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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

How to Find Your Dream Dog by Dixie Tenny (Review and Giveaway!)


Today both Sandra and I are posting our reviews of How to Find Your Dream Dog. Although there are many books out there about how to train and take care of your dog, this one is all about the preliminary stage and how to find the right dog for you. If you are thinking of getting a dog, you should read this book. Be sure to enter to win one of 5 Dream Dog prize packages!

Book Details:

Book Title: How to FInd Your Dream Dog by Dixie Tenny
Category: Adult Non Fiction, 139 pages
Genre: Pets & Animal Care
Publisher: Authors Unite
Release date: October 2016
Tour dates: Feb 27 to March 31, 2017
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

Bringing a new dog into the household should be one of life’s happiest events. The process always starts with excitement and high expectations. Too often, though, it ends in disappointment. The new puppy wakes everyone three times a night, gnaws on furniture, piddles everywhere, knocks the children down. The new adolescent dog is too wild. The new adult dog growls at your neighbors. And where did all this dog hair come from?

Most people spend hours researching a new mattress, days researching a new car, and weeks researching a new home or job. Yet for a new dog, a companion for the next 10-15 years, the most they do is visit the nearest shelter or pet shop and buy whatever looks cute and appealing. It’s no wonder they end up disappointed.

Whether you are looking for a purebred puppy or a charming mixed-breed, the type of dog you bring into your home matters. A quiet owner will struggle to keep up with a high-energy labrador mix, for instance, while an active outdoor family will be impatient with a snoozy bulldog. And finding the right kind of dog means becoming the right kind of owner—a task that takes some forethought and planning.

How To Find Your Dream Dog is here to fix the disconnect of dog ownership. It walks you step-by-step through the process of choosing the right type of dog for you—not only exploring the canine qualities that can determine your perfect puppy, adolescent, or adult dog, but also assessing your lifestyle to make sure you’re a good match for the dog, too. The book also looks at good (and bad) sources for finding healthy and sound pet dogs, gives guidelines for evaluating individual puppies, and warns of some red flags to watch out for during your dog search. With this guidebook in hand, you can be confident that the next puppy or dog you bring home will be the right companion and friend for you for the rest of its days.

​Dixie Tenny is a Certified Training Partner with the Karen Pryor Academy of Animal Training and Behavior. During her 30+ years spent working with people and their pets, she has seen again and again how mismatches between dog and owner can create “behavior problems” that never would have happened if the right dog had been matched to the right owner in the first place. She wrote this book to help puppy buyers and dog adopters start out on the best possible foot with their new pet dogs, and stay on that path for years to come.

Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Add on Goodreads


My Review:
Reviewed by Sandra Olshaski

I thoroughly enjoyed this short-chaptered book that is full of highly practical tips on how to choose the right dog for you. Happy owner – contented dog; unhappy owner – frustrated dog. It is as a much about how dogs will prosper as it is about how owners will fare. In the words of the author "your dream dog is the one who is right for you, who will enhance your life and make you wonder how you ever lived without him or her."

The author, with 30 plus years of experience with dogs and owners sets out in a clear, understandable way how to proceed in finding the perfect dog. Step 1 is self-examination. Find out why that cute puppy might not be right for you. See how to avoid creating a dangerous dog. Do you want an "aloof" or a "Velcro" dog?

The author has included dog FAQs and Resource pages as well as a companion website that should be checked out if you are on the search for your dream dog.

This is an excellent guide for those who want to successfully bring a canine into their life.

Sandra Olshaski's disclaimer: I received this book from the author. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate this product.

My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

How to Find Your Dream Dog by Dixie Tenny is an excellent guide book for anyone contemplating getting a dog. It is easy and quick to read (no sludging through excessive info) but packed with all the right questions and issues one must seriously consider when looking to find the right dog.

The book is divided into 4 parts. The first part helps a person or family prepare for a dog by stating exactly what it means to own a pet dog: the time, energy, patience and attention needed to properly care for a dog. The author even included a chapter that goes through a day in the life of puppy. I thought that was smart and a good way to help new owners understand normal puppy behaviour and not be shocked by how little sleep they (the owners) will get through this training period.

The second part helps the reader understand the different types of dogs in terms of energy level, attachment, protection, sociability and grooming needs. The third part is all about where to find a pet dog (definitely not at a pet store!) and the author goes into detail about how to recognize if that breeder website belongs to a legitimate hobby breeder or a disguised puppy mill.

Finally, the last section is all about getting an adult dog versus a puppy. There is also a FAQ section and resources at the back of the book. The only information I thought should have been included is how to choose a dog if you already have another pet, such as a cat. This was our case last year when we adopted a dog and brought him home much to the chagrin of our senior cat. We had searched for over a year for a dog and our cat did not like him one bit. A dog trainer warned us to be careful she did not scratch his eyes.

After two months of our cat hissing and swiping at our dog, hiding in closed rooms and being just plain miserable that a new large pet had taken over her territory, we knew we had to give the dog back. It was one of the hardest decisions we had to do and wished we had known more about this aspect of choosing a dog.

Although there are many books out there about how to train and take care of your dog, this one is all about the preliminary stage, how to find the right dog for you, which most future dog owners ignore or don’t think about. If you are thinking of getting a dog, you should read this book. It will make you understand that there is a big responsibility that comes with pet ownership and that if you choose right, it will make a big difference in your lifelong relationship with your new friend.

Disclosure: I received this book from the author. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate this product.


To read more reviews, please visit Dixie Tenny's page on iRead Book Tours.


About the Author:


Dixie Tenny has been helping people and their dogs find each other and form successful partnerships since the early 1980s. She founded two rescue organizations: Purebred Dog Rescue of Saint Louis in 1984, and Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue, Inc. in 1987. Dixie was the Director of Training for the Greater St. Louis Training Club, Inc., for five years, creating classes and overseeing the work of 40 head and assistant trainers. In 2003 she and another experienced trainer created Dogs Unleashed, LLC. They traveled to clients’ homes and worked with behavior and training issues.

Dixie’s professional credentials include trainer certifications from the prestigious Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior, and the Association for Pet Dog Trainers. Dixie formed her own business, Human-Animal Learning Opportunities, LLC (HALO) in 2013. HALO hosts continuing education seminars for dog trainers.

Dixie has lived with a wide range of dogs over the years including mixed breeds, Australian Shepherds, Welsh and Cairn terriers, and more. While in Seattle, Dixie raised a Labrador puppy for Canine Companions for Independence, Inc. (CCI). Currently Dixie lives with a Beauceron and an elderly Papillon, as well as four cats. When not doing things related to animals, she reads widely, enjoys the company of her three grown children, follows baseball and English Premier League football, and travels the world.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook


Enter the Giveaway!

Win one of 5 Dream Dog prize packages! Each package includes a copy of How to Find Your Dream Dog, a $15 Amazon Gift Card and Outward Hound Slow Feeder Dog Bowl) Open to USA & Canada

Ends April 8



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3 comments :

  1. Thanks so much for your great reviews of my book "How to Find Your Dream Dog!" Laura, you are so right - I had the same thought soon after the book was published - the next edition will include information on how to consider current pets when looking for your dream dog. I took my adult dog with me last weekend when I visited a litter of puppies. He had definite preferences, and we came home with the puppy he spent the most time with. So far it's a great match. - I hope your readers enjoy my book and find it helpful as they search for their dream dogs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping by Dixie, and for sharing your experience with us! I'm also touched that you're taking my suggestion to heart for your second edition.

      Delete
  2. This looks like a book I will need to read- my daughters and husband want to get a dog but I'm not ready. I do think beagles are cute but I want to get the kind of dog that will be right for our family.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting! I appreciate your feedback.

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