SitStayFetch presents an unusually detailed and thorough look at how to both prevent and deal with the more common problem behaviors exhibited by dogs. As the owner of a moderately troublesome mutt myself, I’ve spent a fair amount of time searching the Net for reliable resources on this topic, and I have to say that the level of knowledge and detail contained within the pages of this compendium is unusually exacting for an online book.  

Not only that, but – again, unusually for this medium – the information at hand is actually (gasp!) reliable. Yes, that’s right – this one’s a whole new kettle of fish. Written by a seasoned dog trainer, you can relax in the knowledge that all the tips and advice included are tried and true, and come from Stevens’ real-life experiences as a professional dog trainer.

What’s Covered? 

There’s a pretty impressive range of information packed into this guide. It’s not just the problem behaviors that are covered: the book starts off with new-owner advice (how to choose a puppy/dog, the best places to get one from, breed information, puppy/dog-proofing your home, the first vet visit, housetraining, etc) and then moves on to the more advanced stuff: behavioral problems (such as aggression, dominance, chewing, digging, excessive barking, separation anxiety, to name a few), intermediate-level obedience commands, health-related dog problems (allergies, cat/dog coexistence, fleas, heatstroke, and so on), and advanced commands and tricks.

Particularly Good Parts 

In addition to the contents listed above, there’s also a pretty impressive section on dog whispering, which – in case you haven’t heard of it already – is a method of dog training based on a philosophy of clear communication and mutual respect. It’s been popularized in recent years by Cesar Millan (“The Dog Whisperer”), and is becoming increasingly well-known as an alternative and humane method for disciplining and training your dog. SitStayFetch has dedicated an entire section to dog whispering: Daniel Stevens explains the background of the technique, how to utilize voice and body language to your best advantage, and how to use the technique to calmly, assertively, and effectively correct and train your dog. Step-by-set instructions are included for the common commands (sit, down, come, stay, quiet, etc).  

It makes for some pretty interesting reading – and, after trying out the basics on my own recalcitrant pooch, I was amazed at how effective the techniques suggested are. Highly recommended!

I Love Freebies (Who Doesn’t?) 

There’s just something about getting something for nothing. And, although my magpie-like acquisitiveness may have led me into less-than-productive purchases in the past, in this particular case I’m happy to report that SitStayFetch hasn’t let me down: the freebies included with this book are not only numerous, they’re actually useful(wow!) 

The book itself costs $37. For this price, you get a complete and detailed manual on training your dog, preventing and handling behavioral problems, and a whole bunch of general-knowledge tips and advice.  

You also get a handful of practical freebies: four bonus books, dealing respectively with advanced housetraining how-to’s and troubleshooting (including both the crate- and paper-training methods); a detailed study on resolving canine aggression; how to effectively groom your dog (including information on coat care for specific breeds, dental care, and nail-clipping how-to’s); and finally, how to begin training your dog for security work.  

Another particularly useful freebie: a personalized consultation with a member of the Kingdom of Pets team. If you’ve got an issue with your dog that you’d like some individual attention on, you can flick them a quick email and receive a personalized, thorough reply packed with expert advice and practical tips. 

SitStayFetch: A Thumbnail Sketch
Altogether, I’m pretty impressed with this package. I’ve owned dogs on and off my whole life, starting from when I was ten – I would have thought that I was better-prepared than most to handle the quirks and caprices of my canine friends.  

But since reading this book, I think my pre-SitStayFetch self was (embarrassingly) perhaps a trifle more complacent than knowledgeable – I’ve learned more since reading this manual than I’ve picked up in a near-lifetime’s worth of contact with dogs (do you know how to stop your dog from tugging on the leash, without using a check-chain? Well, I do – but until I got my hands on a copy of this book, I certainly didn’t!)  

Several of the training techniques present a refreshingly common-sense, down-to-earth approach to dog training; others require a little more effort (take dog whispering as an example) but yield some pretty dramatic results. I liked the way that more than one training technique is detailed, to allow the reader to pick and choose the techniques that best suit themselves and their individual dogs.  

I have no qualms in recommending this package to anyone who owns, or is thinking about owning, a dog. You don’t need to have a “problem pet” for the manual to be of assistance: there’s information included that’ll be useful to any and all dog owners.

In a nutshell: highly recommended.

Katy’s Tropical Fish is the complete guide to keeping healthy, happy, long-lived tropical fish. The manual itself consists of over 100 pages of comprehensive information and full-color diagrams, and covers all aspects of setting up a tropical fish aquarium from scratch: preparing it, placing it, stocking it, cleaning it, and maintaining a sustainable, stress-free, and healthy environment for the fish.  

A tropical aquarium is (to the uninitiated, at least) a surprisingly delicate balance of conflicting factors: everything has to be just so in order for the fish to survive and cohabit with each other peacefully. There are a lot of different considerations to bear in mind in the long run – Katy’s Tropical Fish – A Complete Guide tells you everything you need to know to keep a well-maintained aquarium, swimming with beautiful fish, for a minimum of cost, effort, and time-investment. 

What Do You Learn? 

This manual tells you literally everything you need to know about acquiring and maintaining your tank of healthy, happy tropical fish. One of the main selling-points of the book, as far as I’m concerned, is that it’s a complete guide: literally all the information necessary to set up your own aquarium is included (and how to do it quickly, too – Katy tells you how to do it inside of 24 hours), as well as long-term maintenance tips on how to keep everything fresh and looking good.  

In addition to this, there’s also identification and treatment advice on some of the more common ailments suffered by tropical fish (including White Spot, Velvet and Fin Rot), which will save time and money at the vet’s (not to mention potential heartbreak); information and troubleshooting tips on how to grow healthy aquatic plants; and time- and money-saving information on recommended products, which products aren’t recommended (and why), and aquarium care. And all of this is in clear, easily-understandable language, too – which is a real relief, especially after trying to wade through some of the terminology-packed alternatives available on the market! 

What Bonuses Do You Get? 

You get considerable bang for your buck with Katy’s Tropical Fish Guide – not only do you get the complete, fully-illustrated guide itself, which is an exhaustive guide to everything you need to know about keeping tropical fish, but you also get: 

- the downloadable video, Secrets to Tropical Fish Success, which guides you through the set-up of a professional-quality tropical aquarium (regardless of your budget) 

- the bonus book Buying Compatible Freshwater Fish, which is a complete guide to the compatibility of a variety of freshwater fish which you may wish to add to your tropical aquarium 

- the bonus book Introduction to Freshwater Plants, packed with useful information on the importance and care of plants in your aquarium 

- the bonus book Choosing the Right Marine Fish, a complete guide to choosing and caring for marine fish (a wide selection of tropical saltwater fish are covered) 

Particularly Good Parts 

Something I found particularly useful was the free, private email consultation with the Kingdom of Pets tropical fish team. If, after reading the books and watching the video, you should have any unanswered questions, all you have to do is send an email – and you’ll receive a reply back in no time at all (the rapidity of customer service is another gratifying aspect of this product), straight from the tropical-fish experts themselves. This consultation is valued at $120, but for some strange reason it’s currently being given away completely free! 

In addition, I always find it very reassuring when a company or author is confident enough of the quality of their product to offer a no-questions-asked 100% refund, should a customer (for whatever reason) not be completely satisfied with their purchase. From a consumer’s perspective, this safety-net does a lot to assuage any (hypothetical, as it turns out) doubts that I may have had. 

All in All 

I can’t see how you can possibly go wrong with this. After trawling through the other products available on the market, I have to say that Katy’s Tropical Fish – A Complete Guide has to be the leader in the field (and I’d say the author knows it too, since she promises to give it away for free if you can find a better-value guide anywhere on the Internet!). 

If you’ve got a tropical aquarium, or are thinking of obtaining one, this guide is definitely for you – there’s no doubt about it.

Complete Cat Training Guide 

It’s funny how many dog-training guides there are available. All the information you could ever want on how to teach your dog tricks; how to communicate with your dog; how to understand what your dog’s thinking; how to prevent behavioral problems. 

Why aren’t there more books on how to do all this for cats? After all, cats are just as popular as dogs (if not more so); and, arguably, they’re just as intelligent and just as capable of being trained. 

I never even thought about training my cat to do tricks and obedience work. He’s spent his life thus far as a happy free-loader, accepting food and cuddles from me in exchange for …. well, not that much, actually. 

Until, that is, I dropped round to visit a new acquaintance recently, where I watched, stunned (and, I’ll admit, more than a little envious) as she got her cat perform what seemed to me to be an entire circus’ worth of acrobatics: rolling over, playing dead, shaking hands, even playing fetch. 

“Right,” I thought to myself, “That’s it! If her cat can do it, then mine can, too!” … and thus my search for the Holy Grail of cat-training handbooks began in earnest. 

I hunted here, I hunted there – I just about turned the library inside out. I looked through newspapers for advertised cat trainers, I asked my friends, I made phone calls to vet clinics and even dog-training organizations (just in case!) 

The two things I didn’t do – but should have – were place a phone-call to that new acquaintance (I’m afraid my pride got in my way: I fostered fond dreams of casually unveiling my cat’s mastery of a stunning array of tricks and obedience work the next time she dropped around); and I didn’t even think of looking online until my husband (who, as chance would have it, works in internet marketing) castigated me gently for not “Googling” the subject straight away. 

So I hopped onto the computer, and within five minutes I’d found what I was looking for in the Complete Cat Training Guide; and it was clear to me within just a few pages that the author, Paula Robb, is a woman who really knows what she’s talking about … 

So What’s Included? 

Let me get one thing straight: although this is a book that will teach you (among other commands) how to get your cat to beg, jump, twirl, stay, sit, come, open cupboards, kiss, play dead, and retrieve, that’s by no means all that you’ll learn. 

Something I found incredibly useful was the book’s total-coverage philosophy: pretty much all aspects of cat ownership have been covered, in real detail. Example: as well as cat training, you also get information on how to fix virtually any cat problem (this is no baseless claim – over twenty-five cat behavioral problems are covered, from urine-marking to nocturnal disturbances to aggression); you get a real-life case study for each problem (which is a real help when it comes to putting the information into context); you learn about your cat’s body language and vocals, and how to use that knowledge to understand what he’s thinking and how to communicate with him; plus chapters and chapters of general knowledge on things like choosing the right cat for you; understanding feline behaviors both “good” and “bad”; how to help your cat adapt to your lifestyle and home; how to toilet-train your cat; and two whole sections on cat health and nutrition, all of which goes a long way towards deepening and strengthing your relationship with your cat. 

Other Benefits 

I sometimes find it hard to understand written instructions. It can be kind of confusing, especially when you’re also trying to control a wriggling, energetic cat. That’s why the clear step-by-step photographs and illustrations came in so handy with the training strategies: I actually understood exactly how to position myself and make the most of my body language during the training. It made the whole process a lot easier – and a whole lot faster! 

Something else I liked: the book was instantly downloadable. This is a pretty big deal to me; I don’t like paying for something, then waiting days (usually weeks) for it to be shipped overseas, processed through the post, and then – likely as not – delivered to the wrong address. What I do like is instant gratification, which is exactly what I got with Complete Cat Training: seconds after paying my money, the book was downloaded onto my computer and I was gleefully reading through it. 

The Best Bits 

I don’t really understand how this woman can be making any money off her product, because she seems to be giving away a lot of stuff for free (but hey, I’m not complaining!) 

Here are just a few of the handy little freebies that I got with my book:

- Two free bonus books: “The Essential Cat Recipe Book”, which shows you how to prepare tasty, healthy meals and treats for your beloved kitty; and “The Ultimate Guide to Pampering Your Cat”, which shows you how to develop a real bond of affection with your cat through improving his quality of life. 

- A free, private email consultation (worth $120) with a team of real live cat trainers. Any problems that you have, any queries whatsoever, and all you have to do is send an email – you’ll get a detailed, personal reply from a team of seasoned cat trainers, to make sure any problems are truly resolved to your satisfaction. Not bad. 

In a Nutshell 

Two words: highly recommended. You really can’t go wrong here; not only is the whole thing jam-packed with practical advice and hands-on tips, but the price is extremely reasonable: just $37 for the book, the consultation, and the bonus books … oh yeah, and there’s a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee for 60 whole days after making the purchase. 

All in all, I have no qualms whatsoever about recommending this book to anyone who’s got, or is thinking about getting, a cat: whether it’s training, behavioral problems, trouble-shooting, or improving your relationship with your beloved kitty, I guarantee you’ll learn something useful.

Complete Cat Training Guide 
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