Why settle for anything less than a best friend? Every dog wants to perform -- and deservedly gain your love and affection. With Warren Eckstein's expert guidance, you can forget about frustration and disobedience, and enjoy years with a loyal, alert, and very happy dog! Here are wonderful insights, witty observations, and step-by-step advice for: * Communicating with your dog * Hassle-free housebreaking *The training ABCs -- from sitting to heeling and beyond * Diet, grooming, exercise and dentistry tips * Coping with canine old age * And much, much more! "Too bad Warren isn't a marriage counselor! If only he could do for husbands what he does for dogs!" Kathie Lee Gifford The Ecksteins take the newer, refreshing approach that the dog is a family member and should be treated with love and respect. The owner's responsibility is to learn to understand his or her pet and communicate well with it. To accomplish this, the authors provide sound information on understanding a dog's body language and emotions and goes on to state that behavior problems result from boredom (on the dog's part). At least half of this book discusses techniques for training the "basic five" commands: heel, sit, come, down, and stay. The authors emphasize the importance of praise and consistency. However, their corrective jerk on the leash is falling in disfavor as more progressive trainers look to motivational techniques to train dogs. Also, the use of the "shake can" to startle the dog is strikingly inconsistent with the philosophy in the first part of the book. The names used throughout for the imaginary dogs-Fido, Fluffy, and Clydie Poops-are somewhat irritating. Despite its minor flaws, this book is recommended for libraries needing an inexpensive source of good information on raising dogs. (Illustrations and index not seen.)-Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., Wis. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. Why settle for anything less than a best friend? Every dog wants to perform -- and deservedly gain your love and affection. With Warren Eckstein's expert guidance, you can forget about frustration and disobedience, and enjoy years with a loyal, alert, and very happy dog! Here are wonderful insights, witty observations, and step-by-step advice for: * Communicating with your dog * Hassle-free housebreaking *The training ABCs -- from sitting to heeling and beyond * Diet, grooming, exercise and dentistry tips * Coping with canine old age * And much, much more! "Too bad Warren isn't a marriage counselor! If only he could do for husbands what he does for dogs!" Kathie Lee Gifford Why settle for anything less than a best friend? Every dog wants to perform -- and deservedly gain your love and affection. With Warren Eckstein's expert guidance, you can forget about frustration and disobedience, and enjoy years with a loyal, alert, and very happy dog! Here are wonderful insights, witty observations, and step-by-step advice for: * Communicating with your dog * Hassle-free housebreaking *The training ABCs -- from sitting to heeling and beyond * Diet, grooming, exercise and dentistry tips * Coping with canine old age * And much, much more! "Too bad Warren isn't a marriage counselor! If only he could do for husbands what he does for dogs!" Kathie Lee Gifford Warren Eckstein  is a noted pet psychologist and has worked with the animals of such celebrities as David Letterman, Cheryl Tiegs, and Lily Tomlin. He has his own nationally syndicated radio show telling owners how to best treat their pets. Warren and his co-author and wife, Andrea Eckstein, live on Long Island, New York, with their dogs, cats, pigs, and birds. Andrea Eckstein  co-wrote How to Get Your Dog to Do What You Want with her husband, noted pet psychologist Warren Eckstein. INTRODUCTION   Decades ago, owning a dog usually meant that Fido lived in a doghouse out on the family’s property. Fido was rarely permitted in the house; instead, the backyard and the front porch were his domain. Of course, he was a loyal companion to his owners and a friendly playmate to his owners’ children. More often than not, the family dog was named King, Princess, Duke, Dutchess, Fido, or Rover.   Today, it is not uncommon for the family dog to be named Sam, Sarah, Chester, Tiffany, Bob, or Suzy. This humanization of the family dog’s name reflects a major change in the way people view their canine companions. No longer merely animals, our pets are now beloved members of the family. In fact, today, more likely than not, these four-footed family members live inside the home and, in many cases, even sleep in the family bed!   Because we have taken animals—specifically, dogs—into our human environment, we can no longer treat them as animals and expect them to respond like humans. Instead, we must learn to integrate them into our lives and help them become a part of our human life-style. With a little understanding and patience, we can live happily with our dogs and they can live happily w