to ensure a well-behaved, people and dog friendly dog that’s enjoyable to train, preventing the common pitfuls. Before You Get Your Puppy by Dr Ian Dunbar.

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How to prevent dog attacks and dog bites by approaching dogs safely with Dr. Sophia Yin

Most dogs bite because they don’t feel safe or comfortable or because they’re scared - and they’d have given plenty of warning, too. My post on How To Tell If A Dog Is Scared explains what to look out for. It goes without saying that if you know what to look out for; if you learn what dogs look like when they feel scared, you’ll avoid preventable accidents involving teeth and soft human skin.

I can’t emphasise enough though how it is very often the fault of the human. Dogs don’t just bite without reason, so it’s important that grown-ups as well as children, learn how to greet dogs properly. My colleague Dr. Sophia Yin has produced another great poster, reproduced here with her kind permission, showing perfect ways to greet a dog safely. You’ll see that actually its largely common sense: what doesn’t wash for humans, often doesn’t work for dogs either. Keep in mind that it’s an animal; as fluffy, cute, doughy eyed and cuddly as it looks, it’s an animal and if it feels threatened it will do something very innate, very natural, predictable - yet very preventable - bite. If it does bite, the punishment shouldn’t be aimed at the dog….

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How to calm and train a hyperactive dog

Ever seen a sniffer dog at the airport? Head down, nose to the floor, uncontrolled sniffing, dissipated energy seen in its’ crazy tail?
Many mistake this for just the signs of a working dog or even a “happy” dog but look closer and this is an extremely stressed animal. Ever been throwing a ball for your dog and after a few throws, as the dog gets more excited, it begins to take ages to find it, even though it saw where you threw it and has rushed past it several times? You look on amazed at how this animal with such an incredible sense of smell could miss the very object he’s been playing with and presumably can smell. The reason the dog can’t find the ball is because it can’t concentrate: the high amounts of adrenaline pumping round its body are not only distracting but prohibitive.

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How to tell if a dog is fearful or scared and prevent dog bites with Dr. Sophia Yin

Dogs don’t bite without reason. They give us plenty of warning signals but unfortunately not enough people know what those signals look like and may unintentionally provoke the dog. My colleague, Dr. Sophia Yin, has produced this fantastic visual example of what to look out for so you can tell if a dog is fearful or scared and prevent dog bites and dog attacks.

If you have children, show them this.

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Vets and Vet Nurses Love Jez’s VetPro Seminars on Canine Communication and Preventing Aggression

I’m nearing the end of my VetPro seminars for veterinary professionals; here’s some feedback from what has been a great opportunity to meet more vets, vet nurses and students and share information on preventing predictable behaviour and temperament problems such as aggression and anxiety in practice and the facts about canine communication.

Wendy Stickells, MRCVS: “Two of my nurses and I attended one of Jez’s seminars and we loved it! It opened our eyes to new ways of making our patients feel more relaxed about coming to the surgery - we are now really keen on starting puppy socialisation as we would love it if all of our canine patients loved coming in for their visits. I also learned that some of the advice that I have been giving owners that other trainers have recommended has not been the best and Im so glad I have had the opportunity to change that! Anything that allows dogs to feel more relaxed about trips to the vets is always welcome and we fully support trying to reduce the number of dogs that end up in shelters or euthanased and would love to train all dog owners to get the best from their canine friends.”

Katherine Badcock RVN, MBVNA: “A warm welcome and array of refreshments started a great evening: Dr. Rose is very easy to listen to, comical and factual. He presents in an informative manner with the aid of images to help gain an understanding of canine communication and answers questions efficiently. This seminar has given me insight into ways in which we can improve canine behaviour in the veterinary practice, helping to put our patients at ease and preventing predictable temperament problems. A very enjoyable presentation; I would recommend to any veterinary professional.”

There are just two dates left of the current seminar tour: 24th May in Witney and the 25th May in Rickmansworth with places available at both; see the seminar page on Jez’s website for more information and to book your place today.

Further dates will be released later in the year due to popular demand.

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The Canine Connection Podcast: episode 6 is now live! Victoria Stilwell interview

The Canine Connection Podcast is a 10-part series hosted by Jez Rose and co-hosted by Caroline, exploring all aspects of dog training and behaviour, with letters from listeners, top tips, fun facts and a celebrity interview each week. The entire series is now available to download and subscribe to in iTunes. Click here to listen to episode 6!

This episode is all about positive dog training methods and features an interview with Victoria Stilwell, star of TV’s It’s Me Or The Dog, about her Positively brand and why positive trumps punitive. Timed with the release of Victoria’s new book: Victoria Stilwell How To Have the Perfect Pet, it’s a must-listen for fans of positive dog training and of the lady herself, who has quickly established herself as America’s favourite dog trainer.

Roger Abrantes, PhD in Ethology and Evolutionary Biology and author of the best-selling book ‘Dog Language’ has this to say: “I strongly recommend this podcast to all dog owners and trainers as well. Keep up and enjoy!”

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Dog walkers are fitter - new study reveals walking your dog is answer to how to lose weight fast

According to a new study from Michigan State University in the USA, dog owners are fitter than people who do not have a dog because of the amount of walking they do.

Walkers who regularly exercise their dogs are 34% more likely to hit the recommended exercise target of at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week and therefore, lose weight faster.

Dr. Matthew Reeves, the study author suggests: “Health campaigns promoting ownership of a dog and dog-walking may be a logical way to increase physical activity”. So if you’re looking for a way to lose weight fast or get fitter - you need a dog!

Click here for a list of places you can take your dog in the UK and answers to the most common questions about travelling with your dog including “can I take my dog to Brighton Beach?” and “can I take my dog on the train?”.

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Video interview about Dangerous Dogs and breed specific legislation

I was interviewed a couple of months back by the online dog magazine Naturally Happy Dogs about my views on “dangerous dogs” and the values behind breed specific legislation. What are dangerous dogs and how do we prevent them? What can we do, as owners, to prevent our dogs becoming growly or reactive around other dogs and other people? Did you know that more people are injured by balloons and slippers on an annual basis than by dogs?…..

Check the video out by clicking here!

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