A Dog is a Dog*

Clarice Rutherford, Co-author of the long-popular How to Raise a Puppy you Can Live With (over 300,000 copies in print) turns her attention to building a healthy relationship with 'Corky,' based on understanding the canine instincts that make a dog a dog.

The reader will learn the basic history of dogs and their relationship to the wolf. How the dog's brain develops and the importance of early socialization and basic training is explained, as well as how the genetics and instincts of the wolf play an important role in the behavior of the dog to some extent. Establishing one's self as a leader is discussed. Training the dog to be a well-mannered companion is also explained, with good advice on why dogs do some of the things they do, and what can be done to correct those actions. Reading and understanding the body language of the dog is covered and how correct reading will help the person interact with dogs better. Tips are included for basic training. Sidebars offer more detail or stories to add more information that the reader may more easily relate to. The book finishes with a tribute to the wolf.

"After reading this book, children will be eager to share their lives with The Best Dog Ever, mutt or purebred. Rutherford conversationally unfolds the dog's fascinating history and its unique place in out lives, skillfully guiding a young reader to becoming a responsible pet owner of a civilized, friendly, very companionable 'best friend forever.'" -- Polly Walters, grade school teacher

"If we expect the family dog to 'behave like a littler person in a fur coat,' we not only miss out on a great deal of fascinating doggy behavior, we also do the dog a great disservice. As Rutherford points out in entertaining prose aimed at the middle school student, our modern domestic dog is really a modified wolf and must be 'taught how to live with people.'" - Gary Raham, author of The Deep Time Diaries, The Restless Earth: Fossils, as well as articles in Hig