Brenda Aloff - Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide: Interpreting the Native

Brenda Aloff can be reached at:
1711 Karat Road
Midland MI 48640
989.631.8217

This book is available at:
Dogwise
701B Poplar
Box 2778
Wenatchee, WA 98807-2778
Orders: 1.800.776.2665
www.dogwise.com

Also by Brenda Aloff:
Positive Reinforcement - Training Dogs In The Real World
(2001). New Jersey: TFH Publications, Inc.

Aggression In Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention and Behaviour Modification
(2003). Tennessee: Fundcraft Publishing, Inc.

DVD

Foundation Behaviours for Every Dog
(2005). Michigan: Pix Elegance

Illustrations by Brenda Aloff.
Cover Design by Brenda Aloff & Joanne Weber.

ISBN 1-929242-35-2
Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide Copyright 2005 by Brenda Aloff.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

This book has been published with the intent to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter within. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information herein.

Although every effort has been made to identify as trademarked the first use of trademarked terms in the text, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for omissions of or errors with respect to trademarks.

First Edition
First Printing, September 2005; Third Printing March 2006
Fourth Printing October 2007
The last digit is the print number 9 8 7 6 5 4

This book is dedicated first to the dogs. All dogs. They are my teachers. Next to my incredible, dedicated and willing students. Thank you. Betty Owen, for always being there for me.

Acknowledgments

Doing the Acknowledgements is the single most difficult thing in a book because it is incredibly frustrating to not be able to list everyone first!!!

I must first thank the people who did all the great photo shots. Those people are acknowledged again in the book as photographers, but, as always, my fantastic clients make me look good! When I called for photos, I was showered - no, deluged. I went through thousands of photos to choose the ones you will get to learn from. It was so hard to choose sometimes, but because I had such variety, the book is full and rich.

It is quite safe to say that without the stunning and professional photographs of Joanne Weber, who did the vast majority of photographs for this book, there would not be this book on the native language of dogs. The quality of the photographs is so incredible, as is Joannes generosity. Joanne has the touch.

Other Dog Scout Camp photographers, Felicia and Ginger and Lonnie, also contributed great photographs. These girls are not just good photographers, but wonderful people who really have made caring about dogs and improving understanding of dogs their lifes work.

A legion of dog trainer friends and clients also steadfastly took up their cameras at my request. Lori Saxe, Cherish DeWitt, Rashelle DeWitt, Tammy DeWitt (all the DeWitt photographs are listed under Cherishs name), Dave Schrader, Rachel Plotinski, Candy Smith, Abbey Palmer, Cheryl Ertelt and Amy Morris. These folks captured great moments in time in real settings - just like at your own house. Because of these photos, the content in this book gains a real life feel - stuff that happens under your nose all the time!

Once the vast quantity of photographs was collected, the writing started. Lori Saxe did the editing on this book. She is dedicated, skilled and diligent. I do not know how she does it, but she totally keeps my style and tone intact while improving my writing so much. I really could not do this without her, and my gratitude to her is immeasurable.

I owe a great deal to Lonnie Olson and Dog Scouts of America. Her camp is the location for Joannes photographs. Without that venue, I would not have had the thousands of photographs of dogs coming together in numbers. Lonnies Dog Scout Camp has been a source of inspiration and learning for me for many years. The first year I instructed at camp, I had been in dogs for many years already. Sometime during my first camp I had one of those emotional Ah HA! moments. Because of Lonnie and the other lovely instructors there, I, somewhat jaded at that point in time, remembered why I had gotten into dogs in the first place: because the activities you can do with your dog are FUN!!!! This is an easy thing to forget. Those of us who spend all of our time instructing, competing, and being with dogs do forget this frequently. Lonnie and the staff at camp serve an important function - they educate people about having fun with your best friend and thus open up possibilities for dogs. Thank you, Lonnie.

As always, Lori Saxe helped me to think through and explain things better. This was a big project, and discussions with Lori helped me over and over to clarify my thoughts. I am so glad that she was able to lend me her brain, a clear thinking brain, when my head was spinning.

At totally the last minute, Lori, who had the copy editing partially done, broke her elbow. Because of the pain meds and the surgery and the deadline, which all unfortunatly converged at the same time, we were in a bit of panic. However! Andi Plonka, another dear client, stepped in and finished the copy editing for me. This allowed me to be a good friend to Lori and not follow her into surgery and hound her after surgery, placing impossible demands upon her when she was in a helpless and weakened state. Thank you so much Andi!

The second edit, done for this fourth printing, was done by Priscilla Walker. I am so grateful for all of the help she provided me and all of the good advice. Priscilla, an excellent dog trainer herself, and (lucky for me) also literate, did a super job stepping in after Lori was injured to finally put a finished edit on this book.

I want to thank the many dogs and people who are in these photographs. The service I hope to render to dogs and their people with this book is possible because of you! If the world is to be a better place for dogs, people need to understand the species much better than we currently do. Dogs are misread all the time, and some of them die because of it. The lack of communication and the preponderance of miscommunication is frustrating for both species. If people can learn to be bilingual in human and dog, we are in a better position to help our dogs and enrich the lives of both species. This also prevents anthropomorphization, which creates impossible situations for dogs every day.

My daughter, Abbey, is always there in the background. Everything I do is flavored by my relationship with her, and her warmth and wit. An English major and now away at University (how did that happen? I am not old enough to have a daughter at University...), she encouraged me and also put up with less than intelligent phone conversations as I worked and talked simultaneously. I kept saying, No, Im listening. To which she would reply, Mom, I can hear you typing. And your replies are not making sense. She also was a great sounding board for some of my technical inquiries, like, How do you think I should spell Butt Sniff? Should it be one word or two or hyphenated, or what?