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

Be the first to write a review

Overview

Do You Know a Dog

Who Could Use Some Petiquette?

Does your dog:

Jump on your guests?

Bark incessantly?

Beg for food?

Get aggressive with other dogs?

Then relax! In all the years she's helped owners better relate to their dogs, animal ...

See more details below
Paperback
$14.95
BN.com price
Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (28) from $1.99   
  • New (11) from $1.99   
  • Used (17) from $1.99   
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

Do You Know a Dog

Who Could Use Some Petiquette?

Does your dog:

Jump on your guests?

Bark incessantly?

Beg for food?

Get aggressive with other dogs?

Then relax! In all the years she's helped owners better relate to their dogs, animal behavior consultant Darlene Arden knows there's no dog (or human) who can't be helped in the behavior department—and she's there to provide the 411 for all kinds of doggie dilemmas in this must-have primer on the essentials of pet etiquette.

Filled with the most often asked questions, plus humorous tales of dogs and owners gone bad—and over the top—this complete guide to canine comportment will teach you how to solve any problem, from the embarrassing to the downright unacceptable, including when your dog . . .

  • humps your guests
  • gives you "love bites"
  • ignores you
  • has a gas problem
  • pees everywhere except outside
  • eats strange things
  • uses your furniture as a chew toy
  • acts like the Òsex police"
  • is afraid of thunder
  • and more!

With this ultimate how-to-handle-it book, you and your canine friend will be the envy of the dog park (or at least you will not be asked to leave).

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher
[Darlene] Arden (The Angell Memorial Animal Hospital Book of Wellness and Preventive Care for Dogs), a certified animal behavior consultant, has written a good-humored training guide for pet owners with canines whose behavior is less than amusing. She begins by describing the clicker training method of positive reinforcement, applying these methods to the top ten annoying behaviors —inappropriate urination, humping, excessive barking, aggression, possessiveness, crotch sniffing, begging food, separation anxiety, phobias, and obstructing human relationships —as well as coprophagia and destructive chewing. Even the most inexperienced dog owner will find her advice easy to follow. Humorous anecdotes illustrating the undesirable behavior enhance the text. While there are many helpful guides available addressing the same behavioral issues and using the same training methods, including Tamar Geller's The Loved Dog, Arden's book is easy to read, entertaining, and affordable. An excellent purchase for all public libraries. Recommended.

— Library Journal

Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780757305443
  • Publisher: Health Communications, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 6/1/2007
  • Pages: 224
  • Product dimensions: 5.16 (w) x 7.08 (h) x 0.54 (d)

Meet the Author

Darlene Arden is a certified animal behavior consultant, writer, lecturer, and author of The Irrepressible Toy Dog and The Angell Memorial Animal Hospital Book of Wellness and Preventive Care for Dogs.

Read More Show Less

Read an Excerpt

Excerpt from Rover, Get Off Her Leg

What to Do When Socializing You Dog:

Your dog should meet people of every possible description, size, shape, and color—people wearing hats, people with eyeglasses, people with beards, and whatever else you can think of to be sure he's socialized to everyone and everything. Take him to a strip mall to walk him, and be sure to supervise his encounters with people so the experiences are always good. Riding in the car will be fun if he knows that he has happy experiences when he goes for rides. Let him walk with you in the city to see and hear buses, airplanes, and trains, as well as in the quieter countryside. He should be accustomed to all sorts of sights and sounds. There's nothing better than a well-socialized dog, a companion you don't have to leave at home or lock in another room when company arrives.

Don't leave your dog at home all the time, only taking him to the veterinarian or the groomer. How can you expect him to enjoy a ride in the car if the only times he's in one is to go somewhere to be prodded, poked, bathed, combed, brushed, and so on? Sure, you can tell him he's going with you on vacation and talk about the beach or the lake until you're blue in the face. But if he hasn't experienced it, he won't understand that good things happen to good dogs when they go in the car. Also, don't yell at him because he won't get in the car. And don't coddle him and call him your 'widdle baby cakes,' or he's going to think everything is a monster fromwhich only you can protect him.

Don't flood your puppy or adopted dog with too many experiences at once. Go slowly. You have a lifetime together, and you don't want to frighten him. He's learning, whether he's a new pup coming into your home, an older rescue dog, or a dog you've raised all or most of his life. The process will still be the same. The main difference is that the rescue dog will probably come with baggage, and I don't mean a suitcase full of toys. I mean problems, especially if he has been abused. This makes it even more important for you to be patient, consistent, and loving.

Socialization is very important, but don't do it all at once! Flooding any dog—but especially a rescue dog—with too many new experiences at once will only confuse and frighten him, and that's exactly what you don't want to do. Adopting an older dog or taking in a rescue is giving that dog a new lease on life, and these dogs seem so much more grateful to have a loving home.

No matter how old your dog is or when you got him, he may have behavior problems. The point of this book is to help you avoid them or resolve those already in place. With your older or adopted dog, go back to what you would have done if he were a puppy and start there. For example, things like housetraining take less time with an older dog since he has adult kidneys and can 'hold it' longer than a puppy. You can do a wonderful job of socializing an older dog if you remember, just as with the new pup, not to flood him with too many experiences at once. He, too, is just learning about life in your household.

The Dos and Don'ts of Doggie Playdates

To get your dog used to being around other dogs, you can take him to a dog park or arrange a play date with another dog of the same size and age, one that you know is friendly. Let dogs meet each other on canine terms: allow them to sniff each other and to play together. Because you don't want them fighting over toys or bones, you're really better off without such items. However, if you do bring a toy, bring one for each dog. Do not, however, bring a toy to a dog park because a toy can set off a resource guarding fight. Only bring a toy to privately arranged play dates with a friend, and be sure everyone is supervising very carefully.

Although most dogs love to run and tussle together, make sure rough-and-tumble play is confined to dogs of the same size. Even though they may be the same age, a smaller canine can be injured, even accidentally, by a larger one. Supervise the play, and be sure that one dog isn't bullying the other. You may hear lots of growls that sound vicious. Most people mistake these play sounds for genuine problems. They're not. The dogs are play-fighting. Watch their body language carefully to see that your dog is relaxed. If you want to know if your dog is stressed, look for such body language as lip licking, head turning, yawning when he's not tired, or licking his feet incessantly. If your dog runs away from a group of dogs, he's telling you that he's stressed and needs to relax. Keep him away from the other dogs and help him relax by first relaxing yourself.

Remember that your dog is reading your body language every minute. While you're trying to relax, suck on a mint because that will mask any signs of your stressed body chemistry. The dog's nose knows! Watch to see any danger signs that the play is becoming more aggressive. If one dog is aggressive or a bully, try to distract them from each other before you find yourself in the dangerous position of trying to break up a dog fight. It's always best to scope out a dog park in advance without your dog. Watch to see who is there and how well they supervise their dogs. Go at different times and different days to see who shows up when and which group will best suit you and your dog.

—-

©2007. Darlene Arden. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Rover, Get off Her Leg! No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street , Deerfield Beach , FL 33442.

Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 9, 2008

    Funny, witty and accurate!

    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!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 29, 2007

    A reviewer

    Darlene Arden has published many books on dogs, but this is the most humorous. The part of her book that sets it apart from many others is the many examples used to illustrate the problems she is talking about. It's sort of a book with something for everyone. I liked the plain talk and realistic approach to the most common problems we dog owners face. The book is easy to read but rich in material for learning. I would have to recommend this for everyone interested in their dog's behavior.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 11, 2007

    This book should be on every dog owner's wishlist!

    Dogs, like children, each have their own personalities. Consequently, much to their owner's chagrin, they can 'act up' unexpectedly and usually when they have an 'audience'. Fortunately, I happen to have an unusually well behaved dog, I can't always say the same for my children! The title of this book caught my eye, however, and I wasn't disappointed. It is extremely well written, funny and at the same time, offers expert advice. (I'm thinking of trying some on my kids!)I now also have a new appreciation for my Kaos. She comes off as the canine Emily Post in comparison to the dogs in this book! Thank you Ms. Arden!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)