Puppies For Dummies, 2nd Edition

December 23, 2011 1:34 am | By Zootoo Editor Flinn D.

With Puppies for Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Sarah Hodgson, a big fat knowledge bomb has once again been dropped on the puppy-owning population. In fact, as I pulled Puppies for Dummies 2nd edition off the shelf, I could almost hear the cries of unworthiness from the thinner tomes around it.

The book starts out with the basics of puppy purchasing, from purebred “puppy farms” to your neighborhood pet store to adopting from a shelter. The book tells you what to look for in selecting a healthy pup, and walks you through the ups and downs of the first few weeks you have the pup at home.

As with every book in the “…For Dummies” series, every tidbit of information is referenced, cross-referenced and indexed so exhaustively that it can feel like the book knows what you are looking for before you know you’re looking for it. Deep and insightful it is not, but then again, not much about puppies is. If you’re looking for anecdotal knowledge and stories that illustrate every point, record The Dog Whisperer. But if your looking for a bare-knuckled bucket of puppy do’s, go no further.

The most useful section of Puppies for Dummies, 2nd Edition is, by far, the eighty or so pages devoted to training your pup. In it you’ll find useful tips and helpful information on how to make your puppy a better behaved member of your household and also how to help him learn to interact with people and other pets. The book also contains lots of useful information in the “behavioral problems” section. As most dog owners know, pups have their own version of the terrible two’s and Puppies for Dummies contains plenty of information to help you navigate this phase and more.

Pros: Extensive information, especially on the subject of training and behavior.

Cons: Information can be dry at times.