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[[Category:Pets|*]]
 
[[Category:Pets|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Pets]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|Pets]]__NOTOC__  
==Pets==
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{{Frontpage
__NOTOC__
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|isbn=1780724047
 
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|title=A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs
{{newreview
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|author=Peter J Conradi
|author=Fiona Louise Bate
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|rating=4
|title=Gus
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=Gus is a beagle, who stands upright with his tail held high and in this delightful little book he tells us about his day.  He shares his garden with a couple of tortoises called Dido and Hector, but only in summer as they disappear in winter.  He's a dog who loves his comfort and we see him having his tummy tickled, snoozing, curled up in a chair and making artistic designs on a white duvet with his muddy paws.  He's always alert though – and squirrel knows when it's best to make himself scarce, as do some plump pigeons.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1904312357</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=www.dogfriendly.co.uk
 
|title=Dog Friendly Pubs, Beaches and Days Out: Your Comprehensive Guide to Dog Friendly Pubs, Beaches and Days Out
 
|rating=3
 
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=If I'm going out for the day to enjoy myself I want my dogs with me.  It's not just that I enjoy their company, but I don't like leaving them in the house for too long.  Ideas for days out are always welcome.  It's good to know about pubs that are not going to frown as you get to the door and if we're heading to the coast I like to know which beaches we can use and if there are any restrictions.  ''Pubs, Beaches and Days Out'' aims to fill a hole! How does it do?
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|summary=I struggle to resist a book about dogs, but I did wonder why this one was so ''thin'': given that I've never encountered a dog who wasn't interesting or important - and probably both, I was expecting a massive tome.  But ''A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs'' is actually ''a rich compendium of the world's most significant and beloved dogs'' and it's certainly a rich treasure troveWe begin with Peter J Conradi's four collies: Cloudy, Sky. Bradley and Max.  They're consecutive rather than simultaneous dogs, but what comes over is Conradi's love for each and every one of them. I knew that I was in safe hands.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0956045952</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1787112926
|author=www.dogfriendly.co.uk
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|title=Worzel goes for a Walk. Will you come too?
|title=Dog Friendly Camping and Caravan Sites: Your Comprehensive Guide to Dog Friendly Camping and Caravan Sites
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|author=Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje
|rating=2.5
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|rating=5
|genre=Pets
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary=If you're going camping or caravanning it's not always easy to take your dogs with you.  Some sites don't allow dogs; others have restrictions on breeds, size or number of dogs, whilst others make a charge.  You're then faced with wondering whether there will be somewhere to exercise the dogs and how easy it will be to get rid of the, er, deposits!  ''Dog Friendly Camping and Caravan Sites: Your Comprehensive Guide to Dog Friendly Camping and Caravan Sites'' is an answer to this, but it's nowhere near as comprehensive as the title would suggest.
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|summary=When we [[Worzel says hello! Will you be my friend? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje|last met Worzel Woolface]] he was a rather frightened dog who had difficulty meeting people.  He's a bit better now and something which he really enjoys is going for a walk.  It's not just a case of attaching a lead and heading for your favourite spot - there are a lot of other things to think about first.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0956045936</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Hainsworth_Gina
|author=www.dogfriendly.co.uk
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|title=Talking to Gina
|title=Dog Friendly Hotels
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|author=Ottilie Hainsworth
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Pets
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|genre=Graphic Novels
|summary=I have two big dogs. They're Rhodesian Ridgebacks – quiet, well-behaved and friendly dogs – and they're family. I've no wish to put them in kennels so that I can go on holiday any more than most families would want to put the children in kennels for the same purposeBut finding somewhere which doesn't just tolerate my dogs but actively makes them welcome is not easyI've found hotels which say 'Dogs Welcome' but when you enquire they actually mean that you can bring one small dog which must never be left alone and for which they'll make a charge. That's why this book is such a relief.
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|summary=''This is what happened.''  An artist decided she needed a dog – so drove the length of the country, Brighton to Grimsby, to pick up an Eastern European immigrant street dog with some mange and one working eyeWhy not?  The first night at home, Gina – the dog – eats something she shouldn't and causes a mess, so it's not a great start, but then begin the tribulations of training, status and behaviour all humans must go through with their dogs.  And then, the life with Gina begins to feel like too much – ''I felt weird about you because you were always there.  My thoughts were taken over by you, and I felt sick, as if I was in love.'Slowly, however, everyone – our artist/author, her husband, two children and two cats – gets to form the family they and Gina all would have wanted.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0956045928</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Ingram_Kammie
|author=Emma Dodd
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|title=Conversations with Kammie
|title=I Don't Want A Cool Cat
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|author=Annie Ingram
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Humour
|summary=Emma Dodd's [[I Don't Want a Posh Dog by Emma Dodd|previous book]] saw her turning her nose up posh dogs. Here she doesn't want a cool cat, a treat her like a fool cat. There are all sorts of other cats she doesn't want, until she gets to the type of cat she can call her own.
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|summary=It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on a level of food! walk! or play!. You do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184616950X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mattinson_Puppy
|author=Lady Annabel Goldsmith
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|title=Choosing the Perfect Puppy
|title=Copper: A Dog's Life
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|author=Pippa Mattinson
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Humour
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|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Copper was one of a litter of dogs born to a stray bitch and who was 'adopted' by Lady Annabel Goldsmith - or might it be the other way round?Here he tells his story in his own words as transcribed for him by his ownerHe's got his own priorities – and obedience is not one of them – along with a roving spiritIt's perhaps fortunate that he's a dog as this allows you to call him 'cheeky' and 'charming'If he was a human being 'randy' and 'arrogant' would be two of the first words which came to mind.
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|summary=If you have ever, for even a fleeting moment, thought about getting a puppy, you really ought to read this book.  Too many people are carried away in the heat of the moment and ''must'' have a particular breed and go ahead without any thought about the consequencesThey then have to live with the problems which ''might'' have been avoided for a decade or moreThe puppy and the adult dog also has to live with an owner who might not be able to accommodate his needs[[:Category:Pippa Mattinson|Pippa Mattinson]] is my go-to author on matters dog related: she talks senseShe doesn't try to talk you out of getting a particular breed or any puppy: she simply presents the facts and allows you to make your own decisions.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751538205</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Pickles_Worzel
|author=Emily Gravett
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|title=Worzel says hello! Will you be my friend?
|title=Dogs
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|author=Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Pets
|summary=We don't know who it is who tells us that they love dogs, well not to start with, but the narrator is adamant. They love big dogs and small dogs – and we see a glorious Great Dane, all legs and inquisitive face with a delicate Chihuahua nestled between his paws. You don't know who will have the best of it but that Chihuahua looks pretty fearsome.
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|summary=I'd like you to meet Worzel, but you'll need to do exactly what I say. Worzel is quite a big dog, but that doesn't mean that he's fierce, or even very brave. In fact, he's frightened, and little as you are, he's frightened of you. He'd like to meet you though: can you see that nose just poking out from the side of the sofa? Now he's peering over the cushion - and finally, he's risking leaving that very safe place he's found, behind the sofa.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230704220</amazonuk>
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}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=instagram_dogs
 +
|title=Dogs on Instagram
 +
|author=@dogsofinstagram
 +
|rating=3.5
 +
|genre=Pets
 +
|summary=I'm a sucker for dogs: I can't walk past one in the street without stopping and having a conversation, sometimes without bothering to speak to the owners, so a book of pictures of dogs was going to be right up my street. The wildly popular @dogs_of_instagram, run by Ahmed El Shourbagy and his wife Ashley and launched just four years ago gives us this book of over four hundred photographs of dogs. Originally I had no intention of reviewing it: in fact I wasn't even intending to read the book, just to have a quick flick through, but within five minutes I was showing other people in the office the picture of the Weimaraner riding a bicycle.
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Prendergast_Digger
|author=Gene Weingarten and Michael S Williamson (Photographer)
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|title=Dog on a Digger: The Tricky Incident
|title=Old Dogs
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|author=Kate Prendergast
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=As a reviewer I see a lot of books and whilst I read I'm usually wondering about who I'll pass the book on to when I've finished the review. Will it be a friend, the local library or one of our schools?  It's a part of my reviewing process to think about where the book will sit most happily. With ''Old Dogs'' I was only a few pages in before I was considering whether it should live on my bedside table or in the main bookshelves.  The bedside table won.  Easily.
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|summary=I'm going to tell you a story about Dog, Man, Lady and the Pup. They all work on an industrial site - in fact, Dog and Man live there in a caravan and Man drives the sort of digger which is dreamed about by boys large and small. Lady and the Pup run the snack bar and one day as they're all having something to eat, the Pup goes missing. Man and Lady search everywhere but it's Dog's sharp ears which finally track him down - caught in a branch over a fast-flowing stream. And it's Dog who works out how to rescue him. I needed 88 words to tell you that story, but Kate Prendergast does it without using a single one - and she tells it in a far more engaging way than I could ever manage.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1416534997</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Strachan_50Cat
|author=Matthew Cole
+
|title=50 Games to Play With Your Cat
|title=Will Work for Nuts
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|author=Jackie Strachan
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=The intrepid adventurer faces a most daunting challenge. Girding his loins in anticipation of achieving his goal, he leaps into action, hell-bent only on success, never fearing the inherent danger. With death-defying stunts and leaps aplenty, he needs to use any vehicles he finds in his path, untold balancing skills, nerve-racking whippy plastic stick things, and an awful lot more. Finally his lithe, muscular frame lands near his target, and he sits back and eats his nuts.
+
|summary=Cats love to play. It is written in their DNA. From kittenhood onward, an innate curiosity about the world around them spurs cats to view everything as a potential plaything. For cats, the desire to play helps them to hone their hunting skills. For cat owners, it provides an opportunity to bond with a much-loved pet and create special moments that are entertaining to both cat and human alike. If you are stuck for ideas for games to play with your cat, or would simply like to try something new, then 50 Games To Play With Your Cat provides plenty of inspiration.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007279574</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Leask_Miracle
|author=Eric Nakagawa
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|title=Miracle: The extraordinary dog that refused to die
|title=I Can Has Cheezburger
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|author=Amanda Leask
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=''I Can Has Cheezburger'', is a clever and witty anthology of some of the best pictures and captions from the fantastic [http://icanhascheezburger.com/ lolcats website] of the same name. The site has been growing in popularity in recent months, and so it was inevitable that a book would soon hit the shelves. Choosing which pics to include in the book could not have been an easy task, and some of the old favourites are there, alongside some less well known ones.
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|summary=Amanda Leask has been obsessed with dogs all her life and it's been an obsession which needs the world and a lot of its attitudes to dogs to change for the better. She's not daunted by the obstacles: she's simply determined to do all that she possibly can to make the world a better place for dogs. Amanda lives with her husband Tobias, son Kyle and more than twenty rescue and sled dogs near Inverness. Very nice, you're probably thinking. Wouldn't we all like to have that sort of lifestyle? But hold on a minute.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340977574</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Prendergast_Train
|author=Turid Rugaas
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|title=Dog on a Train: The Special Delivery
|title=On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals
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|author=Kate Prendergast
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=I've long been aware that my two Rhodesian Ridgebacks can communicate with each other in ways far more subtle than any human being can muster. A glance, a tilt of the head or a flick of the tongue and the message is received and understood.  Our older dog is known as Rosie Glare. I don't know what the facial expression does to the younger dog, but it certainly puts me in my place.
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|summary=It's one of those mornings for Boy: late out of bed he grabs at his hat and hurtles out of the house to catch his train - only he drops his hat as he goes through the door and Dog chases after him with the hat in his mouth. They head to the tube station (Dog doesn't forget to wait at the zebra crossing) with boy just twenty or so yards in front, but Dog is losing ground as he has to find someone to carry him on the escalator. He misses Boy's train and has to wait for the next one, but remembers his manners well enough to stand up so that an old lady can have his seat. Will he catch up with boy when he reaches London Kings Cross?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0954803213</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mattinson_Labrador
|author=Turid Rugaas
+
|title=The Labrador Handbook: The definitive guide to training and caring for your Labrador
|title=What Do I Do When... My Dog Pulls?
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|author=Pippa Mattinson
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=If you ask dog owners what problems they have with their pets you can be certain that some will come up time and time again.  Failure to return when called is common, as is intrusive barking but the one that comes up most often is the failure to walk properly on a lead. It might not seem to be a major problem if you have a small dog but for those of us with big dogs – I have two Rhodesian Ridgebacks – it can be a major and dangerous problem, particularly in frosty weather. If my two dogs decided to pull there is no way that I could control their combined weight of 75kg - and most of it is solid muscle.
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|summary=In 2014 about 16% of all pedigree puppies registered with the Kennel Club were Labradors - and that's with over 200 breeds to choose from. They're one of the most respected breeds and with good reason - great as gundogs, brilliant in the show ring and a wonderful part of the family to boot. Author Pippa Mattinson is a zoologist and founder of The Gundog Trust. She supports modern, science-based dog training methods - but her passion is about helping people to enjoy their dogs. If you're looking for advice about Labradors, she is going to be difficult to better.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0954803205</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Perris_Dogs
|author=Rex Harper
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|title=Beautiful Dogs Postcard Book: 30 Postcards of Champion Breeds to Keep or Send
|title=An Eagle in the Airing Cupboard
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|author=Andrew Perris
|rating=5
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|rating=4
|genre=Autobiography
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|genre=Pets
|summary=We first met Rex Harper in [[An Otter on the Aga]] where he told us of how he and his wife, Julie worked first to help injured or abused animals and then founded their own animal sanctuary. It was a book of laughter, sadness at the way that some people will treat animals and gratitude that there are people like Rex and Julie who devote their lives to the welfare of animals.  At the end of ''Otter'' the sanctuary had been taken over by the RSPCA and ''An Eagle in the Airing Cupboard'' takes up where ''Otter'' finished and looks at a year in the life of a warden.
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|summary=If you're looking for a present for a dog lover, Beautiful Dogs might fit the bill. It's a book of thirty postcards, which you can either send or keep in the book. You might expect to find the more usual breeds - Labradors, Retrievers and the like - but instead, you'll find more exotic breeds such as the Bedlington Terrier and the Bolognese. There's just the one dog or bitch on each card and Andrew Perris has managed to give us an excellent view of the animal whilst allowing it to look completely natural.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755318021</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Laks_Gentle
|author=Linda Newbery and Catherine Rayner 
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|title=My Gentle Barn: where animals heal and children learn to hope
|title=Posy
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|author=Ellie Laks
|rating=5
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|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Pets
|summary=I've got a new best friend. She's called Posy.
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|summary=As a child, Ellie Laks was abused, but not only did she suffer at the hands of her abuser, she also had to endure parental indifference to what was happening to her. Her only relief came through animals - and even then she had to cope when the animals were taken from her. As an adult, she discovered that she had a real talent for healing animals - and that they helped her to heal too. In a brilliant leap of intuition, she realised that if the animals could help her to heal they could do the same for others and so the Gentle Barn was born - a place where animals were brought as a place of safety and where disadvantaged children and special needs groups could use as therapy.
 
 
Posy is a kitten and her fur is that wonderful mixture of black, brown and cream that we call tabby.  Under her tummy, all four paws and her face look as though they've been dipped in a bowl of cream, which, knowing Posy, is quite possible.  She's still finding out about the world, you see.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1843629909</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mattinson_Happy
|author=Graeme Sims
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|title=The Happy Puppy Handbook: Your Definitive Guide to Puppy Care and Early Training
|title=The Dog Whisperer
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|author=Pippa Mattinson
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=Graeme Sims is rightly proud of all that he's achieved in life.  After a catastrophic business collapse (at the age of fifty) which was none of his fault, he and his wife Maureen made the decision to move to rural Devon, but on the eve of their departure he encountered a stray dog. Annie was to change his life in ways that he couldn't imagine.  From being unemployable he was to become a shepherd, presenter of demonstrations in a theme park and dog trainer.  Graeme Sims had discovered that he was capable of communicating with dogs and could understand what they were telling him.
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|summary=Unfortunately far too many people acquire puppies because of the aww... factor. They look gorgeous, cuddly, cute - rather like an animated soft toy - and there are people who have to have one. Now. The reality is that bringing a puppy into your home - into your life - requires about the same level of planning as moving home and the best guide which I've seen to preparing for a puppy and the early stages of living with one is Pippa Mattinson's The Happy Puppy Handbook. Do get it well in advance. If you're only thinking about getting a puppy it might even put you off - but then it will be well worth the cover price if it saves you a great deal of expense and even more heartache.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755316983</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Rosenfelt_Puppy
|author=Anna Quindlen
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|title=The Puppy Express: On the road with 25 rescue dogs . . . what could go wrong?
|title=Life with Beau: A Tale of a Dog and His Family
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|author=David Rosenfelt
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
|summary=Bristol's Beauregard Buchanan, Beau to his family and friends, is an old dog when we first meet him.  Whilst Anna Quindlen is at the vet's collecting his prescription Beau is sleeping on the rug in the foyer.  The rug smells.  Beau smells and he has little sight or hearing, but then he's nearly fifteen years old. He's reached that stage in an older dog's life when there's no point in his going to see the vet (he certainly doesn't want to go there ever again, after what happened to his prostate…) and the next house call will be the last.
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|summary=If you're moving home from Southern California with twenty-five rescue dogs how, exactly, do you do it? Add in that these are mostly elderly dogs who've already had too much change and trauma in their lives and it's obvious that crating them and flying them across the country isn't going to work. They couldn't all go together and the trip would take about twenty-four hours with all the changes - and that's before you even begin to think about the prohibitive cost. In the end, the answer was a convoy of three motorhomes, the addition of nine helpers and just about non-stop driving across the continent. Fun, eh?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091921228</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
 
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|isbn=Morris_Iamcat
{{newreview
+
|title=I am Cat (mini edition)
|title=The Loved Dog
+
|author=Jackie Morris
|author=Tamar Geller
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=Pets
 
|genre=Pets
 +
|summary=You're always supposed to tell when a dog is dreaming – the twitching limbs and jerking joints allegedly proving the sleeping Fido is imagining himself on the chase. Cats are, as always, a bit more secretive, but Jackie Morris offers evidence here that they are more or less thinking the same thing – even the domestic moggy, curled up and closed in, is picturing a different self – one sleeking through snows, relaxing on the savannah or alertly moving through its territory. It's a very pleasant view into the mindset of cats.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Katz_Dog
 +
|title=The Dog Nobody Loved
 +
|author=Jon Katz
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|summary=People tell me that I'm fortunate in my dogs: they're usually well-behaved and a pleasure to be around despite the fact that they're really rather big. In much the same way that Gary Player hit the nail on the head when he said that the harder he practiced the luckier he got, well-mannered dogs are generally the product of an assiduous training regime. In the past it was thought that this could only be achieved by dominating the dog by brute force if necessary and with the aid of such implements of torture as the choke chain. The one area in which I was fortunate is that once I saw the size and strength of a fully-grown Rhodesian Ridgeback I knew that I had no hope of physically dominating the dog. I would have to find some other method of training.  
+
|genre=Pets
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091922259</amazonuk>
+
|summary=When we first meet Jon Katz he's not in a good place: his marriage of thirty-five years was breaking up and he was close to a nervous breakdown.  He didn't need any more problems. He particularly ''didn't'' need a young rescue dog, a Rottweiler/Shepherd mix, who'd been living wild, to contend with and to upset the fragile equilibrium of the life he lived with his animals on Bedlam Farm.  Frieda was near feral but devoted to her rescuer, Maria Wulf and it was Maria who was at the centre of this conundrum.  Katz was spectacularly disconnected from the world - and Maria was the only person to whom he seemed able to talk, but to connect with Maria he had to connect with Frieda too.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Coren_Dogs
 +
|title=Do Dogs Dream?: Nearly Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know
 +
|author=Stanley Coren
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Pets
 +
|summary=If you love dogs this book is an absolute gem. It's not going to explain to you how to feed or train your dog.  There's no advice on first aid or when you should seek advice from the vet. What you get are seventy-two essays on subjects which dog lovers ponder on, each one just two or three pages long and written in terms which the layman can understand.  I've opened the book at random and found ''Why Do Dogs Touch Noses?'', ''Do Dogs Recognize Themselves in a Mirror?'' and ''Why Do Puppies Sleep in a Pile?''  There's nothing there that you absolutely ''have'' to know so that you can keep a dog as he should be kept but by the time that you've finished you will know him a lot better.
 
}}
 
}}
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Move on to [[Newest Politics and Society Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 13:43, 31 August 2020

1780724047.jpg

Review of

A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs by Peter J Conradi

4star.jpg Pets

I struggle to resist a book about dogs, but I did wonder why this one was so thin: given that I've never encountered a dog who wasn't interesting or important - and probably both, I was expecting a massive tome. But A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs is actually a rich compendium of the world's most significant and beloved dogs and it's certainly a rich treasure trove. We begin with Peter J Conradi's four collies: Cloudy, Sky. Bradley and Max. They're consecutive rather than simultaneous dogs, but what comes over is Conradi's love for each and every one of them. I knew that I was in safe hands. Full Review

1787112926.jpg

Review of

Worzel goes for a Walk. Will you come too? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje

5star.jpg For Sharing

When we last met Worzel Woolface he was a rather frightened dog who had difficulty meeting people. He's a bit better now and something which he really enjoys is going for a walk. It's not just a case of attaching a lead and heading for your favourite spot - there are a lot of other things to think about first. Full Review

Hainsworth Gina.jpg

Review of

Talking to Gina by Ottilie Hainsworth

4.5star.jpg Graphic Novels

This is what happened. An artist decided she needed a dog – so drove the length of the country, Brighton to Grimsby, to pick up an Eastern European immigrant street dog with some mange and one working eye. Why not? The first night at home, Gina – the dog – eats something she shouldn't and causes a mess, so it's not a great start, but then begin the tribulations of training, status and behaviour all humans must go through with their dogs. And then, the life with Gina begins to feel like too much – I felt weird about you because you were always there. My thoughts were taken over by you, and I felt sick, as if I was in love. Slowly, however, everyone – our artist/author, her husband, two children and two cats – gets to form the family they and Gina all would have wanted. Full Review

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Review of

Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram

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It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on a level of food! walk! or play!. You do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations. Full Review

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Review of

Choosing the Perfect Puppy by Pippa Mattinson

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If you have ever, for even a fleeting moment, thought about getting a puppy, you really ought to read this book. Too many people are carried away in the heat of the moment and must have a particular breed and go ahead without any thought about the consequences. They then have to live with the problems which might have been avoided for a decade or more. The puppy and the adult dog also has to live with an owner who might not be able to accommodate his needs. Pippa Mattinson is my go-to author on matters dog related: she talks sense. She doesn't try to talk you out of getting a particular breed or any puppy: she simply presents the facts and allows you to make your own decisions. Full Review

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Review of

Worzel says hello! Will you be my friend? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje

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I'd like you to meet Worzel, but you'll need to do exactly what I say. Worzel is quite a big dog, but that doesn't mean that he's fierce, or even very brave. In fact, he's frightened, and little as you are, he's frightened of you. He'd like to meet you though: can you see that nose just poking out from the side of the sofa? Now he's peering over the cushion - and finally, he's risking leaving that very safe place he's found, behind the sofa. Full Review

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Review of

Dogs on Instagram by @dogsofinstagram

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I'm a sucker for dogs: I can't walk past one in the street without stopping and having a conversation, sometimes without bothering to speak to the owners, so a book of pictures of dogs was going to be right up my street. The wildly popular @dogs_of_instagram, run by Ahmed El Shourbagy and his wife Ashley and launched just four years ago gives us this book of over four hundred photographs of dogs. Originally I had no intention of reviewing it: in fact I wasn't even intending to read the book, just to have a quick flick through, but within five minutes I was showing other people in the office the picture of the Weimaraner riding a bicycle. Full Review

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Review of

Dog on a Digger: The Tricky Incident by Kate Prendergast

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I'm going to tell you a story about Dog, Man, Lady and the Pup. They all work on an industrial site - in fact, Dog and Man live there in a caravan and Man drives the sort of digger which is dreamed about by boys large and small. Lady and the Pup run the snack bar and one day as they're all having something to eat, the Pup goes missing. Man and Lady search everywhere but it's Dog's sharp ears which finally track him down - caught in a branch over a fast-flowing stream. And it's Dog who works out how to rescue him. I needed 88 words to tell you that story, but Kate Prendergast does it without using a single one - and she tells it in a far more engaging way than I could ever manage. Full Review

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Review of

50 Games to Play With Your Cat by Jackie Strachan

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Cats love to play. It is written in their DNA. From kittenhood onward, an innate curiosity about the world around them spurs cats to view everything as a potential plaything. For cats, the desire to play helps them to hone their hunting skills. For cat owners, it provides an opportunity to bond with a much-loved pet and create special moments that are entertaining to both cat and human alike. If you are stuck for ideas for games to play with your cat, or would simply like to try something new, then 50 Games To Play With Your Cat provides plenty of inspiration. Full Review

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Review of

Miracle: The extraordinary dog that refused to die by Amanda Leask

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Amanda Leask has been obsessed with dogs all her life and it's been an obsession which needs the world and a lot of its attitudes to dogs to change for the better. She's not daunted by the obstacles: she's simply determined to do all that she possibly can to make the world a better place for dogs. Amanda lives with her husband Tobias, son Kyle and more than twenty rescue and sled dogs near Inverness. Very nice, you're probably thinking. Wouldn't we all like to have that sort of lifestyle? But hold on a minute. Full Review

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Review of

Dog on a Train: The Special Delivery by Kate Prendergast

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It's one of those mornings for Boy: late out of bed he grabs at his hat and hurtles out of the house to catch his train - only he drops his hat as he goes through the door and Dog chases after him with the hat in his mouth. They head to the tube station (Dog doesn't forget to wait at the zebra crossing) with boy just twenty or so yards in front, but Dog is losing ground as he has to find someone to carry him on the escalator. He misses Boy's train and has to wait for the next one, but remembers his manners well enough to stand up so that an old lady can have his seat. Will he catch up with boy when he reaches London Kings Cross? Full Review

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Review of

The Labrador Handbook: The definitive guide to training and caring for your Labrador by Pippa Mattinson

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In 2014 about 16% of all pedigree puppies registered with the Kennel Club were Labradors - and that's with over 200 breeds to choose from. They're one of the most respected breeds and with good reason - great as gundogs, brilliant in the show ring and a wonderful part of the family to boot. Author Pippa Mattinson is a zoologist and founder of The Gundog Trust. She supports modern, science-based dog training methods - but her passion is about helping people to enjoy their dogs. If you're looking for advice about Labradors, she is going to be difficult to better. Full Review

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Review of

Beautiful Dogs Postcard Book: 30 Postcards of Champion Breeds to Keep or Send by Andrew Perris

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If you're looking for a present for a dog lover, Beautiful Dogs might fit the bill. It's a book of thirty postcards, which you can either send or keep in the book. You might expect to find the more usual breeds - Labradors, Retrievers and the like - but instead, you'll find more exotic breeds such as the Bedlington Terrier and the Bolognese. There's just the one dog or bitch on each card and Andrew Perris has managed to give us an excellent view of the animal whilst allowing it to look completely natural. Full Review

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Review of

My Gentle Barn: where animals heal and children learn to hope by Ellie Laks

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As a child, Ellie Laks was abused, but not only did she suffer at the hands of her abuser, she also had to endure parental indifference to what was happening to her. Her only relief came through animals - and even then she had to cope when the animals were taken from her. As an adult, she discovered that she had a real talent for healing animals - and that they helped her to heal too. In a brilliant leap of intuition, she realised that if the animals could help her to heal they could do the same for others and so the Gentle Barn was born - a place where animals were brought as a place of safety and where disadvantaged children and special needs groups could use as therapy. Full Review

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Review of

The Happy Puppy Handbook: Your Definitive Guide to Puppy Care and Early Training by Pippa Mattinson

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Unfortunately far too many people acquire puppies because of the aww... factor. They look gorgeous, cuddly, cute - rather like an animated soft toy - and there are people who have to have one. Now. The reality is that bringing a puppy into your home - into your life - requires about the same level of planning as moving home and the best guide which I've seen to preparing for a puppy and the early stages of living with one is Pippa Mattinson's The Happy Puppy Handbook. Do get it well in advance. If you're only thinking about getting a puppy it might even put you off - but then it will be well worth the cover price if it saves you a great deal of expense and even more heartache. Full Review

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Review of

The Puppy Express: On the road with 25 rescue dogs . . . what could go wrong? by David Rosenfelt

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If you're moving home from Southern California with twenty-five rescue dogs how, exactly, do you do it? Add in that these are mostly elderly dogs who've already had too much change and trauma in their lives and it's obvious that crating them and flying them across the country isn't going to work. They couldn't all go together and the trip would take about twenty-four hours with all the changes - and that's before you even begin to think about the prohibitive cost. In the end, the answer was a convoy of three motorhomes, the addition of nine helpers and just about non-stop driving across the continent. Fun, eh? Full Review

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Review of

I am Cat (mini edition) by Jackie Morris

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You're always supposed to tell when a dog is dreaming – the twitching limbs and jerking joints allegedly proving the sleeping Fido is imagining himself on the chase. Cats are, as always, a bit more secretive, but Jackie Morris offers evidence here that they are more or less thinking the same thing – even the domestic moggy, curled up and closed in, is picturing a different self – one sleeking through snows, relaxing on the savannah or alertly moving through its territory. It's a very pleasant view into the mindset of cats. Full Review

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Review of

The Dog Nobody Loved by Jon Katz

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When we first meet Jon Katz he's not in a good place: his marriage of thirty-five years was breaking up and he was close to a nervous breakdown. He didn't need any more problems. He particularly didn't need a young rescue dog, a Rottweiler/Shepherd mix, who'd been living wild, to contend with and to upset the fragile equilibrium of the life he lived with his animals on Bedlam Farm. Frieda was near feral but devoted to her rescuer, Maria Wulf and it was Maria who was at the centre of this conundrum. Katz was spectacularly disconnected from the world - and Maria was the only person to whom he seemed able to talk, but to connect with Maria he had to connect with Frieda too. Full Review

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Review of

Do Dogs Dream?: Nearly Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know by Stanley Coren

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If you love dogs this book is an absolute gem. It's not going to explain to you how to feed or train your dog. There's no advice on first aid or when you should seek advice from the vet. What you get are seventy-two essays on subjects which dog lovers ponder on, each one just two or three pages long and written in terms which the layman can understand. I've opened the book at random and found Why Do Dogs Touch Noses?, Do Dogs Recognize Themselves in a Mirror? and Why Do Puppies Sleep in a Pile? There's nothing there that you absolutely have to know so that you can keep a dog as he should be kept but by the time that you've finished you will know him a lot better. Full Review

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