Chapter One

Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Mirror, Mirror?
PART ONE: Balancing Your Dog
Chapter 1: Identifying Instability
Chapter 2: Discipline, Rewards and Punishment
Chapter 3: The Best Tool in the World
Chapter 4: Fulfilling Breed
The Sporting Group
The Hound Group
The Working Group
The Herding Group
The Terrier Group
The Toy Group
The Non-Sporting Group

PART TWO: Balancing Ourselves
Chapter 5: Dysfunction Junction
Chapter 6: Transforming Energy into Action
Chapter 7: Leadership for Dogs
Chapter 8: Our Four-Legged Healers
Epilogue: Humans and Dogs: The Long Walk Home
Appendix: Quick Reference Guide to Becoming a Better Pack Leader
Meeting a Dog for the First Time
Introducing Your Dog to a New Person (Especially a Child)
Introducing a New Person into Your Home
Mastering the Walk
Returning from the Walk
The Feeding Ritual
Managing Food Aggression
Facing an Aggressive Dog
Claiming Your Space
Dealing with Obsessive and Fixated Behaviors
Managing Stress at the Vet
Going to the Dog Park
Choosing a Dog with the Right Energy
Introducing a Dog to a House for the First Time
Notes
Bibliography and Additional Recommendations for Further Reading
Organizations to Turn To
Illustration Credits
Index

Chapter 1

Identifying Instability


“There was something I had never told him, that no one ever had. I wanted him to hear it before he went. ‘Marley,’ I said, ‘You are a great dog.’”
- John Grogan, Marley and Me

How do you know that your dog is unstable? If you are like the majority of my clients, you j