ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO DOG TRAINING di Massimo Visintin e Massimiliano Zorzetto

The image is an immediate and powerful form of communication. While words alone can be misinterpreted by the meaning and weight that each of us personally attaches to them, an image allows us to absorb and understand a concept even before hearing its description. With this illustrated guide to dog training, Massimo Visintin has created a means of communicating canine education and helping us humans to solve the most common everyday problems we may encounter along the way. With the assistance of drawings from the talented hand of Massimiliano Zorzetto,. The illustrations guide the reader through the basic obedience positions that we teach our puppy during the learning process. This guide is first and foremost a useful tool for us bipeds who often struggle with our clumsy way of talking to our furry four-legged friends. So often our relationship is undermined by a haphazard, careless use of words. In the space of a few seconds we can alternate the command “sit” with “down”, interspersed with various whispers and who knows how many other words, in dialect or other languages, uttered in an attempt to coax the dog into a simple “sit” position. If the dog fails to do this because, confused by our jumbled instructions, he has not understood what to do, our frustration may lead us to raise our tone of voice, making communication between us even more difficult. With this uncoordinated and chaotic use of words, we send mixed messages to our furry friends that are often far from what we want to express. The Illustrated Guide to Dog Training teaches us to pay greater attention to detail. The relationship with our dog should be based on trust and mutual respect, and all that is required is that we humans learn a few clearly articulated rules. I consider this book to be an indispensable work for communicating, in a simple and straightforward manner, the few concepts that, if applied correctly, will help to perfect our coexistence with our canine best friend.   Sarah Benedetto