The German Shepherd Handbook

You may or may not know that this book is one of many in a slew of books published by Barrons called "The Breednamehere Handbook". Well, I own or have owned over half of them and I find this one by far more useful if you want more than what most books in breed book series give you: a dash of breed-specific information you can find anywhere and the rest just generalized dog care information with or without some breed specific advice thrown in the mix and thats it. This one is not just a repetitive review of the general dog care information you can find in thousands and thousands of books. So it would be of use to you if you already have such a book. The book starts going through easy to find German Shepherd Dog history and then basic dog care with your average dash of breed-specific care nuances thrown in here and there (though it is more thorough than most) but in about the middle that changes and it finishes off with chapters you would probably find quite cool if you are somebody that wants to get active with your dog. It thoroughly discusses a very dog-friendly, non abusive yet authorative training method you might want to consider, and gives you all kinds of tips for training your dog and being successful in obedience, schutzhund, and/or tracking. It certainally doesn't replace books that specialize in these subjects but my oh my it is unique and extremely helpful advice that you would be wise to add to your knowledge pool. Its advice accumulated over decades by somebody who has been successful in all the aforementioned venues and had to go through a lot of trial and error to work through the challenging problems she met along the way that threatned her desire to excell. If what I just told you interests you, but you're still not sure if you want to get this book, see if you meet all of this criteria: -You're open minded and not afraid to listen to a point of view that may be different from yours. -Own a medium sized or larger dog. -Are interested in the sports of obedience, schutzhund, and/or tracking. -Love reading about dogs and want something unique and interesting rather than the same oh same oh. -Not going to use this book as your sole training reference but rather include it in a library of good books.

I have met the author of this book. She is training my dog. The reason this book is inconsistent with other methods of training is that the author developed her own methods because she wasn't satisfied with other methods. I've also met one of her German Shepherds. He is so well trained he listens better than most humans. This is a good resource for someone who wants a fresh approach to training that still works.