The PetEdge Grooming Team's Summer Reading List

Can you believe that there are only two short weeks until Labor Day weekend? It seems like summer just started and now we're thinking about football, back to school and raking leaves.

We hope that you spent some time this summer dipping your feet in the pool, enjoying a cool drink, or better yet—relaxing at the beach with a good book about dogs, cats, grooming, or the pet care business.

Here are some of the books that the groomers and pet care professionals on the PetEdge staff have enjoyed this summer.

Please note: We know there are lots of different opinions regarding dog training and education. We're not advocating one method over another here. Just sharing some of the books that we've enjoyed—Thanks :)

• Notes from the Grooming Table by Melissa Verplank
  Our staff pet care pros are a big fan of this book because it's a great all-breed reference. It features annotated illustrations and suggestions for what blades sizes to use. "It's handy to have in your shop if you're asked to groom a breed you're not familiar with."

• The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior by Bruce Fogle
  "I like this book because it takes a scientific approach to exploring the different ways that dogs think."

• Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide to Interpreting the Native Language of the Domestic Dog by Brenda Aloff
  A great guide to canine body language. The pictures make it easy to understand what different canine postures look like. "Much more helpful than just reading the descriptions."

• How to be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners &
  
• The Art of Raising a Puppy (both books by the Monks of New Skete)
  "Their training methods are really good"
  
  
• The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
  "It's a business book, but oddly enough it helps with dog training and animal behavior."

• Positive Perspectives by Pat Miller
  "Describes how dogs perceive your actions, and how that perception can influence their reactions."

• How to Raise A Puppy You Can Live With by Clarice Rutherford and David Neil
  "Sensible, entertaining, and there's nothing too far fetched."

• It's Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet by Victoria Stillwell
  "Stillwell's approach helps to emphasize the dog's point of view, and provides suggestions that owners can take to remedy problem behaviors in specific scenarios. Plus she's well known from her TV show, which gives her credibility with readers."

• James Herriot's Dog Stories by James Herriot
  "Many people cemented my love for dogs, and James Herriot is one of them."

So what books are on your summer reading list?

What would you recommend to other groomers and pet care professionals?

Post your comments here on the blog, or put them on our Facebook wall.

Thanks, happy grooming, and happy reading :}