Making Dogs Happy

Worth the purchase for the beautiful photography alone!

McGreevy and Starling created a wonderful resource for dog owners. The text is fairly simple in that the authors really show how simple and easy being a dog owner is, if you understand what your dog wants.

A reasoned, approachable guide to dog behavior and training. The authors clearly have a lot of experience with canines of all shapes, sizes, and foibles. And if you don't smile at the photos of happy, goofy dogs throughout this book, you are probably dead inside.

This is a beautiful book filled with science-focused information. The main goal is to explore how owners can make their dogs happy. We learn about why dogs do certain behaviours and how humans can react.

I appreciate that the book begins by introducing us to the scientists who contributed to the book and the dogs they observed. It builds credibility, and also...the dogs were cute and who doesn't want to see cute dogs? Actually "credibility and also...the dogs were cute" is a pretty good summary of this entire book.

Another thing I appreciate is that even though this book is packed with scientific words like "vomeronasal," "antecedents," and "anal sac," the writers completely understand what it's like to be a dog owner. I like that they don't water the science parts down, and that they still include funny and relatable anecdotes.

Some things that I learned from this book: Why do dogs roll around in disgusting smells? Do dogs taste? How and when should I reinforce good behaviour?

Almost half of its 289 pages are full photographs featuring beautiful happy dogs. I highly recommend this book for any dog owner who wants to understand their furry pal a little better.

Making Dogs Happy by Paul McGreevy and Melissa Starling is a must read book if you want to have a better understanding of your relationship with your dog. Based on scientific facts that are made easy to understand by the writing style, you can learn things about the human and dog relationship. They talk about the dog-dog ethogram which are the natural behaviors that dogs understand when they are born. As humans, we introduce our dogs to a lot of behaviors that they have no frame of reference to understand; grooming, nail-clipping, going to the vet, and walking on a leash. When your dog is resistant to these type of interactions we often jump to the conclusion that they are being stubborn, or scared. When in actually, it is a foreign concept to them and they are going to need time to figure out what we are asking of them, and how they are going to react to that request.In contrast,

I was so intrigued by a section that explains that dogs have to do a lot of work in the relationship to understand all of our body language, not to mention our voices. They explain that dogs can communicate volumes with each other just by a look into another dogs eyes. When I was reading this book, my dog came up to me and stood next to me staring into my eyes. She often does this, and I tell her time and time again, that she needs to let me know what she wants. I start listing, food? water? go outside? and see the cat? and eventually she will make a move on the one that seems to be what she wants. After reading this book I feel like I should be honored that she thinks I can read her mind like I am a dog just like she is. Sadly, I haven't made it to that level yet. With this book I am making progress though!

The book is filled with beautiful photography with a variety of dogs that just want to make you smile. If you have ever wanted to learn more about how to improve your relationship with your dog, Making Dogs Happy will be a guide that will help you. I continue to pick this book up and read a section to further understand, and I know I will be using this as a reference for a long time to come.

This books is for any dog parent either new or seasoned. The photos are worth looking at alone. The best dog information books out.