A Member of the Family by Cesar Millan

You can get this book @ Amazon. Some do not agree with Cesar's dog training methods. Personally I think like children, dogs are different and may require different approaches shall we say. Now don't get all up in arms about me comparing dogs and children, we have to raise and train both so I think it's a pretty good comparison. (this is mainly for my kids who are jealous of the dog and this means all 6 of you, I don't think Christi Lynn is jealous of him, she is the 7th child) A Member of the Family is worthwhile reading to say the least and the methods Cesar promotes to pick out a new puppy work, I can attest to that from personal experience. No we didn't get a puppy but we looked @ chocolate lab puppies. More on this later. The book in general? I'd give it a 7 out of 10 in general, for a dog book probably a 9 out of 10 but I can't think of one I'd give a 10 to so this one must be pretty good.
Some may not agree @ all with Cesar's choice of a pit bull for one of his dogs but I think it proves that nurture can overcome nature. Perhaps that's putting it too simply as it's more a case of the environment promoting decent dog behavior and discouraging anything else. The pit bulls name is Daddy and he is a sweetheart of a pit bull. I've known pit bulls, one of my first grand-dogs was a dalmatian pit bull cross named Polly, sweetest dog you'd ever want to know except she would lead her puppies deep into the woods when they reached about 7 weeks. (and any other puppies she thought should leave her "pack").
There are chapters by Cesar's wife and children which makes this more than a normal "dog" book. The human touch proves invaluable for finishing this book into a totally interesting read. Also the insights into different breeds and aspects of bringing a dog into the household prove invaluable. Like I said before I don't always agree with Cesar 100% but sometimes Cesar doesn't agree with himself 100%. My dog sometimes eats before me and runs ahead of me but he is just so proud he can smell the trail we have came down I hate to burst his little white fuzzy bubble. See Animals That Give Pause for more about my bichon and other animal stories.
Now about the chocolate labs? I can't remember how many there were, I wish I'd gotten some pictures but I was too enamoured with the dogs and puppies to take pictures especially when I found they had some yellow lab younger dogs. See Mugsey's Memorial for why I am so fond of these dogs. I don't know if I can paraphrase what Cesar said about picking a puppy in the book exactly but basically the idea is look for a puppy who isn't pushy or dominant but isn't shy and fearful either. It should be respectful but want attention and should give off a feeling of calm energy. Using those guidelines I picked out a little female with a black and white collar, when the dog owner got home he told me that was the best dog and he didn't even know I'd picked it out! If I'd used my usual puppy picking methods it would have been the noisiest most obnoxious one I'd picked out or the smallest one because I felt sorry for her. Not saying those won't make good dogs with the any kind of proper raising but the one that gave off calm energy is probably going to be easier to live with and train. (Dispatch was picked out for me, the owner brought him to me early because he was hogging all the food) That's what Cesar Millan's book promotes, picking out a puppy by providing specific guidelines that aren't foolproof but could help you avoid much heartache, he also gives ways to introduce a dog to a new baby or how to blend families and their dogs. Even if you are not planning on getting a new puppy or dog this is an invaluable interesting read.
Since I've had authors actually read my book reviews I'd like to say HI CESAR!!!! and Ilusion you are a saint. ;-)