Think you don’t have time to really get to know your shelter dog? Using the steps in Zen Buddhism as a starting off point, this book offers insights, practical tips, and exercises you can use to bond with your adopted dog and achieve a more relaxed and enjoyable life together. While feeding, walking, and occasionally petting your dog is a good start, no matter how busy you are, you will be able to better connect with your dog by trying the suggestions in this book. With entertaining stories about the author’s particularly idiosyncratic dog and the trials and tribulations that others have had with their rescue dogs, the author shows us that owners of an adopted dog can peacefully coexist with their pets. Observations and advice from animal experts at rescue organizations, vets, and experienced dog owners also provide insight about how to better succeed at understanding your adopted dog. Readers will also discover why adopted dogs are often best suited to rehabilitating humans in need. If you have a rescue dog or are thinking about adopting one, and are looking for ways to help the two of you have a more peaceful existence together, this book is for you.

World-renowned dog behaviourist and psychologist Mark Vette (of Driving Dogs and Flying Dogs fame) shows you how to transform your dog and create a harmonious life-long bond. This book looks at how the dog evolved from the wolf, and the ancient co-evolved bond that exists between humans and dogs, before explaining how to get your dog into a fundamental calm 'learning state' so you can encourage the behaviours you want from your pet. Mark then explains how to train your new puppy, and if you have an older dog that wasn't trained properly at that crucial early stage, how to correct each of the top ten behavioural problems that occur. Drawing from Mark's own life and experiences there are case studies throughout with beautiful photographs of these amazing animals. The top ten problems are: 1. Hyperactivity 2. Phobias 3. Excessive submission 4. Dog-to-dog aggression 5. Dog-to-human aggression 6. Barking 7. Separation distress 8. House training 9. Destructive behaviours 10.Recall This book is absolutely packed with information. It is a comprehensive practical guide combining the latest cognitive science with modern, loving, training techniques.

A comprehensive guide to puppy training by Mark Vette, of Pound Pups to Dog Stars fame. Following a quick look at the role of pups within the wolf pack, and how dogs evolved from wolves, this book gives a day-by-day, week-by-week guide to the fundamentals of training your puppy and building a happy lifelong bond between the two of you. Mark stresses the importance of the formative period (1-4 months) to instill good habits in your puppy, then shows you exactly how to do so and when to teach each skill. Includes chapters on choosing a puppy, forming a bond with your pup, training foundations (equipment and techniques), basic commands (like sit, heel and stay), what to train in which weeks of age, house training, socialisation, teaching them not to bite or indulge in continual barking, jumping up or other anti-social behaviours, plus a section on trouble-shooting if annoying behaviours start to creep in. It is a detailed and practical guide combining the latest cognitive science with modern, loving, training techniques. Illustrated with irresistible puppy photos, plus down-to-earth how-to shots of the training methods.

In a profound, funny and beautifully rendered portrait of a furry soul mate, first-time writer Rebecca Spyker recalls the adventures of her rescue dog, Bu, who not only changed her life but became the rescuer, leading her back to the Buddhist wisdom she forgets from time to time. Bu’s life is captured in a series of all true tails (tales), where he illustrates the absurdities and wonders of human life as this remarkably determined creature bounces from misadventures, strange encounters, life-threatening illnesses and peculiar antics to share his endearing habits. Rebecca in turn offers the reader some reflections on Zen wisdom, thoughtful insights and very human lessons on life, death and all the delightfully messy bits in between. In getting to know Bu’s poignant, joyful and love-filled journey, it’s guaranteed that you will be begging for a box of tissues one minute and laughing out loud the next. Written with warmth, grace and good humour, The Book of Bu – Tails of a Zen Dog provides a gentle nudge to learn something about yourself and that laughing and crying are very close companions.

Award-winning animal photographer Alex Cearns celebrates the peace, calm, and joy dogs bring to our lives with this unique full-color collection capturing eighty dogs in their most relaxed and contented moments. When Alex Cearns caught Suzi the Sharpei on film with eyes closed and an endearing smile on her furry face, the renowned Australian professional pet and wildlife photographer called the picture of serenity "Zen Dog." Captivated by the image’s tranquil beauty, Cearns then turned her lens on other canines experiencing their own carefree and meditative "Zen" moments—a series of photos that would go viral across the web and take the top prize in a major international competition. Expanding on Cearns’s original web series, Zen Dogs includes eighty stunning color photographs of a variety of breeds—golden retrievers, beagles, French bulldogs, dachshunds, poodles, huskies, pit bulls, and German shepherds. Here are some familiar faces from the online series, joined by dozens of dogs never seen before—all whose engaging personalities shine through. Sprinkled throughout the photos are words of wisdom from the Buddha, Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hanh, and other meditative masters, inspiring messages that, with the photos, warm the heart and soothe the spirit. A gorgeous compendium for every dog lover, animal enthusiast, and everyone looking to add some peace and joy to their day, Zen Dogs reminds us of the power dogs have to enrich our lives—to make us happier, healthier, calmer, and more loving.

There's no doubt cats are a meaningful feature of Japanese life: from folklore to fashion, they've left a giant paw print on the culture. It's believed that felines first appeared in Japan with the arrival of Buddhism via China in around 552, when their main role was to stop vermin from damaging scriptures. But what can we learn from these philosophical felines? Surely they can teach us a thing or two, through the wisdom gleaned over the centuries residing in ancient temples and co-existing with artists, courtesans, monks and writers. The Zen of Cat is interwoven with stories and facts about cats, Japan and Zen philosophy. Carla Francis includes discussions with Japanese cat lovers, and invites reflection and 'mindful mewsings' on life through an A-Z of Japanese words to inspire. Cats are unburdened by worry. They maintain an enviable equilibrium. Maybe we can too?

Beyond Zen: D. T. Suzuki and the Modern Transformation of Buddhism is an accessible collection of multidisciplinary essays, which offer a genuinely new appraisal of the great Zen scholar-practitioner, D. T. Suzuki (1870–1966). Suzuki’s writings and lectures continue to exert a profound influence on how Zen, Buddhism more broadly, and indeed Japanese culture as a whole, are understood in the United States, Europe, and across the globe. With the publication of Beyond Zen, we have at last in a single volume a comprehensive assessment of Suzuki that locates him and his legacy in the context of the turbulent age in which he lived. Now is the perfect moment for reflection and stocktaking. The fiftieth anniversary of Suzuki’s death passed just a few years ago, the copyright on his literary output has expired, and his selected works have recently been published by a major American university press. The work comprises twelve essays by some of the best Zen scholars in the world, Anglophone and Japanese, seasoned and young. They take a fresh look at Suzuki, his life and legacy, and their themes range broadly. Readers will find here explorations of Suzuki as he engaged with Zen and Mahāyāna Buddhism; nationalism and international relations; war and peace; religion, literature, and the media; the individual and society; and family, friends, and animals. Beyond Zen is structured chronologically to reveal the development in Suzuki’s thought during his long and eventful life. All in all, this collection offers a compelling, provocative, and multidimensional reappraisal of an extraordinary man and his times.

The moving, inspiring story of Al, the ungainly, unruly, irresistible Newfoundland puppy who grows up to become a daring rescue dog and super athlete—part of Italy's elite, highly specialized corps of water rescue dogs who swoop out of helicopters and save lives. Lynne Cox—acclaimed best-selling author of Swimming to Antarctica—is internationally famous for swimming the world’s most difficult waterways without a wet suit, and able to endure water temperatures so cold that they would kill anyone else, recognizes and celebrates all forms of athleticism in others, human or otherwise. And when she saw a video of a Newfoundland dog leaping from an airborne helicopter into Italian waters to save someone from drowning, Cox was transfixed by the rescue, and captivated by the magnificence, physicality, and daring of the dog. Tales of Al is the moving, inspiring story of Cox’s adventures on Italy’s picturesque Lake Idroscalo, as witness to the rigorous training of one of these spectacular dogs at SICS, the famed school that has taught hundreds of dog owners how to train their dogs—Newfoundlands, German shepherds, and golden retrievers—for this rescue operation. Cox writes about coming to know the dog at the book’s center, Al herself, from puppyhood, an adorable but untrainable chocolate Newfoundland—about the dreams, expectations, disappointments, and vision of her trainer and about realizing the dog’s full potential; striving with all of her canine might to become an expertly trained, highly specialized water rescue dog.

Recently dumped Belinda embarks on a 2,000-mile West Coast road trip with her rescue dog Bodie, taking in spectacular Big Sur, the wilds of Oregon, afternoon tea at Doris Day’s dog-friendly hotel, and a town where a dog was elected mayor. Join Belinda and Bodie on this soul-searching adventure along one of America’s most iconic highways.

Read Robert Rodi's posts on the Penguin Blog. "A charming, hilarious look at a little-documented world." -- People In dog years, Robert Rodi is 350. Age, however, couldn't possibly have prepared him for his experience with canine agility-the athletic cousin to best-of-breed shows. Rodi, an epicure and urban intellectual, picks up agility with aspirations for blue ribbons. His dreams of glory quickly fade when faced with the competition: hearty Midwestern handlers and their ferociously fit pups, who annihilate scrawny, scruffy, Dusty, Rodi's rescue dog and would-be champ, in the ring. The duo is utterly lost in the agility circles, but as in the best human/pet stories, they forge an everlasting bond to carry them through. Combining the wit of Christopher Guest's Best in Show and the charm of Marley & Me, Dogged Pursuit is an uproarious account of a neophyte's year in the dog show world that abounds in humor and warmth.