The best book I’ve read concerning animal behavior is actually really more of an encyclopedia of general country skills and knowledge than it is a book specifically about animal behavior. Despite this, the book possesses a wealth of information not found in any pet behavior book about cats or dogs. It covers the raising and behavioral training of almost a dozen species of common domesticates.
With nearly five hundred oversized pages, the book “Country Wisdom & Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Live Off the Land” boasts on its cover of “8,167 useful skills and step-by-step instructions” contained within. The book devotes over one hundred of its five hundred information-packed pages to the awareness of animals ranging from pets and livestock to wild animals. A great deal of information on animal behavior is shared, and in fact, I’ve learned more about animal behavior from this book than I’ve learned by reading any book that purported to be specifically about animal behavior.
For an example of the depth of detail contained within the book, I’ll sketch a brief outline of some of the information that is offered in the dog’s section. Information is included on everything from effective basic obedience training that works with the dog’s natural instincts and social behavioral tendencies to produce the desired result – all the way to tidbits of information as obscure as why puppies are so often afraid of going down the stairs and how to build their confidence enough to quickly rid them of this fear. The book covers the reasons for and solutions to behaviors such as whining, barking, digging and jumping up on people. It also explains common ailments that may be causing behavioral problems in your dog, and safe effective herbal based remedies that can be used to address those common ailments.
The book covers more than just the behavior of dogs though, in so much detail. It explains step by step everything you’ll need to know to raise chickens, cows, ducks, rabbits, cats, horses and a variety of other animals, including a great deal about their behavior and medical needs, and how the two are related to each other in each species. The other 300 some-odd pages of the book that deal with country skills other than raising animals are just as informative and well illustrated as the section on animals. I would recommend this book before all others to anyone who is having trouble communicating to their pet the differences between desired behavior and undesired behavior, or anyone who wants a better understanding of common animal behavior.
