“The Canine Commandments” This is a valuable guide written by esteemed veterinary surgeon and canine behaviourist Kendal Shepard BSc, CCAB, MRCVS. This book is an essential guide for parents bringing a dog into a home with children. However it is also a must read for anyone planning on sharing their life with a dog. (both experienced and novice owners alike) It covers the most important aspect of owning and understanding a dog “ Doing everything you can to avoid a dog biting you or a member of your family ” Dogs rarely attack “out of the blue”, normally when people say “no one saw it coming” it generally means that warning signs given by the dog were missed or not understood. A dog uses body language to communicate. we owe it to them to learn some of that language to minimise “miss-understandings” if we want them in our lives. “The Ladder Of Aggression” Explains a series of facial expressions and body language signals that a dog will exhibit when faced with increasing levels of stress and or fear. It is the equivalent of us in the following situation : ▪ “Please don’t do that it makes me uncomfortable” ▪ “I have asked you already, I really don’t want you to do that to me” ▪ “You’re really starting to bother me now I need you to stop doing that” ▪ “OK this is your last chance” ▪ “I don’t want to hurt you but I will if you don’t stop” ▪ Then you shout at the person or even smack them in the face! Well... you can see why that might happen! Unfortunately in the case of a dog - it only has its Body & Teeth to react with. They will give every opportunity to let someone know their uncomfortable with a situation. They really don’t want to just jump in and bite – So be better prepared - Learn how to read your dog.