The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell Ph.D. (2003, Paperback, Reprint)

This book is good, not great, but really quite good. It gives lots of helpful tips to understanding the difference between how humans and dogs communicate. Little did I know, my dog was responding to my body language, not the commands coming out of my mouth. It helped me be a more effective communicator with my puppy- and we're improving our relationship by leaps and bounds! The negatives with the book- it's clear the author had a lot she wanted to say, and not enough pages to say it in. There are lengthy, useless stories of her childhood, or experience, or research which has little, if anything, to do with the lessons in the book. This leads to a little frustration when reading for those of us who just want to know what the point is, and how to do things properly. She goes on and on about "later I'll explain how to do this" and then never explains how to do it!

Overall it was a good read, and we learned some interesting (if not random) facts about dogs and how darn special they are at smelling, etc. The book could have been condensed into a 25 page how-to, but instead, the author clearly wanted to strut her stuff and show off her research, and experience in order to make the reader feel she's credible.

Worth the money if you get it on ebay, or amazon below retail value. Wouldn't buy it full price though.