This dog trainer is great! Her years of observing canine behavior are the basis for her explanation of calming signals and how they can be used for better communication with your dog. There’s a lot in here about body language, how calming signals can be misinterpreted as misbehavior, and how our own body language and tone of voice can cause stress for our dogs.

There are lots of photos of dogs demonstrating calming signals: turning their heads or bodies away from what’s stressing them out, blinking or yawning, approaching at a curve rather than head-on, slowing down movements (we used to have a dog who would get up and verry slowlly walk out of the room when we were arguing—we always anthropomorphized it as a kind of rebuke, but I’m sure this trainer would say he was trying to calm us down).

Some signals are very easy for humans to do (blinking, yawning, turning away) and some aren’t (tail wagging), but there’s a lot you can do, using their own body language, to help your dog feel more comfortable.

There’s a very strong recurring message of “don’t be a jerk to your dog (she phrases it better)—you may not realize you’re doing it. She wants to steer people away from popular training techniques based on leadership and commands.

Until now, much of the relationship has consisted of a one-way communication: I, the owner, tell you what to do and you do what I say. This has nothing to do with a relationship…If you want your dog to respect you, you must also respect your dog. A good relationship is based on two-way communication, and living together in a well-balanced togetherness.

“Well-balanced togetherness”—isn’t that a nice phrase?

This book isn’t going to solve all the issues people have with their dogs, but I think it’s provides an important foundation for building trust, which you pretty much need for any training you need to do.

It takes so little to be friendly to a dog, and the result can be so overwhelmingly huge. You always have the choice of being threatening or calming. To me, the choice is easy.

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Very single-minded, though good for recognizing the signals and ideas for how to use them. ( )

Mostly commonsense; familiar information if you've read similar dog behavior books. ( )

Useful. a thin book with pictures and descriptions of signals used by dogs to calm themselves and others. ( )

This is a very simple little book, but it has some of the most straightforward explanations of how to deal with dogs, especially those that are stressed.

Great information on how to approach a dog that may not be comfortable with you and how dogs show their discomfort. I consider it required reading for anyone who doesn't feel comfortable around dogs or anyone who loves dogs.
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