Book review: The 100 Silliest Things People Say About Dogs
All dog owners (and people that know dog owners) need to buy and read Alexandra Semyonova's book The 100 Silliest Things People Say About Dogs. Semyonova deconstructs myths about dogs, their behavior and more importantly what dog owners need to understand about their dogs.
The book is well organized with myths organized into eight sections, including myths about dogs’ origin and nature, puppies, aggression, myths about dogs’ thoughts and feelings, the meaning of dogs’ behavior, myths about how dogs learn, Eating, drinking, peeing and pooping, and a "few myths about who knows what". References bolster Semyonova's dissection of the every dispelled myth; She's not just making this stuff up. I learned that animal psychology got its start in Berlin sponsorship of the Nazi government, and that "Aggression in dogs is usually a result of human tampering with a breed’s genes, or of traumatic experiences a dog has had in his life up to that moment. Many of these traumatic experiences are due to the Nazi myth that we have to be dominating our dogs all the time." Semyonova dismantles one myth, "Myth 39: The serious to fatal damage the aggressive breeds inflict when they attack isn’t due to their genes, but rather due to having the wrong kind of owners." Her conclusion: "Fact: This myth is true in the sense that these dogs always have the wrong owners, people who shouldn’t have a dog in the first place. However, this myth is false because it’s the genetics of the dog that make him a killer, regardless of what kind of owner he has. In other words, these dogs aren’t killers because they have the wrong owners, rather they attract the wrong owners because they are killers." This is one nugget of truth of the hundred presented that many dog owners should read and practice what they learned from this book. Buy the The 100 Silliest Things People Say About Dogs. |
DOGS KILL PEOPLE
Remembering Ashlynn: Father, grandfather of Astoria-area girl killed by family dog want to educate dog owners http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/02/remembering_ashlynn_father_grandfather_of_astoria-area_girl_killed_by_family_dog_want_to_educate_dog.html Family dog kills 11-month-old during July 4th gathering in Nehalem http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/07/post_34.html 4-year-old stepdaughter of 'Ax Men' star killed by Rottweiler in Astoria http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/four-year-old_killed_by_rottwe.html Goat-killing dogs turn on woman in Woodland http://today.seattletimes.com/2012/01/goat-killing-dogs-turn-on-woman-in-woodland/ Navajo Nation's Dogs Roam Unchecked; Dangerous For People, Livestock http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/navajo-nation-reservation-dog_n_927976.html Dog attack death nobody's fault: father http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/dog-attack-death-nobodys-fault-father/2009/01/08/1231004180812.html DOGS BITE PEOPLE Enforcing the leash laws for dogs http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/12/enforcing_the_leash_laws_for_d.html Next week is national dog-bite prevention week http://topics.oregonlive.com/tag/dog%20bite%20prevention/index.html |
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