Man's best friend has a friend indeed in C. W. Meisterfeld. Meisterfeld's latest book conveys many insights and revelations about dealing with an aggressive dog. Both first-time dog owners and experienced trainers can understand and use his approach in dealing with canine aggression.

If you own a dog, Meisterfeld has penned this book to "help you avoid many mistakes in starting with a new dog and to give you hope and support in retraining an old dog with bad habits." The book covers the different aspects of the canine personality, with valuable information on instincts, survival, the pecking order and dominance, the territorial mind, and protectiveness. You learn to properly evaluate your dog's problems and how to condition and train in positive terms. Meisterfeld explains the Pavlov principle, the errors and dangers of negative training methods, and how not to be your dog's best friend.

The odd title of Meisterfeld s book refers to a dog named Jellybean and the Jekyll-Hyde split personality common to many problem dogs. Owners who see their dog only as a "Dr. Jekyll" often fail to detect the "Mr. Hyde" persona until it is too late. By the time you get to chapter five and read of the transformation of "Doc" to "Jellybean," you begin to examine the experiences in your own dog's training in a very different light. Chapter six deals with "Fiction and Facts" and answers some of those questions you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. The book then ends with a chapter dealing with praise and correction in a healthy way, and explains the primary needs of a dog within the family structure.

With the recent wave of near hysteria concerning dog attacks and many communities nationwide passing laws to ban certain breeds and types of dogs, this book can help you keep your dog from becoming a dangerous liability to both you and your neighbors. That alone is well worth taking the time to read this book. You may come away with a serious change in your attitudes and training techniques. I guarantee you'll come away with a better understanding of the canine mind.