Book review of “101 Essential Tips You Need to Raise a Happy, Healthy, Safe Dog”

Posted by justinelee in Pet Product Reviews, Pet World

Excited to have just finished reading Dr. Jason Nicholas‘ book 101 Essential Tips You Need to Raise a Happy, Healthy, Safe Dog. You can check out his website Preventive Vet, where he provides important information on common emergencies such as:

• Heat stroke
• Gastric dilatation-volvulus
• Lily poisoning
• High rise syndrome
• Feline urethral obstruction
• Puppy socialization

In this short, 55 page, soft covered book, Dr. Nicholas provides simple tips that are short and sweet (The book is about 1/2 an inch thick). You can finish reading the book in less than an hour, and while it doesn’t provide in-depth information, it provides a basic review of common causes that end up resulting in a potentially costly emergency room visit.

Here, a page example. And here too.

Some examples of the 101 Essential Tips include:

• Keep your pup away from compost
• Be aware of and prevent “bloat”
• Don’t use scissors to cut mats, gum, paint, or anything else out of your pup’s coat
• Understand and take the necessary precautions to prevent bolting (out the front door)
• Hang purses, diaper bag, backpacks, and all other bags far out of your pup’s reach
• Be aware of the dangers that pacifiers and bottle nipples can pose

It does have tips in there that are somewhat regional (such as poisonings limited to certain geographical regions) or rare (but devastating) emergencies. Keep in mind these are less commonly an issue, but an easy thing to prevent! Examples include:

• Be aware the dangers of escalators
• Be aware the dangers of home office paper shredders
• Buckle up pup for the drive (most dog restraint devices have failed safety tests)

Most of the tips in this book have 2-4 sentences of explanation, so they provide a very short and sweet explanation, but not a lot of detail if you’re looking for more. That said, it’s a great basic review for the first time puppy or dog owner that may not know the intricacies of pet-proofing a house appropriately!

Personally, I think this is the perfect gift to give a child who keeps hammering you for a pet – it’s a great way of communicating the responsibilities of dog ownership!

Worth checking out for novice pet owners!