ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multi-Dog Household

by Amy Shojai

STOP THE GROWLS! People love dogs--and often "double their pleasure" by sharing their hearts (and pillows) with more than one. But dog behavior puzzles the most savvy pet owners especially when you add more pets to the furry equation. And behavior problems are the #1 reason pets lose their homes. This book helps any dog lover (whether you share your home with one or a dozen canines). It Demystifies common behaviors and dog disputes, explains aggression (it's NORMAL!), solves pet potty challenges and dinnertime woes, and redirects normal (but aggravating) dog-to-dog behaviors. Learn about: How Dogs Communicate Understanding Canine Society How Dogs Learn & Ideal Training Tips Choosing ComPETable Pet Friends Step-by-Step Dog-to-Dog (and Kid/Baby/Stranger) Introductions Stopping Problem Barking, Biting, Chewing, Digging, Jumping & more! Amy Shojai, CABC, is a certified animal behavior consultant, and author of more than 30 award-winning pet care books. Visit www.SHOJAI.com.

Genres: Dogs, Nonfiction

162 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2010

About the author

Amy Shojai has been reinventing herself for years. She writes THRILLERS WITH BITE! in her debut thriller LOST AND FOUND that features a service dog, hero cat, an animal behaviorist named September Day, and assorted mayhem. The sequel HIDE AND SEEK continues the story with terror from the past revisiting the heroine. The next book in the series, SHOW AND TELL brings the story full circle. The 4th title FIGHT OR FLIGHT introduces some new characters and challenges. And book #5 HIT AND RUN answers many questions about September's past.

Amy's a certified animal behavior consultant, and the award-winning author of 35+ best-selling pet books that cover furry babies to old-fogies, first aid to natural healing, and behavior/training to Chicken Soup-icity. She created the puppies.about.com site and was the cat behavior expert at cats.About.com. Amy has been featured as an expert in hundreds of print venues including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reader's Digest, and Family Circle, as well as national radio and television networks such as CNN, Animal Planet's DOGS 101 and CATS 101. She brings her unique pet-centric viewpoint to her Bling, Bitches & Blood Blog, public appearances.

Reviews

[DOLLY · Rating 4 out of 5]

ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multi-Dog Household has great action, fabulous issues and characters.

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is a book that focuses on behavioral problems that arise out of having more than one dog, it can still be useful to someone with only one dog. The author digs into the mentality of a dog and provides easy to understand facts, statistics, and general information to help you better understand and communicate with your dog. I came away with a much better understanding of why my dogs behave as they do and more importantly, why some of the things I was doing to try to stop some of those behaviors wasn't working. She also provided guidance in how to have your dog WANT to respond in the appropriate manner to your commands, rather than just blindly obeying. I loved the examples of "training" where the dogs follow your command because they think it is a game or competition and they want to be the winner. How fun and very, very helpful!

When you start listening to this book via audiobook you may think that there is no way you will get through it because of the poor quality of the recording and the almost robotic sound of the narrator's voice. KEEP GOING. You also might feel like you are being bombarded with too much information too quickly in the first chapter. KEEP GOING. The information contained in this book is good and useful and the pace at which the information is provided slows down to a respectable level in the chapters that follow. If you listen to a sample of the audiobook and decide that you don't think you will get used to the narration, or if you would like to jump to only the topics that pertain to your issues, then you should buy the physical book or ebook.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about how their dog thinks and wants to know the why's behind a dog's behavior; even if you don't have a multi-dog household.

** I was provided an audiobook copy of this for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review **

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received the audiobook version of this book in exchange for an honest review. The information in this book was relevant, detailed, and easily applicable to life with multiple dogs- even if you only have one dog, it has information you can apply to having your dog get along with others during visits or playdates. I love listening to audiobooks narrated by their authors, and this book was no exception. My only regret was listening to it during my spare time in the car- I often wished I had a pen and paper to write down "pearls" of wisdom that I could refer back to in times of need! Chock full of great tips and tricks, Amy Shojai's book is a wonderful reference that I will refer back to for years to come.

[Dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have more than one dog or are thinking about getting an additional dog for your household -- read this book! Wit, humor, facts and info! One of the best dog training/information books I have read.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am currently "reading" the audiobook version of this book, read by the author. It is full of very useful information from my perspective; however, the quality of the audio is extremely poor and it sounds as if the author was recorded from an AM radio. It is extremely tinny in quality.

[Patricia Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a MUST for all dog owners. Intelligent, well-written information that always has the dog's best interests at heart. Happy dog, happy owner.