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Dogs for Dummies
Dogs For Dummies (9781119609070) was previously published as Dogs For Dummies (9780764552748). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.
These days, people's dogs have become bona fide members of the family. Moving from the kennel to the couch, they share our beds, family rooms, and holidays; and they are recipients of our kindest and utmost concern. A pet partnership is a lifetime commitment. Do it right, and your dog will become an important and valuable part of the family for many years. Do it wrong, and you've broken a sacred covenant between humankind and another living being.
Dogs For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is for you if you are looking to adopt a dog, trying to improve the relationship with the one you have, or attempting to come up with fun things to do with your canine companion. This book is also for people who want to
Choose the right veterinarian Explore the dog-breeding business Find breed-rescue groups Identify canine health problems Look for a purebred It's a "doggy-dog" world, and this easy-to-use guide will help you navigate it. Improve your chances at pet success by knowing how to raise and live with your dog properly. Discover which breed best suits your lifestyle, and if a puppy or adult dog is best for you. Dogs For Dummies, 2nd Edition, also covers the following topics and more:
Caring for an aging dog Choosing collars, harnesses, halters, and leashes Considering euthanasia Feeding Fido the right way House training puppies and adult dogs Keeping up appearances with good grooming Participating in canine competitions Preparing your dog for a disaster Traveling with your dog Award-winning author Gina Spadafori says the lack of accurate information -- not the lack of effort or concern -- is often the reason for doomed people-pet pairings. With her help, you can avoid the agony. Dogs For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is full of useful tips, how-to advice, illustrations, and photographs (both color and black-and-white). You deserve a healthy, happy, and well-mannered canine companion; and you'll be the owner every pet wants and deserves -- informed, responsible, and loving.
These days, people's dogs have become bona fide members of the family. Moving from the kennel to the couch, they share our beds, family rooms, and holidays; and they are recipients of our kindest and utmost concern. A pet partnership is a lifetime commitment. Do it right, and your dog will become an important and valuable part of the family for many years. Do it wrong, and you've broken a sacred covenant between humankind and another living being.
Dogs For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is for you if you are looking to adopt a dog, trying to improve the relationship with the one you have, or attempting to come up with fun things to do with your canine companion. This book is also for people who want to
Choose the right veterinarian Explore the dog-breeding business Find breed-rescue groups Identify canine health problems Look for a purebred It's a "doggy-dog" world, and this easy-to-use guide will help you navigate it. Improve your chances at pet success by knowing how to raise and live with your dog properly. Discover which breed best suits your lifestyle, and if a puppy or adult dog is best for you. Dogs For Dummies, 2nd Edition, also covers the following topics and more:
Caring for an aging dog Choosing collars, harnesses, halters, and leashes Considering euthanasia Feeding Fido the right way House training puppies and adult dogs Keeping up appearances with good grooming Participating in canine competitions Preparing your dog for a disaster Traveling with your dog Award-winning author Gina Spadafori says the lack of accurate information -- not the lack of effort or concern -- is often the reason for doomed people-pet pairings. With her help, you can avoid the agony. Dogs For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is full of useful tips, how-to advice, illustrations, and photographs (both color and black-and-white). You deserve a healthy, happy, and well-mannered canine companion; and you'll be the owner every pet wants and deserves -- informed, responsible, and loving.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
30 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Gina Spadafori
38 books1 followerGina Spadafori has been writing about animals for more than 30 years as a reporter, syndicated columnist and book author. More recently, she signed on to work as a veterinary medical writer for Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI).
She has written 16 books, many of which have been top-sellers, co-authored with “America’s Veterinarian” Dr. Marty Becker. Spadafori also wrote the first three books in the “For Dummies” pet-care line, including Dogs For Dummies. Dogs For Dummies was her first book, given the President’s Award for the best writing on dogs and the Maxwell Medallion for the best general reference work, both by the Dog Writers Association of America. The award-winning Cats For Dummies, co-authored with Dr. Paul Pion, was named one of the best moments for cats in the 20th Century by Cat Fancy magazine.
She has also edited books, managed teams of journalists and provided marketing expertise for both established companies and start-ups. She has been a frequent contributor to many top publications and media platforms, and her work is read by millions every week. Her books have been translated into many languages, including French, Serbian, Danish, Japanese, Spanish, Korean and Russian.
In 2007, she was one of a small group of journalists credited with breaking open the pet-food recall story, leading to her and her work being the focus of prominent features in USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.
In the fall of 2013, she began a new career writing for the veterinary community on behalf of Veterinary Pet Insurance. The work allows her to continue one of her favorite things: Attending veterinarian conferences and staying current on both best-practice and cutting-edge veterinary medicine.
She is also working on The McKenzie Project, a genetic project intended to reduce the incidence of soft-tissue sarcoma in flat-coated retrievers.
Convinced she was born to be a farmer, Gina recently purchased a house on a small acreage with agricultural zoning and a barn. There is room for fruit trees, gardens and all her animals — dogs, cats, horses, chickens, ducks and dairy goats. This property, which will be a work in progress for the rest of her life, is now Rancho Buena Fe´, a/k/a Good Faith Ranch.
She has written 16 books, many of which have been top-sellers, co-authored with “America’s Veterinarian” Dr. Marty Becker. Spadafori also wrote the first three books in the “For Dummies” pet-care line, including Dogs For Dummies. Dogs For Dummies was her first book, given the President’s Award for the best writing on dogs and the Maxwell Medallion for the best general reference work, both by the Dog Writers Association of America. The award-winning Cats For Dummies, co-authored with Dr. Paul Pion, was named one of the best moments for cats in the 20th Century by Cat Fancy magazine.
She has also edited books, managed teams of journalists and provided marketing expertise for both established companies and start-ups. She has been a frequent contributor to many top publications and media platforms, and her work is read by millions every week. Her books have been translated into many languages, including French, Serbian, Danish, Japanese, Spanish, Korean and Russian.
In 2007, she was one of a small group of journalists credited with breaking open the pet-food recall story, leading to her and her work being the focus of prominent features in USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.
In the fall of 2013, she began a new career writing for the veterinary community on behalf of Veterinary Pet Insurance. The work allows her to continue one of her favorite things: Attending veterinarian conferences and staying current on both best-practice and cutting-edge veterinary medicine.
She is also working on The McKenzie Project, a genetic project intended to reduce the incidence of soft-tissue sarcoma in flat-coated retrievers.
Convinced she was born to be a farmer, Gina recently purchased a house on a small acreage with agricultural zoning and a barn. There is room for fruit trees, gardens and all her animals — dogs, cats, horses, chickens, ducks and dairy goats. This property, which will be a work in progress for the rest of her life, is now Rancho Buena Fe´, a/k/a Good Faith Ranch.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 27, 2008
This was the best book I got when I adopted Maggie, my first dog ever, from the shelter 3 1/2 years ago. I really knew nothing about dog ownership and this book was full of good, straightforward advice. There are sections on training, behavior, care, and choosing the right dog for you. This book answered just about all of my questions during those first clueless weeks.
June 21, 2025
Детаљно са доста информација али сам очекивала више, ипак додатно ме је мотивисала и охрабрила да радим са својим псом. Осећа се њена љубав према псима.
March 3, 2009
Great book for anyone getting a dog. Tons of info, lots of very useful stuff.
March 15, 2014
I appreciate this one because it deals with some very realistic elements of life like working.
May 17, 2021
The first "for Dummies" that let me down.
For starters, the one topic I was interested in and the main reason why I picked this up, was not covered until no exaggeration chapter 22 out of 23 total. Then the answer provided was just so weak and unfulfilled, I should have just done a Google search.
Even ignoring and pushing that aside, my biggest issue is with how biased the author was about dog aggression. The author must have had a bad experience at some point in her life, because she just goes too way far with her fear of dogs in this aspect. My pitbull, supposedly a dangerous breed, is the sweetest and most gentle best friend you could imagine to my 2 year and 6 month olds. Such a good dog.
The author makes wild statements like:
"Never play tug of war with your dog. One minute everything is all good, the next the dog could bite and attack out of no where!"
Are you kidding me. I play tug of war with a rope all the time with my dog and she loves it.
This is just one example of many. She even talks about giving dogs chew bones lead towards aggressive behavior.... what??? She even says that dog aggression is a disease and if the dog shows it... you need to euthanize your dog. If you don't, it's going to be your fault when the dog brutally harms a small child. She goes way to far with this and too often in the book. To give her praise, she does openly admit this expressed fault and even apologizes for it. But still, I just think it really is a bit much.
Other extremes include, "if you give your dog table scraps... you are killing your dog" and also "dogs can't control how much they eat, it's your fault."
First off... come on... a little piece of meat here or there, absolutely nothing wrong with that. Second, my dog does not over eat what so ever. I have a bowl that fills itself after she eats with a drop/gravity based system that stores food in a wide plastic cylinder. She eats when she is hungry and is fit and athletic and doesn't just eat to obesity or death. I understand some dogs do not have this control, but mine does so I recommend not casting blanket statements that over generalize.
Another subject that is seriously f'd up... is de-barking? I find this absolutely terrible. Cutting a dogs vocal cords so they can't bark is pretty cruel to me. We already rip out their reproductive organs... I guess we can justify that with over population,, lack of control, heat cycles, etc.... but de-barking.... this is just again too much.
Lastly, too much of this book is geared towards buying a dog for the first time. Around 40%. It seems like that is the target audience. But, her strong opinions unfortunately I think if people eat this stuff up with be steered into a direction I don't agree with or believe in.
If you've ever owned a dog in your life, I do not recommend this book. Also her opinions really push me away from giving this book a rec as well.
I hate to say it but I really have nothing positive to say about this book. I was trying to come up with reason to give it at least +1 star for a 2/5, but i couldn't.
Worst in class "For Dummies" title holder right here.
I am writing this review from my phone, so please disregard/understand any possible errors or auto-corrects.
For starters, the one topic I was interested in and the main reason why I picked this up, was not covered until no exaggeration chapter 22 out of 23 total. Then the answer provided was just so weak and unfulfilled, I should have just done a Google search.
Even ignoring and pushing that aside, my biggest issue is with how biased the author was about dog aggression. The author must have had a bad experience at some point in her life, because she just goes too way far with her fear of dogs in this aspect. My pitbull, supposedly a dangerous breed, is the sweetest and most gentle best friend you could imagine to my 2 year and 6 month olds. Such a good dog.
The author makes wild statements like:
"Never play tug of war with your dog. One minute everything is all good, the next the dog could bite and attack out of no where!"
Are you kidding me. I play tug of war with a rope all the time with my dog and she loves it.
This is just one example of many. She even talks about giving dogs chew bones lead towards aggressive behavior.... what??? She even says that dog aggression is a disease and if the dog shows it... you need to euthanize your dog. If you don't, it's going to be your fault when the dog brutally harms a small child. She goes way to far with this and too often in the book. To give her praise, she does openly admit this expressed fault and even apologizes for it. But still, I just think it really is a bit much.
Other extremes include, "if you give your dog table scraps... you are killing your dog" and also "dogs can't control how much they eat, it's your fault."
First off... come on... a little piece of meat here or there, absolutely nothing wrong with that. Second, my dog does not over eat what so ever. I have a bowl that fills itself after she eats with a drop/gravity based system that stores food in a wide plastic cylinder. She eats when she is hungry and is fit and athletic and doesn't just eat to obesity or death. I understand some dogs do not have this control, but mine does so I recommend not casting blanket statements that over generalize.
Another subject that is seriously f'd up... is de-barking? I find this absolutely terrible. Cutting a dogs vocal cords so they can't bark is pretty cruel to me. We already rip out their reproductive organs... I guess we can justify that with over population,, lack of control, heat cycles, etc.... but de-barking.... this is just again too much.
Lastly, too much of this book is geared towards buying a dog for the first time. Around 40%. It seems like that is the target audience. But, her strong opinions unfortunately I think if people eat this stuff up with be steered into a direction I don't agree with or believe in.
If you've ever owned a dog in your life, I do not recommend this book. Also her opinions really push me away from giving this book a rec as well.
I hate to say it but I really have nothing positive to say about this book. I was trying to come up with reason to give it at least +1 star for a 2/5, but i couldn't.
Worst in class "For Dummies" title holder right here.
I am writing this review from my phone, so please disregard/understand any possible errors or auto-corrects.
February 11, 2023
The herding breeds are among the most intelligent and biddable of all dogs, developed to work in partnership with a human handler as the sporting breeds were... This job is not for wimps and, indeed, the herding instinct is a toned-down version of techniques used by wolves working a herd of prey.
What's arguably the dog world's whiz kid, the super-athlete and best sheep dog ever made, the Border Collie
Your dog should be brushed before bathing because mats and tangles, once wet, can never be removed- you need to cut them out.
Apple slices are a great canine breath-freshener.
What's arguably the dog world's whiz kid, the super-athlete and best sheep dog ever made, the Border Collie
Your dog should be brushed before bathing because mats and tangles, once wet, can never be removed- you need to cut them out.
Apple slices are a great canine breath-freshener.
July 22, 2024
Didn't finish. Only read up to the second chapter or so. Calling dogs psycho already installs a wrong idea in peoples heads and just furthers the untrue stereotype of "vicious or aggressive" dogs. At least it's explained that it's mostly the owners fault, if a dog does bite. But in my opinion the way it was said wasn't really serious enough, like choosing the dog breed... It's not a Willy nilly decision getting a dog or any pet for that matter, I know she does say that it comes with many responsibilities but still. And frankly, many people just shouldn't have dogs or any pets for that matter!
January 26, 2025
Lots of useful and interesting information, easy to follow (audio book version). Can skip to the bits you need to know rather than read (or listen) to all of it just to get the info you need. If you have dogs, or want dogs, well worth reading (listening to). Very American based so made some bits harder to follow as some of the issues we don't tend to have as often in the UK! That's the only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5. Also, parts of it seem quite out of date.
September 30, 2019
I think this is probably a really good resource for anyone thinking about getting a dog - some good information, and a lot I hadn't thought about. I appreciated the humor, too - made some of the material less dry.
January 6, 2024
Sooo outdated that it was actually funny.
May 10, 2024
Some of the editing of this book is wrong "check chapter 22" chapter 22 does not exsist.
March 9, 2015
Since we're thinking about getting a dog sometime soon, I picked up this book from the library, hoping to learn the basics about having a dog. I wasn't disappointed.
Dogs for Dummies offers a solid overview of everything you need to know before getting a dog. The tone is warm, yet funny and the author's love for dogs shines through on every page.
The advice is practical and complete, with everything from how to choose the right breed, to the necessary equipment and how to train a puppy. I also loved that the author wasn't afraid to take a stand against (amongst others) puppy mills, people who don't think before getting a dog, etc.
Her advice on training was especially helpful, for instance that you deserve the dog you get and that you shouldn't allow a puppy to do what you don;t want a grown dog to do. It was all very helpful to us as complete newbies. The book helped us decide on a breed and how to approach this new adventure. I totally recommend this book to anyone who's thinking about getting a dog or who just got one and feels he's in over his head.
Dogs for Dummies offers a solid overview of everything you need to know before getting a dog. The tone is warm, yet funny and the author's love for dogs shines through on every page.
The advice is practical and complete, with everything from how to choose the right breed, to the necessary equipment and how to train a puppy. I also loved that the author wasn't afraid to take a stand against (amongst others) puppy mills, people who don't think before getting a dog, etc.
Her advice on training was especially helpful, for instance that you deserve the dog you get and that you shouldn't allow a puppy to do what you don;t want a grown dog to do. It was all very helpful to us as complete newbies. The book helped us decide on a breed and how to approach this new adventure. I totally recommend this book to anyone who's thinking about getting a dog or who just got one and feels he's in over his head.
December 28, 2010
I am not an expert dog trainer after having read this book, but at least I now have some idea of how to effectively integrate our new dogs into our family's life. There is a great deal of fascinating and practical information in this one. Most of the ideas in the book seem to work well (but I am still having problems with the dogs jumping on us and visitors). My only real frustration with the book was that it assumed indoor dogs. Ours are definitely not indoor dogs.
This is a good book for someone that has no real idea how to interact well with their new dogs.
This is a good book for someone that has no real idea how to interact well with their new dogs.
January 31, 2015
Written with no small amount of charm and humour, followed by a vast number of information and thorough descriptions, Dogs for Dummies really is a must for all dog lovers. I almost feel like a vet after reading this and opening my brain for all those endless pieces of information. Of course, I`m a far cry from a vet, but after reading this book, I feel like I`ve got everything I need to be a good dog owner. Had I not read it, I would have surely distroyed my dog who would have become extremely spoiled and undisciplined.
November 2, 2007
Decent for basic commands, etc. but a bit too militant for my taste. The author spent so much time concentrating on keeping her dogs in line that she never seemed to just take time to enjoy their company. It's all the discipline without talking about the loving bond that exists between dog and owner. Disappointing.
February 28, 2013
Dogs for Dummies is a book intended to show us how to train our dogs at home. It is very helpful and has a lot of tips to use with our little fidos. I will apply the tricks with my dog when I have one; and I am sure they are going to work just fine.
April 21, 2008
Soup to nuts on dog ownership, from choosing a breed to living happily ever after.
Read
August 5, 2008With (above)
November 2, 2008
Lots of good, basic information.
Currently reading
March 30, 2009Full of practical advice and tips.
May 18, 2009
Like all the "dummies" books, this book is filled with useful information.
June 23, 2010
Pretty good refresher - it's set up for easy reference.
August 2, 2010
good overall referenc about dogs and what to consider before adopting.
April 11, 2011
This book is really goo at expaining everything you need to know about dogs.
July 5, 2012
We picked this book up when we adopted our first dog, Guinness, back in 1999. It was an excellent resource for us since we (meaning me) knew very little about dogs. We still refer to it today.
August 15, 2012
Oh boy, did I need this book!
February 12, 2014
Veliko informacij, precej jih je uporabnih, kar nekaj tudi zastarelih; podane so pa na dokaj konfuzen način.
August 11, 2008
It was good
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews