The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do

7 reviews for The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do

1. 

   Donald J. Hanson – February 21, 2025

   I highly recommend The Other End Of The Leash for anyone with a dog in their life.
   SUGGESTED AUDIENCE: Dog lovers wanting to improve the relationship with their dog by understanding how dogs and primates can better communicate with one another.Back in the early 1990’s, when we still lived in Wisconsin and before we got into the pet care business, Paula and I attended several dog training classes with our dogs Gus and Shed. It was not until 1994 that we found Dr. Patricia McConnell and her training school, Dog’s Best Friend. This was the first class that all of us, humans and dogs alike, truly enjoyed. Why? Because of Trisha’s understanding of how dogs and humans communicate and her emphasis on rewarding good behavior. Now the world can benefit from her knowledge in her new book, The Other End Of The Leash.The Other End Of The Leash is an information-packed, yet readable book. In it you will learn how to have an improved relationship with your dog through better communication. As a scientist who has studied both primate and canine communication systems, Dr. McConnell has a keen understanding of where the communication between humans and dogs often breaks down, creating frustration and stress for both species. For example, she explains how simple innate greeting patterns of both species can cause conflict. We know that when two people meet, the polite thing to do is to make direct eye contact and walk straight toward one another smiling. However, as Dr. McConnell notes: “The oh-so-polite primate approach is appallingly rude in canine society. You might as well urinate on a dog’s head.” The fact is direct eye contact and a direct approach is very confrontational to a dog.Dr. McConnell also emphasizes how dogs primarily communicate visually, while humans are a very verbal species. The picture she paints of the frustrated chimp, jumping up and down, waving their hands, and screeching repeatedly is only a slight exaggeration of the frustrated human, saying “sit, sit, sit, ahhhh please sit” while displaying countless bits of body language. Primates, including humans, “…have a tendency to repeat notes when we’re excited, to use loud noises to impress others, and to thrash around whatever is in our paw if we’re frustrated. This behavior has no small effect on our interactions with dogs, who in spite of some barks and growls, mostly communicate visually, get quiet rather than noisy to impress others, and are too busy standing on their paws to do much else with them.” With these fundamental differences, it’s amazing we can communicate with our dogs at all.While Trisha’s book will certainly enlighten you, it will also move you. Her description of her relationships with her own animals leaves no doubt about her love and commitment. Reading her recollection of how her beloved Luke was almost hit by a car and the passing of her little Border Collie Misty had me very near tears.FAVORITE QUOTES: “If humans are understandably a bit slow at responding to the visual signals that our dogs are sending, we are downright dense about the signals that we generate ourselves.””Forcing dogs into ‘submission’ and screaming in their face is a great way to elicit defensive aggression. It makes sense that a dog would bite, or at least threaten to, in this context. Within their social framework, you’re acting like a lunatic.””It seems very human to stay fixated on the negative: ‘No!’ seems to come out of our mouths as easily as breathing. But saying no doesn’t teach a dog what to do, and it keeps the attention focused on it and nothing else.”I highly recommend The Other End Of The Leash for anyone with a dog in their life.

2. 

   Amazon Customer – February 21, 2025

   Best dog resource
   It. Is. Amazing. Warning: Gushy post ahead, I can’t say enough good about this book!I feel like it’s revolutionizing my relationship with Cassie (13 yr. old border collie-x)! This author is engaging and so informative. She backs up her claims with well rounded research and anecdotal stories. She gives clear suggestions for interacting with dogs. Best of all, every time she makes a suggestion, I put down my book and notes and give it a try with Cassie. So far, we’ve had amazing success!Here are two examples…..one, Cassie has a little obedience routine that we practice including her COME, SIT, STAY, DOWN. She generally listens well (to me) and performs correctly about 75% of the time. After analyzing my actions, words, and the results, I realized that I was not being consistent. My smart little pup has figured out what I want most of the time, but eventually she gets confused and wanders away or comes and sits down beside me ending our session. When I employed Dr. McConnell’s suggestions however, she was performing at 100%! wow!Even better, Cassie has never listened well to Cole (my husband). We thought it was because she preferred me…she always seems to look at me when he says something and then generally doesn’t obey him. I have learned that the inconsistencies are just multiplied tenfold when dealing with Cole because she never managed to decipher his mix of signals….and perhaps she doesn’t care enough to try really hard – her goal in life is to please me. I had him run through the same routines I was doing and she listened better than ever before with him! Furthermore, we tried to get him to call her away from my side (a tall order for my shadow), he executed the move perfectly, and Cassie trotted over immediately without even looking to me for guidance! Our poor girl has just been confused for all these years.I’m taking lots of notes and practicing with Cassie in hopes that we can give Mica the consistency and clear communication that he’ll need. I hope that he’ll be even more receptive because he hasn’t spent years reading my crazy human signals like poor Cass.We feel more confident and in control which is thrilling after being so nervous about bringing Mica (our new rescue) home. Cole too is feeling stronger and ready to tackle this challenge!

3. 

   flynn203 – February 21, 2025

   A well written book from someone who clearly knows dogs. Informative and a good read. Recommended.

4. 

   AH 365 – February 21, 2025

   Ich war erst etwas skeptisch und dachte, die Inhalte seien schon etwas “oldschool” aber es stellte aich bald heraus, dass es ein sehr gutes Buch ist und es klärt ganz wunderbar darüber auf, warum wir Menschen uns ggü. unseren Hunde verhalten, wie wir es tun und v.a. wie wir es besser machen können.

5. 

   SwatKat – February 21, 2025

   The book would have been much more useful and a lot shorter if the author just listed her conclusions in an organised manner, and if necessary illustrated it with anecdotes. Instead you have to sift through a book full of anecdotes to figure out what useful conclusions she drew from her experiences, so you can apply them for your dog. Wastes a lot of time with her drama. I suggest getting some other book if you want to understand your dog better so you save time.Update:After meeting a lot of dogs, this book made a lot of sense to me. If you just want a practical book to train your dog, then this may not be the best one. But for understanding behavior and how to change it, it’s really good. I stand by what I said initially though – it could have been organised differently.

6. 

   Beatrice Martin – February 21, 2025

   Ho letto tante recensioni che dicevano che questo libro o quell’altro libro è l’unico indispensabile per coloro che hanno un cane o che intendono prendere un cane, e trovo sempre che sono libri ottimi ma c’è sempre qualcos’altro da aggiungere. Questo libro è diverso. Questo libro illumina il nostro comportamento e anche il comportamento dei nostri cani, per aiutare a capirci dai punti di vista di specie diverse, per arrivare a uno spazio condiviso ed è nostra responsabilità creare quello spazio condiviso. Questo libro ti dà la consapevolezza per farlo naturalmente.Sono a metà del libro e non vedo l’ora di finirlo. Non è l’unico libro che ti servirà con il tuo cane, ma rappresenta il più importante fondamento per tutti gli altri libri che leggerai! Anche se non sei interessato/a ai cani, questo libri ti aiuterà a capirci meglio come essere umano e ci dà molte informazioni affascinanti sulle altre specie con cui condividiamo questo pianeta che è casa per noi e ugualmente per loro.

7. 

   Carlos J – February 21, 2025

   Un excelente libro que cualquier dueño de perros debería leer!!!¡NO ES IN LIBRO DE ENTRENAMIENTO!