Review: Short, To The Point - And Works With Kids, Too!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 13, 2011
I was a little shocked when I saw how fast I was progressing through this book.On second thought, I decided anything else would be unacceptable. Like the Ten Commandments, there are a few basic rules, like the Ten Commandments, they are easy enough to learn and obey, and like the Ten Commandments, there are harsh consequences for failing to follow the rules.The thing is, decades ago, I was a baby photographer. It took a while for me to learn how to interact with kids, but I eventually learned how, and these were basically the rules that I evolved for dealing with them. Basically, they consist of "don't be aggressive, be familiar and friendly, and respect the kid's (or the dog's) right to set the pace."Once I learned how, women would arrive at the studio, and gasp. Oh, they'd say, a man, or Oh, a beard, or Oh!, you wear glasses. Don't worry about it, I'd tell the mother. If you don't get upset, things will be OK. And I'd approach the mom slowly, and talk to the mom, while the baby would study me. Pretty soon, the baby would decide to peek, and I'd play peek with the baby, with the baby soon laughing. I'd offer my arms to the baby, and the baby would shrink back, and I'd pull back my arms, and cry, Aha, fooled you!, teasing the babe, and the babe would turn to see me laughing. Before you know it, the baby would be leaping into my arms.I own a german shepherd, a 130-pound female, and since she has no hands, she inspects things with her mouth. If she gets excited, she can sometimes pinch with her mouth, and that scares people. Since I don't want to be sued, I thought perhaps this book would help me teach others how to make friends with my dog.Well, the answer is no. This book is about keeping dogs from getting scared and hurting you on purpose. In my case, the dog isn't scared, she's just excited, and she may end up hurting someone accidentally. There's nothing here to keep a dog from getting excited.And when a dog really enjoys meeting new friends, each new friend is going to be a cause for excitement. But for people who don't understand dogs, and want to avoid getting bitten by one that's scared or hostile, this book is close to perfect.Great graphics, too. This would be a wonderful book to repeatedly read to little kids. In fact, I intend to keep it handy on my Kindle, so that when I meet kids, while waiting for my wife at the doctor's office, I can teach them how to be safe.With, of course, their mom's permission. That's one of the first rules in this book, too, when it comes to making friends with a dog: always ask permission first.