This is not your average dog training book. In some ways, it isn't a dog training book at all. Rather, it provides insights into both canine and human body language. McConnell teaches you how to modify some of your body language into something your dog can understand. Want your dog to come to you? Turn your back to him, bend a bit at the waist and look over your shoulder while you call to him. That is body language your dog understands. And it works! That was the first great hint I found just within the first few pages. Use this book in conjunction with a standard training book (and taking McConnell's word over the other author's when they conflict), and you should be okay. ( )

Very good. Best one yet. I bought a copy for Eric. A sensible mix of anecdotal and scientific, common sense, dog communication and why we are bad at it as humans.

Every person with a dog should read this book! It’s been on my TBR pile for far too long, and I’m glad I finally got to it. It’s so good I’m going to buy it to keep as a reference and reread.
McConnell discusses primate instincts versus canine instincts in relation to how we interact with our dogs. It’s based on the author’s own research, as well as that of many others. Her writing style is warm, engaging, instructive, and interspersed with stories about her own dogs and clients she’s worked with for behavioral problems.
Fascinating and helpful book—read it read it read it. ( )

The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What WE Do Around Dogs
Author: Patricia B. McConnell
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publishing Date: 2002
Pgs: 246
Dewey: 636.7 M1295o 2003
Disposition: Interlibrary Loan - Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX via Helen Hall Library, City of League City Library, League City, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
An Applied Animal Behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years’ experience, Dr. Patricia McConnell reveals a revolutionary new perspective on our relationship with dogs—sharing insights on how “man’s best friend” might interpret our behavior, as well as essential advice on how to interact with our four-legged friends in ways that bring out the best in them.

After all, humans and dogs are two entirely different species, each shaped by its individual evolutionary heritage. Quite simply, humans are primates and dogs are canids (as are wolves, coyotes, and foxes). Since we each speak a different native tongue, a lot gets lost in the translation. This marvelous guide demonstrates how even the slightest changes in our voices and in the ways we stand can help dogs understand what we want. Inside you will discover:

• How you can get your dog to come when called by acting less like a primate and more like a dog
• Why the advice to “get dominance” over your dog can cause problems
• Why “rough and tumble primate play” can lead to trouble—and how to play with your dog in ways that are fun and keep him out of mischief
• How dogs and humans share personality types—and why most dogs want to live with benevolent leaders rather than “alpha wanna-bes!”
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Genre:
Dogs
Pets
Training
Animal Husbandry
Domestication

Why this book:
Love dogs.
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The Page 100 Test:
√◄ - good to go.
∞◄ - read on.

The Feel:
I learning a lot and seeing things that I’ve believed be reinforced.

Favorite Quote:
When Beagles and Bloodhounds put their noses down to the ground, I suspect that the rest of the world fades into oblivion. Think “adolescent with headphones on” and you’ll know what I mean.

Hmm Moments:
The paw-over, where it looks like your dogs are petting each other is aggressive behavior. And humans when they see it usually laugh because ‘Awww, they’re petting each other.” In dogs that don’t know each other, it is aggressive behavior. In dogs that do know each other, it is often seen as a precursor to play; ie: Play with me. Do you want to play with me?

The silhouette recognition was something I was aware of. My dog has had vision problems his whole life and it was glaringly obvious that he recognized people when they moved based on their silhouette against the background. If they weren’t moving, he had a hard time seeing them. And if someone he knew showed up with a hat or something that changed their shape, he lost his nugget.

Wisdom:
Dogs respond to body language and micro-expressions. Yep. Agree.

The “don’t square your feet towards the dog when you first meet them” rule makes sense.

The hand signals, feet position, and stance signals in conjunction with verbal commands are great advice. I’ve seen it work with my pack.

Do the information gathering head tilt to disarm an aggressive dog. Apparently, it causes a reset in behavior.

Juxtaposition:
If every time your dog comes to you, you drop everything and pay attention to them, you're sending them the signal that they are in charge. This leads to spoiled fur persons living in your house.

The Unexpected:
Sub-chapter: Every Dog is Different, but Some Dogs Are More Different Than Others…I laughed out loud. My pack consists of two pugs, a pom, a pit-boxer mix, a long hair chihuahua, and two cats, all with their own foibles. That subtitle spoke to me.

So, I Was Right:
Dogs who aren’t socialized in their early development can never overcome the missing part of what it’s like being a dog at that age. They can learn to be more comfortable around unfamiliar people, but well-adjusted is more in line with a normal social environment during their puppy years.
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Last Page Sound:
Good, insightful, well presented.

Conclusions I’ve Drawn:
I see my dogs in this book. Some of the things that happened to them before I got them, and some of the things that I didn’t help them overcome. I work with them and try to get the proper socialization and interaction for them. My pack is made up of a bunch of misfit toys that came to us from a diverse group of f’ed up backgrounds. But we’ve melded them into an odd quintet who get along well together.
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This is the book I should've started with. It's not about training dogs, it's about communicating with dogs: how to read their body language, how we primates misinterpret a lot of what they do, how they misinterpret a lot of what we do. I had no idea that petting a dog on the head or hugging a dog are often perceived as aggression/punishment. It had never occurred to me that if you run after your dog when he grabs the remote he sees that as a fetch game - i.e., as a reward for grabbing the remote. It had never occurred to me that if your dog is running away from you at the park the way to make him come back is to move away from him, not toward him. It all sounds pretty obvious *after* Dr. McConnell explains it, but it's actually a lot of counter-intuitive knowledge. So, this book is not about how to housetrain your dog or how to teach it "sit" or "fetch"; it's about all the foundational knowledge you need to have before you even think about training your dog. It's essential knowledge that I didn't even know I didn't have ("unknown unknowns"). Also, Dr. McConnell writes in a superbly engaging style, which is pretty amazing for someone in academia; there is zero jargon and the sentences are short and to-the-point. ( )