Worth the Read?
By Melissa Warner
http://melissawarner103084.blogspot.com/2008/08/worth-read.html
Publication: FrontPageMilwaukee.com
Issue Date: October 1, 2007
Hip Ideas for Hyper Dogs
Living with a hyper dog is quite the experience. At times it is so stressful you wonder why you are bothering. Sometimes it even feels like training is pointless because you are getting no where. I know from personal experience, Kirby, who is part Coonhound and part Beagle, joined our family just over a year ago.
Kirby is quite the handful. I cannot tell you how many pairs of socks, shirts, newspapers and books Kirby has chewed up in the last year. He constantly wants to play and sleeps no more than three hours at a time. After cleaning up all the toys he has destroyed and all the paper he ripped up at the end of the day, angry thoughts cross my mind, but then I look at my cute little guy wagging his back end at me, and realize all the terror is worth it.
After reading Hip Ideas for Hyper Dogs (Howell Book House, 2007) by Amy Ammen and Kitty Foth-Regner I feel that I understand my dog better and have been exposed to not only new, but creative activities and training to share with my dog.
Ammen and Foth-Regner’s book is an incredibly user friendly handbook teaching you how to live with hyper dogs. It is organized in a chronological fashion beginning with how to recognize if your dog is hyper. Once you determine if your dog is hyper, the authors explain various tools and techniques to use with the different sized breeds to deal with the dog’s personality.
The authors explain how to gain the most important part of all training and relationships with dogs- communication. There are various stages and techniques used to do this which are clearly demonstrated through words and pictures. Some of the techniques are obvious, like basic obedience training, and other techniques are more complex.
After you gain control the following chapter offers great ideas to help your hyper dog release energy. A few of the ideas are not original; however, some of them are quite creative. Exercise is a given, but it’s more than just exercising your animal, it’s adding an intense element to the exercise you do. For example instead of walking your dog, go for a bike ride with your dog in tow.
One of my favorite ideas was playing kickball with your dog. It’s a great way to avoid touching a wet, drool filled ball. Another original idea was playing Hide and Seek with your dog. It’s an excellent way to test their listening skills and wear them out at the same time.
Following exercise and playtime, or at the end of the day, there are many suggestions on how to relax your dog. Grooming your dog and petting/massaging your dog are a few suggestions. There are even items like lines of oils specially geared to settle down your dog.
Not only is important to physically relax your dog, but it is important to have a soothing environment. The authors propose ways to arrange your home not only to make it hyper dog-friendly, but also ways to avoid situations like separation anxiety. I found these suggestions most helpful.
Kirby hates staying home by himself, when I leave he starts howling and continues to howl until I return. In this situation the authors suggest you give your dog a tasty treat before you leave. When I did this, he was distracted as I left the house, there was no howling.
Hip Ideas for Hyper Dogs is written clear and simple. The pictures and graphics make it very comprehensible. The instructions are not too vague or too detailed and they are organized by chapters so information is easy to find.
Unlike many other obedience books, this book is truly full of new ideas to create an even closer bond with your animal.
Ammen and Foth-Regner’s have successfully created an effective manual for many dog owners.
Individual Reviews:
"Excellent, Easy to Read and Follow, Awesome Info! Have a Hyper Dog? Read this Book."
- S. Maguire (PA, USA)
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"I just love this book. It's easy to follow, and they don't over complicate the wording so anyone can easily pull info from it. Gathering information is easy, because the topics are clearly labeled. They also have little exerts of helpful hints, which are very useful and easy to read. If you have a dog who you think is a bit hyper, this would be a great help. Especially if getting rid of your dog ever crosses your mind, because you don't feel you are giving the dog the stimulation it needs, or the dog is getting into mischief because it's not getting the stimulation it needs. It puts things into perspective on what a dog needs and what you need to do to give it to him. It teaches you how to train your dog and helps you to understand the way they think. It gives you great tips on traveling with your dog to, barking and baying to pulling on the lead. Some of the tricks they teach in this book are awesome and would impress the heck out of your friends. It even covers dogs with new babies, toddlers and children. The book is like one stop shopping for any kind of behavior problem. Definitely worth the read, there's so much info in it, many more topics than I have mentioned in this review. Yet another excellent book!"
- W. Simon
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"This book is great and comes as no surprise after reading Amy's other
books. Common sense, down-to-earth approaches by Amy and her experienced
trainers! You'll love this book even if you don't have a hyper dog! STOP YELLING ... START COMMUNICATING."
- Caroline Apker (Oconomowoc, WI United States)
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"Our poor puppies! No wonder they've been so confused about what they needed to do to please us! I didn't realize until I began to read "Hip Ideas for Hyper Dogs" just how easy it would be to eliminate all those mixed messages, and open up real channels of communication with our two endlessly energetic twin-sister Lhasa Apsos; they now take great joy in showing off how well-behaved they are, and how good they are at their "jobs." Back when they were trying to puzzle it all out for themselves, it's no wonder that chaos reigned. (What makes perfect sense. viewed solely from the standpoint of an inquisitive dog, is seldom what we stodgy humans would choose.) As the authors point out, it's often the most highly intelligent and motivated dogs who, when all they know is that Mom is yelling a lot -- and they don't have a clue as to why -- tend to leave the most devastation in their wake. Don't wait any longer to discover what an absolute joy your playful pup is eager to become -- with just a little help from you. Great for Rambo OR Couch Potato pooches."
- Roz Pick
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"This manual is a great resource for any dog owner. It breaks down ideas into easy, understandable steps and will work if your dog has lots of energy or even if he/she doesn't. Great how-to photos and common sense manners training for a happy relationship with your best friend. Help your dog AND yourself!! Buy this book!"
- E. R. Zaretzke "Mountain Mama" (Milwaukee, WI United States)
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"Amy Ammen's easy to follow tips have been life saving for our family.
This book is a great resource and can have your hyper pooch turned around in no time. Great photos, too!"
- Mary Ebel (Wisconsin)
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"Hip Ideas for Hyper Dogs" is robust reading material for the beginner and expert dog trainer. It contains effective and reliable dog training methods, and, accompanied with step-by-step photos, make it a treasure. You will refer to this book over and over again and have fun in the process! There is so much good information about how to work with a hyper dog that from the moment I picked up my copy, I couldn't wait to put the suggestions into practice. Your dog will be forever grateful that you've decided to get up off the couch and start interacting with him (and stop yelling at him)! Hip Ideas is a book that can help any frustrated owner of a hyper dog understand the basics of a solid method of training and understand the canine mind ... and more importantly, to know you and your dog are a team!"
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"I've worked with Amy for some time now and its always my pleasure.
Great ideas in an easy to read and concise book.
Highly recommended to anyone with that hyper little (or not so little) pooch."
- P. A. Horn (Wauwatosa, WI)
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"A necessity for anyone who has a hyper dog.
1. This book is great for dog owners who, despite their best intentions and the love they give to their unruly pets, need help in curbing their dogs' troubling habits - like constant barking, growling, chewing, jumping up, straining on the leash, rolling in do-do, ignoring commands, running away, soiling the carpet, and just plain manic behavior. The authors don't offer a magic bullet. They make it clear that if owners want to be the masters they need to be persistent trainers of their dogs. That takes tough, but gentle, love.
2. The book provides clear, no nonsense techniques to get the job done. Some of these seem counter-intuitive to those of us who may think we can simply rely on innate "feelings" to train and care for our pets. But they are time-tested, and Ms. Ammen promises that they will work. Your dog is trainable. Being a pack animal, it actually seeks direction from someone (that would be you) who knows how to give it. The secret is communication.
3. I was impressed by the book's upbeat tone. The joy and rewards of having a spirited dog comes through. It talks of the dog, as well as its owner, having fun, even during their training sessions.
4. Ms. Ammen has owned many dogs, and she's found that once she has invested the time and energy in training them, the ones who started out "hyper" are usually the most fun to be around.
5. The book also has a lot of other information about dogs, like how to teach them tricks, and how to get them used to a new dog, cat or baby, or to traveling, moving or visiting the vet. And there's plenty of things I didn't know, like:
* "Come" is the most important command
* Use the leash, not your hands, to correct bad behavior
* It's not cruel to crate your dog: many dogs love their crates
* Dogs need mental direction: physical exercise is not enough
* Dogs don't experience shame or guilt, despite how they look
* Repeating an unobeyed command doesn't reinforce it; it teaches the dog to ignore it
* There are a number of books on doggie massage, but there's much more to winding down the hyper dog than massage.
The book is very useful - even essential - if you have a hyper dog. And I'm thinking it will be a great gift for a friend of mine who's got one of those dogs."
- F. Koster (Chicago, IL)
