A fun and easy read that answers all your questions about man's best friend. The author is very down to earth and practical, even pointing out those things that she as vet struggles with (like brushing her dog's teeth). The author is Minnesota veterinarian, with a soft-spot for pit bulls - what's not to love? ( )

I would have given this five stars, but some of the information was trivial rather than helpful and some of the answers to the more important questions were quite brief and I thought could have gone into a bit more detail to truly be helpful to dog owners.

The one that really bothered me was the question about the invisible fencing. "Can I use invisible fencing for my human pets (i.e. the kids)?" She obviously answers saying that you can't use invisible fencing for children and then she goes into more detail about what invisible fences are and how they work. She indicates that there is still the "rare" dog who can break through an invisible fence and goes on to say that you should get a reputable, veterinarian-recommended brand if you do decide to get one.

From the research I've done on invisible fences, it sounds as if it's more than just the "rare" dog that will ignore the pain of the invisible fence shock to chase after a squirrel, a cat, or a female dog in heat. Also, some dogs have VERY high pain tolerances, so the shock isn't going to affect them as much as it will other dogs. Maybe I'm just thinking of terriers here, but since I have terriers, I know that invisible fencing would not keep them in if they see something they want badly enough.

Also, I have seen other information where some dogs have been so scared and traumatized by being shocked by the invisible fencing that they have associated the shock with going outdoors and these dogs will refuse to even leave the house for fear of further shocks.

Ms. Lee also neglects to mention that your dog is not safe from other dogs or animals attacking it or possible unplanned matings if you have a female dog. Invisible fences also will not protect your dog from humans coming onto your property and either stealing your dog, or a child coming to play with your dog and getting bitten.

Considering how paranoid Ms. Lee seemed to be about people stealing her pit bull, I was really surprised she hardly mentioned any of the negatives with invisible fences.

The part of this book I did really like and found helpful is "'When Dogs Attack' . . . how do I escape?" She does have nearly two pages of information on this topic and explains how best to survive the attack (try not to scream or whimper--sets off prey instinct, decide which part or parts of your body you'd rather lose, NEVER run--another prey instinct trigger . . .).

I also found "What's the easiest way to break up a dogfight?" very helpful and thorough. I have six small dogs (Miniature Pinschers and Rat Terriers) and they get into scuffles on occasion. She mentions the only thing I have found to work--dumping a huge amount of water on both dogs. She also indicates that in the ghettos of Philadelphia, grabbing the attacker's back two legs swiftly and flipping them up in the air. That gives you a few seconds to separate yourself and your dog from the attacker. She mentions carrying doggy mace (which I didn't even know they made) and also throwing your dog up on top of something elevated if you are near such a surface. She mentions tossing your Chihuahua into a garbage can since that would be safer than holding him or her over your face and at least your doggy wouldn't get mauled. If you have an aggressive dog however, good luck because I doubt these tips would work.

She does also give some tips on how to handle other people if you're out walking your dog-aggressive pooch on leash and someone else's off-leash dog approaches yours. This information was very helpful because my daughter has an animal aggressive Rat Terrier whom she always keeps on a short leash next to her, but other people let their dogs off leash and roam. At least she felt better knowing that if someone else's dog comes up to her and get attacked by her dog that it would likely be their fault and not hers since she was obeying the state leash laws and the other person wasn't.

Overall, some information was interesting, some was helpful, some was just a little gross (lipstick?), but although I didn't agree with everything, I was entertained and did learn a few things. I would recommend this as a fun read to any dog owner/dog lover. ( )