Dog Tales: How to Solve the Most Troublesome Behavior Problems of Man's Best Friend

This is an excellent book full of information any dog owner can use and succeed with. The author is up front with the fact that changing a dogs behavior (or the owners behavior if the case may be) is going to take time, effort and repetition. Television has lead many to believe behaviorial issues can be handle in 30 minutes. Clearly not always the case. Mr. McSoley offers us practical everyday solutions to situations not uncommon to many of us. If you are not enjoying your dogs company and manners 100% of the time, this is a must read!

I picked this book up at a garage sale a couple weeks ago because I'm always interested in books on this topic, having 3 dogs at home. It really is a great problem-solving book, and is easy to read and understand. I like the fact that McSoley gives you more than one way to deal with most of the behavior problems described in the book, too. Another book I recommend is The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell. It's not a how-to book, but it gives some great insights into dog vs. human behavior and how to communicate effectively with your dog.

This book was recommended to me by a vet 10 years ago. I had a very out of control dog, and we were her third owners. I got this book out of the library and read it from cover to cover. We began training the dog with the tips that Ray used in the book. To this day, even though she is going deaf, our dog comes when we blow a whistle three times. We even had Ray come to our house and give us tips to help her. Ray really saved our dog. I could not have kept her if he didn't help us train her. She is now a very well behaved, sweet dog. I highly recommend this book to anyone getting a dog. I even bought a used copy and have loaned it to lots of friends who got puppies. I look forward to his next book, A Ray of Hope - Helping Dogs with People Problems.

I found Ray's antedotal appraoch to behavioral problems very refreshing. By showing exactly what the owners were doing wrong, I was able to see if my problems were similiar enough to warrent the same correction. Ray really respects the fact that not all dogs are the same and as a result, he presents several remedies for the reader to try. In general, Ray showed me that we are always teaching our dogs, whether we want to or not. As a result, I am much more aware of timing, proper corrections and how I interact with my puppy. A must read for all of us lucky enough to have a dog in our lives.