Adam's Task: Calling Animals by Name,   ISBN:9781602390027

Customer Rating: 

Anyone who lives with animals knows they have emotions - no need to make a big philosophical thing about it. Just plain common sense would do it. I read part way through the book but stopped because it was so convoluted, so I didn't come to some of the parts others have described as cruel.

Customer Rating: 

Not only is this an enjoyable, life-affirming, and ultimately truthful book in every sentence written, it is also one of the most important books of the 20th and (so far) the 21st centuries. In this age, where we have become so far removed from Nature and are only just beginning to see the consequences of our actions regarding Nature, this book brings us back to the truth of the animal part of Natural Law.
The sections regarding the American Pitbull Terrier are particularly pertinent and telling.

Customer Rating: 

Vicki Hearne clearly knows animals. This book is an interesting glimpse into the animal psyche, and how we can bridge that gap between humans and animals. I was a bit skeptic on picking this up, but after thumbing through the first few chapters, was engaged and won over. If you are training an animal, and the conventional methods are failing you, give this a try.

Customer Rating: 

One of the most stimulating and moving books I have read in a decade. Her tales of living with and learning from animals (particularly the saga of the pit bull) practically made me weep. For anyone who loves, lives with, and wants to know more about, domestic animals, this is a wonderful read and an excellent gift.

Customer Rating: 

This is one cruel woman (as another reviewer mentions, she does advise the canine equivalent of water boarding to correct digging behavior). You can find a training book to give you permission to do the most horrid things imaginable to dogs (and other animals), if that's what floats your boat. Some trainers recommend hanging bossy dogs until they pass out! If, on the other hand, you are a humane person, skip this and go read Pryor's _Don't Shoot the Dog_. Train your dogs through reinforcement and behavior modification (operant conditioning). Love them, listen to them, observe them, challenge them. It's timimg, consistency and patience. My dogs stop digging if I calmly say "don't dig there." And no near-drowning experience was necessary teach them that. Just a smile and a "good dog" when they stop the offendng behavior.