Cesar Millan's Short Guide to a Happy Dog by Cesar Millan

Cesar Millan's Short Guide to a Happy Dog: 98 Essential Tips and Techniques, Cesar Millan. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2013. e-book, 145 pps.

Short Guide to a Happy Dog gives you the basics in digestible chapters. Cesar Millan covers dog psychology, natural dog laws, balanced dogs, pack leadership, and choosing the right dog for your household along with other stuff. 

A dog whose people refuse to or don't know how to be pack leaders will seek to fill the void. We blame our dogs for not doing what we want them to do, yet we do not create the proper environment for them to be able to respond to us. This is serious stuff. A large percentage of dogs who lose their homes find themselves in shelters, purebred rescue societies, or abandoned on the streets because of the improper actions of people. This alone ought to make caring dog owners everywhere want to learn how to be pack leaders and provide proper exercise, discipline, and affection for their dogs. But sadly, it does not.

Of the few dog owners that I was able to provide some direction to, two signed up for group obedience lessons, one took her dog to the vet where a long-term digestive condition was uncovered, one got through her puppy's teething stage successfully, and one hired me to exercise their dog. The rest of them continued to live with their "problem" dogs dominating their lives and the lives of their families. 

One "problem" dog was found dead by his dog house. He was four years old. He spent his life tied up there twenty-four/seven save for the times when he escaped and ran wildly around the neighborhood. Our animal control laws are such that as long as his humans gave his access to fresh water and food twice a day, what they did to him was legal. 

I salute everyone who have carefully chosen not to have a dog for whatever reasons. I did not know the four year old dog well. He was a beautiful Irish Setter that came to a bad end. He wasn't allowed inside the home due to allergies. He received hardly any attention, no exercise and no discipline. That dog would have been far better off had he never met that particular family.

sapphoq reviews says: Being a fan of all things Cesar Millan, Short Guide is no exception. Highly recommended to those who have committed to or are considering committing to a dog.