On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals Paperback – Illustrated, December 1, 2005

I have 4 dogs and while I work on training, things are far from perfect more often than not. I am always looking into ways to keep improving and stumbled upon this book by accident (or AI interference lol). I have so much less time in life that to be honest, I scroll straight to the page count of a book before I even consider it. Like a dog, I need to set myself up for success :) This fit the bill, seemed to address an issue I have going on, so I bought the print version over the digital version. Glossy pages (my favorite), enough photos, and short enough I could get through. So I jumped right in. WOW. Simplified. This is perfectly simplified, you aren’t getting lost in deep explanations and then forgetting what the lesson was, and the examples are helpful enough to give you just that: an example. I learned or gained more insight out of this book than I have the mountains of dog books I own, which is not because those books aren’t any good, but information is only helpful if a person has time to read that many pages and absorb it.I have immediately started applying this “to the point” guidance in trying to communicate calmness with my dogs, but more importantly, I have suddenly woke up up to being better at observing them communicating. Mind blown! As soon as I finished this book, I immediately ordered the other 2 by Turid Rugaas that were relevant to me and I am looking forward to diving into her insights!

I love dogs (and animals, in general) and happened across this book while searching for a training guide for a friend and her new puppy. Although this isn't actually a training guide, it provides an invaluable insight into the actions and responses I've observed in dogs throughout the years. The concept backing the author's understanding appears to be the same as that of Cesar Millan, the dog whisperer. Creating a relationship with a puppy or dog should never be about domination or punishments, it should be formed through understanding and love. Turid Rugaas helps to clarify, simply, how uninformed people with good intentions create the problems we usually see in dogs.One of the enlightening understandings which I gained from this book involves the popular thinking among people that, in order to train a dog, a person must establish themselves as the "Alpha" member of the pack. To many, that idea implies that the human should dominate the dog, or even subjugate it. To truly understand the (healthy) relationship which humans should foster with their dog(s), we must understand the nature of being the "Alpha" and the implications. To be the Alpha is to be the PARENT in the pack, not the "Boss." When we fail to establish our self as the Alpha member of the dog's pack, the dog will, by nature, assume that role for his/her own protection and the protection of the pack. This places a great deal of stress upon the dog and erodes both feelings of security and peace of mind, which will lead to behavioral issues. Ms. Rugaas clarifies the gentle nature of the pack, and the discipline that is enforced. Dogs, by their true natures, try to avoid conflicts, and thus the title of this book.A problem which often arises as the direct result of the human not assuming the proper role of parent (Alpha) begins when the dog feels the need to assume the role, by (genetic) default because of the human's lack of leadership. Always responsible for the pack's safety and security, the Alpha can come and go as desired, but pack members cannot. Knowing this genetic rule of the pack, imagine the mental chaos and stress created by human pack members when they come-and-go without permission, breaking the rules of survival. It is no wonder that some dogs suffer from "separation anxiety" and tear things up. It is the human's lack of understanding that creates "problem dogs."This book is small, and a very fast read, but it is a game-changer for anyone wanting to gain a clearer understanding of what is going on with dogs and how they think. I have purchased copies for friends, and have my personal copy out on loan. The information it contains is worth learning, and makes a great deal of sense.

The least we can do is buy this book. Seriously. Its like ten pages long, with pretty pictures, and costs like ten bucks. In fact, it reminds me of the reading workbooks we used in second grade, and teaches lessons as useful and important as those we learned then, but for even non-dog owning adults. Six dollars and two hours of your time to gain knowledge that could save at least one dog's life, since many shelter kills are from surrenders due to dogs being "uncontrollable" (read: humans being "un-knowledgeable"). First, understand that much of what we know is based on human children, and therefore not very useful. This is information that could potentially bring a dog's behavior from "uncontrollable" to just "high maintenance", which may make the difference between a stiff furry corpse in a pile behind a shelter and beloved family member for life.Read the book the way it was intended: as a guide to forming the foundation of understanding dog behavior, not as a how-to guide for gaining instant supreme command of a dog once it is already stressed and acting on that stress as a consequence. Watch for the signs BEFORE the consequence of them, and prevent the undesirable behavior by calming the dog using these signals, which are the dog's own built-in instinctual methods of doing so. Also, please remember when you first try these methods, that dogs are not smartphones with buttons or children with human behaviors we share and understand. Yes, they take a little practice, you may not get the timing right the first time. No, you don't have Turid's dog to help you, but if you don't skim through the introduction, you'll learn that her dog was transformed through the use of these signals, and the stories she tells are examples of how her dog uses the signals to communicate with other dogs (which is why they work and the title of the book: signals dogs use to communicate with other dogs, and THEN a simple explanation of how they can be used by humans to help our dogs).Dogs evolved through generations to adapt physiologically to our behaviors and mannerisms - they are the only other animals outside of primates who understand pointing (to follow the direction of the pointing finger), developed a left-gaze bias specifically for use with humans (they do not look at other dogs eyes first; only humans) - we can do the same in the course of a lifetime. The hardest part is accepting that we may have something to learn something about a subject so personal to us as our dogs, which isn't as hard as believing that the dog we love so much could be acting out just to spite us.