Rover, Get Off Her Leg!: Pet Etiquette for the Dog Who Pees on Your Rug, Steals the Pot Roast and Poops in Improper Places

With an engaging writing style, hysterical anecdotes and illustrations, Darlene Arden educates owners on solutions for dog behavior problems. From basic training to serious behavior challenges, this comprehensive book presents complex information in an easily understood way. The book's layout also greatly facilitates use as a reference. As a professional trainer and behavior consultant, I'm always looking for ways to make training fun for my clients. While there are many dog training books on the market, it is a true rarity to find one that is entertaining as well as informative. What a great resource this will be for my clients!

Darlene Arden, who usually specializes in giving advice about small dogs, has described some general problems for the average dog owner whose dog hasn't tried to kill the mail carrier, but sometimes may be not so well behaved. She does this with wit and a deep empathy for our quadrupedal friends and their sometimes frazzled owners. This is a small, inexpensive book that should be on dog owners' shelves.

Dog ownership is a wonderful, rewarding experience. Well, it can be. For many unfortunate people, it turns into a nightmare because the dog has adopted bad, sometimes very embarrassing, or even dangerous behaviors. This book is here to help change the negatives in the dog-person relationship into positives. Darlene Arden, who is a certified animal behavior consultant, addresses every bad-canine behavior issue you can think of, and shows you sound, practical ways to turn things around. Furthermore, she does this in a lighthearted, upbeat way that nevertheless gets the advice across. She tackles everything from the more innocuous issues, e.g. housetraining, to those with potentially dire consequences, such as aggression. She also addresses social behaviors that are deeply mortifying to owners, including those related to sex. The first illustration in the book shows a man calling his dog, while the dog runs off with his paws over his ears singing "La La La La" ("I can't HEAR you!") As Darlene points out, it doesn't have to be that way; it can change, and it can change without requiring that the owner turn into an ogre. On the contrary, as the author points out, screaming and physical punishment do not work and can make situations worse. At the end of the book, the author provides a list of references: books, DVDs, videos and websites for readers who want to know more. The book is small in size, so it's easily portable. The sections are constructed so that you can easily focus in on your particular problems -- but really, you'll want to read the whole thing. There are real-life stories that are very entertaining and often very funny. Even if your dog is a perfect citizen, you'll like this book. In fact, you'll enjoy it even if you are not a dog owner. I liked it so much I bought extra copies and gave them as gifts: pointing out to the recipients, of course, that none of this was meant to imply that I was thinking of THEIR dogs. Diane M. Smith, Certified Veterinary Technician

I have to say first of all what a Great Cover on the book. It seems to attract MANY who DO have these REAL problems. I brought my book with me while waiting for my dental appointment and before I knew I had to search for it as it was being passed around the entire office. We ALL agreed it is wonderful to see a book written about REAL people and REAL dogs and the sometimes embarassing things they can and WILL Do now and then. It is an easy read ..... in other words understandable for any one and helps you KNOW your not the ONLY human having these moments with those what/ why moments with thier canines. NORMAL doggie behavior explained in a genuine sometimes making you laugh out loud ways. Thanks, Darlene for the fabulous way you did this for those of us shaking our heads wondering just WHAT are YOU thinking with our sometimes bratty fur-kids. Claire Clayton

Although Darlene Arden specializes in issues in dogs under 20 pounds, her new book offers behavioral advice applicable to any dog from a 4-lb. Yorkie to a 225-lb. English Mastiff and all breeds, purebred and mixed, in between. Interspersed with humorous anecdotes that illustrate a variety of frustrating behavioral problems, she offers sound advice and training solutions to many annoying (and worse than annoying) behaviors such as aggression, biting, humping, socialization issues, barking, stealing food and house training among others. With emphasis on operant conditioning, this book presents valuable information to all dog lovers/owners from the novice dog owner to those with many years of training experience.