Trying hard to enjoy his book.  It was a gift.  Was dubious from the few TV bits I'd seen.  Have gotten through his wind up & am only dubiousER.  Have very low expectations for his pitch.  Is it all Oprah hype & dysfunctional owners?  Anything in Millan's kit & bull's eye for GSPs?  High point have been the footnotes, low point the weak photos that never seem to show what he describes.

I've read scattered GSP stuff from misc sources.  What are some GSP Page members' favorite GSP books, websites & articles?  Have a couple of modest paperbacks on GSP, some general dog books including GSP, some vintage GSP magazine articles & a 60's books from GB that has many photos of champion GSPs.  Also want recommendations for a good dog health/first aid/medical book.  Have a very dated vet book that doesn't even mention Lyme.

My non GSP favorite books are:

The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior by Dr. Bruce Fogle

Beyond Basic Dog Training by Diane Bauman

And probably the definitve GSP book:

Der Deutsch-Kurzhaar by Georgina Byrne (This one is out of print and hard to find (and if you do it is expensive.).  It was reprinted in paperback a few years ago and that is when I got a copy.  Don't know if you can still get it.)

All are great books with different purposes.

For current vet info I find it more useful to use the internet and visit Cornell Vet School and Texas A&M Vet School for info.  For those of you who might understand, my visiting the A&M site is a big deal since I graduated from UT , but they do have a great vet school.

I think many who criticize Cesar forget that his style is for the complete novice dog handler who is having problems with a behavior issue.

If you read his material and soak it up for what it is; his methods are basics that do work.  We don't get to see the behind the schene stuff of the real problem or difficult dogs that he works with for weeks and weeks to get progress.

As for a good book to learn about dog behavior and people behavior and how it relates when we handle or train.  A book titled,   The other end of the leash"  is fantastic!!!   Anyone can learn a lot from it or if you are experienced with dogs it will refresh your mind on some concepts.

I give it 4 stars and a thumbs up!

Thanks for all the suggestions.  Allow me to post an example of the "low point the weak photos that never seem to show what he describes". Cesar repeatedly writes about routinely walking his pack of 40 "calm-submissive" dogs, but managed a photo w/fewer than 20, a 2nd photo shows just 6. I'd like to have seen the 40 'difficult dogs' following him like sheep.

I presume Cesar's success is no illusion, however the TV show surely relies on some Smoke & Mirrors. IMO the book is a bit clumsy & torturous to read. Lots of gross generalizations stated as axioms also.

As I've posted before, I prefer seeing Victoria driving up to save the day in her XKE.

My opinion is that for the 90% of the country who gives their dog no training, he's excellent.  His principles are the same over and over again, but there are clearly still plenty of people that need it.  the part I like most is that in the majority of cases with 'good' dogs (ie, not the ones with violent, aggressive problems) he reads the people, more than the dogs.  he's obviously learned most of this by observing dogs, as a lot of his terminology is a bit self-created.  He's very good about not letting himself get distracted or distressed by either the people or the dogs (even when you can tell he's not happy).

I haven't read any of his books, however my friend promised to lend me her copy once she's finished with it.  Like anything else, once something is recommended, it's important to make your own decision on how reliable the information is and whether it applies to your situation.

Thanks for the suggestions on other training books.  Must have a look.