Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide

Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide

From Library Journal Two new titles for dog lovers. Lowell's book helps prospective owners choose the puppy that best suits them, while the Freemans' book teaches owners how to prepare a new puppy for the show ring. Both books are refreshingly realistic about dog behavior and filled with accessible practical advice. Complete with charts and photos, Your Purebred Puppy profiles 176 breeds in terms of size, temperament, exercise and care required, activity level, and ease of training. Lowell, a dog trainer herself, encourages prospective buyers to study the profiles and choose an appropriate breed whose needs will match their lifestyle. She provides guidelines for choosing a breeder and for selecting a pup from a litter. The appendix includes a list of specialty breed clubs and contact person for each club. Written for people who want to show their dogs, The Road to Westminster walks a hypothetical owner through the entire process, from selecting a puppy through competing in the show ring. The Freemans take a friendly approach, peppering the book with reminiscences of their own show experiences and emphasizing dog shows as an enjoyable activity for owner, pet, and family. Another new work on the subject is Connie Vanacore's Dog Showing: An Owner's Guide ( LJ 10/15/90).--Ed. Though aimed at different readerships, both Lowell's and the Freemans' books would be worthwhile additions to public library collections.- Deborah Emerson, Monroe Community Coll. Lib., Rochester, Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. Reviews the physical, behavioral, and temperamental qualities of 175 breeds and outlines a procedure for selecting a dog that matches the potential owner's personality and lifestyle From Publishers Weekly Adopting a quasi-scientific approach to choosing a suitable breed of pedigreed pooch, this volume labors to objectify what is ultimately a very personal choice. Lowell, a dog obedience teacher in California, quizzes readers on their expectations regarding 10 aspects of living with a dog--the animal's sociability with strangers, compatibility with children, need of indoor and outdoor activity, trimming and clipping, and beyond. Then she profiles 175 breeds, supplying charts for each that tabulate the 10 factors. But despite her careful quantifications and seemingly authoritative declarations, most of the information she supplies is highly subjective. For example, a true/false test includes "I think most parents are too permissive or lackadaisical"; rejection of this statement, according to her, lessens the likelihood that the reader is "equipped to handle a breed who tried to test your leadership." Lowell's repetitious analyses of the breeds themselves are also too general: she presents the apparent pros and cons, but rarely are they entirely applicable. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.