Solutions: For Your Dog--and You - Hardcover

So you've gotten the pick of the litter and managed to accomplish potty training. What next? Not everyone has the time to sit through books outlining all sorts of irrelevant issues, so Mordecai Siegal and Matthew Margolis (Uncle Matty of I Just Got a Puppy, Now What Do I Do?) have created a straightforward book geared to fixing specific problems. Solutions: For Your Dog--and You covers everything from obedience training to first aid, and contains an especially helpful chapter for those at their wit's end. Titled "He's Driving Me Crazy," it tackles those serious behavior problems like jumping on guests, biting, and bolting out the front door.

Most of the solutions are short--a half-page, at most--and present fairly commonsense approaches. As with raising children, consistency is important with a dog, and the authors caution against allowing Rover to jump on you if he's not allowed to jump on others. Also, watch your reaction to poor behavior. If you go ballistic the first time your new dog wets the rug, you may be setting the stage for your four-legged friend to act guilty every time you enter the room. Crates, leashes, feeding, and grooming are all covered, with regular insistence that you view your dog as an individual and respond to his individual needs. General information is provided on a dog's anatomy, as well as ways of identifying parasites, deficiencies, and illness. Managing to cover a wide range of information in a short space, this is an excellent all-around guide for daily care of all canines. --Jill Lightner

Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis is host of the popular public television series Woof! It's a Dog's Life with Matthew Margolis. He is founder and president of unclematty.com, based in Los Angeles, where he has trained more than 30,000 dogs. He has appeared on Good Morning America, 20/20, The Today Show and Oprah and has been featured in U.S.A. Today, the Los Angeles Times, and People. He conducts training seminars all over the country. He has coauthored many books, including Grrr!, Good Dog, Bad Dog, and I Just Got a Puppy. What Do I Do? www.unclematty.com