Breeders Books

New to this author and will not open another of her books. If one can't stand the protagonist,one can't enjoy the story, dog lover or not. Jo Beth is a nightmare of ego and self-righteousness, and her mental meanderings are dimwitted and sour. Too bad, as I had great hopes for the series.

I have read all of Ms Lanier's books regarding bloodhounds. They are so entertaining and gives me an idea of what the world of raising bloodhounds is. I am anxiously awaiting another book from her and would like to know when she has a new one out. Reading is so relaxing for me. And I like books that have a little mystery involved.

There seemed to be entirely too much going on in this story, to the point that I lost track of several subplots. Maybe this book showed the heroine in a worse light than most, but I didn't find her charmingly feisty, I found her extremely irritating. Maybe I am simply tired of Southern characters who brag about Southern manners and then are pig-rude to everyone they meet. I am willing to believe that she is more interesting than this book shows her, but I will probably never know. I am fascinated by bloodhounds and I *still* couldn't enjoy this book, so I do not plan to investigate the rest of the series.

If nothing else, any novel that would have a major character's murder trial occupy about two chapters squeezed into the end has got more problems than I care to think about. The fact that, under the circumstances described, the major character would probably never have been charged in real life only made that part more bewildering.

I plan to read a "How To" book about bloodhound training to cleanse my palate, and then never go near another book in this series ever again.

I have enjoyed the books in this series, but this is my least favorite by far. I found too many parts to be unbelievable; the protagonist was constantly alienating her friends and putting herself in extreme danger (more than usual....?). There were also a few side stories that were never really fleshed out or wrapped up, which was disappointing. And too much happened in the last chapter...cheap literary device used to tidy everything up. So, read it if you're reading the series, but skip it otherwise

I liked this book at least as much as the earlier ones in the Bloodhound series. Virginia Lanier provides a realistic tour of the nearly mystical abilities of the bloodhound and keeps the characters busy at the same time. JoBeth is balancing ten bloodhound pups, ten murder suspects, the nasty Bubba and her business all at one time. No wonder she's short-tempered. The astonishing information on the scent machine is true--I've seen it in action. She weaves the facts and the fictional characters together in an exciting story that has humidity and 'gators crawling out of the book's covers. A great read!

Michael McGarrity is a retired policeman, like his alter ego, Kevin Kerney. You get the idea that the character is closely based on the writer, right down to the double initials in their names (M.M. and K.K.). Kerney has graduated in the series to the point that he's the police chief of Santa Fe, New Mexico, but since there are so few murders there, for this to be a murder mystery, McGarrity has to have Kerney go to California, shopping for horses, and stumble on a dead body.

The victim turns out to be a wealthy socialite, and at first the local authorities suspect Kerney of being involved, and investigate him. Once that dries up, the investigation turns towards the guys wife, an attractive younger woman who has a wandering eye. As the book moves slowly along, the killer becomes apparent rather early and easily.

There's a second plot in the later part of the book, involving Kerney's wife (an Army officer) and her investigation of alleged cover-ups involving Army personnel involved in sexual assault cases, some including actual rapes. This plot thread doesn't finish at the end of the book, leaving us to wonder if he's going to continue it in the next entry in the series.

I enjoyed this book, but only to a certain extent. This is by far the slowest of the Kevin Kerney novels, with virtually no suspense and no real mystery. The author has a good command of characters and dialog, and some of the interchanges between Kerney and the other characters were fun, but the plot is very slow and predictable. I definitely think that you'd be better off starting this series out with one of his other books.

I discovered McGarrity a few weeks ago and have been reading his Kevin Kerney (is there another series?) books as I find them, and out of chronological order.

I like McGarrity's books because:
1) They are easy to read. His books flow naturally and are easy to understand.
2) I like his descriptions of NM, which until now I thought of as a desert and cultureless state.
3) His characters are easy to like and well described.

The cons:
1) I guess I've been reading too many thrillers, or it's just that his books are not in the thriller category. I'm not sure if this is really a strike against his books.
2) This book, like another Kevin Kerney one, seems to end very abruptly without ending. I keep thinking how the author was going to wrap it up in 2 more pages, and he didn't.

Spoiler here:

First, just like the other KK book, he sidetracks into Sara's case, however we're left hanging there and I don't know if Sara's case is going to continue in the next book in the series.
Second, McGarrity never explains the deal with the son and how the scheme worked. It's like he just wrote the required number of pages and stopped there. A very abrupt ending.

Bottom line: A very nice, but not overly thrilling book, full of your favorite characters, but with a very abrupt ending. I guess I should try to read his books in chronological order to see if it makes better sense.
But I will continue to read the rest of the series.

McGarrity has disappointed the reader in his last two books, this one especially. The plot and storylines have not been up to par with his previous books, which I enjoyed immensely. His ending in Slow Kill does not wrap up the loose ends and appears hurried. His ending in his last book also seemed "hurried".

I have read McGarrity's other Kevin Kerney mysteries, so I was looking forward to this one. The book has McGarrity's easy-going style that brings in a lot of the New Mexico atmosphere. That style was the strongest thing about the book. The plot (you can get summaries of the plot in other reviews) is convoluted. That is not necessarily a bad thing in a mystery novel. But it is a horrendous thing in a novel that seemed to be operating under limited space requirements, as if the author were under pressure to keep the book under 280 pages (it's 278 pages in hardback). The ending was rushed. Not all of the loose ends got tied up, at least not to the satisfaction of this reader. Perhaps McGarrity will revisit some of these plot elements in a later work. But the result was a book not up to the level of the rest of the series.

In the ninth novel in the Kevin Kerney series, Michael McGarrity stretches his writing ability along with the patience and stamina of his protagonist. Kevin Kerney, one of America's favorite cops, is a suspect in a homicide and the investigator who has Kerney in her sights is not one to let go easily. But is it even a homicide? There are no marks on the body, no obvious signs of a struggle, but the deceased didn't just die all by himself, did he? Then, there is that younger wife to consider. Could she and Kerney have conspired to kill the aging husband for his money and his land? Would Kerney's wife be happy about the whole thing? And what is all this about a secondary mystery that goes all the way back to the Vietnam War? McGarrity weaves a dense and devious plot, but the path of discovery is well worth the time it takes.

Wow! There are 45 horses who are personal friends of mine, and after reading this book, I feel that I know them so much better now! I had already figured out many of their quirks and cute personality traits, and now I have a whole new insight. For example, now I understand that the reason Image is "attitudinal" is because his mama was lead mare when he was born, and he's not about to let anyone forget it. And Casanova is the "class clown" who, if he likes you, will entertain you for hours with his (sometimes annoying) antics like knocking the hat off my head, over and over again -- and if he doesn't like you, don't turn your back on him, or he'll nip you in the butt (but never hard), and by the time you turn around, he's looking the other way, as if to say, "Who did that? Not me!" There are stories in the book to match and top any I have to tell, including a senior horse who liked to play jokes on cows. It's a terrific read and very educational as well. If you are looking to buy a horse, there are tips for selecting one. And for those who enjoy horse racing, there are tips for betting on horses, based on observing their behavior before the race. There's something for everyone in this book.

I personally felt that this book is an awesome introduction to horses and their behavior. No, it does not go into great detail of body language, and it is not for the experienced horseman (I only bought this book because it was required for a class), BUT the book is worth your time. I think that this book offered an excellent perspective on undertanding the horse and why they do what they do. For example, just because the horse isn't doing what you want, doesn't necessarily mean that it's being a "bad" horse- there is an incredible array of things that could be the 'problem'; even though as I said this book will offer no new insights to experienced horsemen and women, it can be a very good reminder of why our horses do what they do. All in all, if you are a beginner to the horse world, pick this book up, and take a few hours to read it, it'll be worth the time and money.

This is an excellent resource for a person who hasn't had much exposure to horses or has trouble interpreting the meaning of equine body language and sounds. Although, it was well written, and made some excellent points, it seemed quite basic and I didn't come to any new revalations about horses that would help or change my relationships with them.

I'm a young horse lover and I spend much more time reading and studying horses in books, magazines, and other sources of trustworthy media than I do actually experiencing these beautiful animals up close. Nor am I lucky enough to be able to regularly work with them. I recently received "The Body Language of Horses" and I have blazed through this small book and found that it is very informative, observant, and suitable towards an aspiring horsewoman or horseman. It gives out clear, though thick, digestible pieces of horse psychology and body language offering ways to understand and `connect' with the equine. I give it a rating of four stars out of five because there is further searching in different books about horse language I have yet to discover and the horses themselves.
Thanks!
Sarah

I was rather disappointed with this book for several reasons. First and foremost, the bulk of the book does not, as the title would have us believe, focus on the body language of horses. A couple of chapters devote themselves to brief descriptions of horse behavior under different circumstances (when happy, angry, frightened, bored, tired, hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, etc.), but the largest sections of the book concern curing problem horses and training foals. At the end there is a chapter on observing the body language of racehorses in order to pick winners, and two appendices on how to buy a horse.

Not only does the book stray from it's purported topic, but the information that IS given about equine body language is so basic and obvious that any true horseperson would already know it, and any aspiring horseperson could learn it all in a matter of a few weeks spent around the creatures. Of course a nervous horse will work up a sweat, a bored horse will get mouthy, and a horse that is irritated by a fly will swish its tail and twitch its skin. There are really only two forseeable uses, in my mind, for this book. The first is as a reference for those who know next to nothing about horses and wish to learn. The second, a slightly different version of the first, is as a guide to non-equestrian racegoers in order to pick winning horses on which to place their bets (and this is not surefire or guaranteed in any way, since pre-race behavior is only one of many factors that determines the outcome of a race).

The book is also considerably old, and a bit dated. It was written and first published in 1980, more than two decades ago. While the basic behavior of horses hasn't changed in that time, much else in the horse world has, including attitudes toward the care and training of horses. There are now many more effecting training methods than those presented here, and one passage in the book even alarmed me. Though they pronounce it a "dubious last resort," the authors nevertheless included the following method for "[teaching] manners to a resistant horse":

". . . dramatic effects are obtained by striking the animal over the poll bone with a fragile wine bottle filled with a slush of sand and warm water. When the bottle breaks and the warm, moist substance dribbles down its head, the savage horse becomes a trembling wreck. A gestured threat to repeat the treatment is usually enough to terminate subsequent misbehavior" (pg. 49).

While this is the only place in the book where the authors propose such blatantly inappropriate methods, I nevertheless cannot give a vote of confidence to anyone that would condone striking an animal with a wine bottle to elicit compliance. In addition, the authors make a great many generalizations about equine behavior and do not allow much leeway for differences in personality. As any person who spends much time around horses knows, one can be vastly different from the next. I said earlier that this book had two conceivable uses, but even for those I would not recommend purchasing this book. There are other books out there on the behavior and training of horses that are more current, more accurate, and more effective.

Never received the book. No emails and notice, no nothing!
Very Disappointed.

This is an excellent book to use as background and reference for marine aquarium keeping. There are other books that cover species identification, and I would not buy this book for that purpose. You need this book to understand the principles of filtration systems, recognition and treatment of disease and all of the underlying knowledge that will allow you to be successful in maintaining a marine aquarium. It is in need of revision to cover more recent advances in reefkeeping, though.

Moe covers most of the parts of setting up a first-time marine aquarium with aplomb and humor (his troubleshooting section includes "water pooling around tank" and "cookie floating in tank"). The only drawbacks to this book are a lack of illustrations and there is no real species profile to speak of. Since many, if not most, people start with an idea of what kind of fish they want to keep and work (backwards?) from there, a section would be helpful. But the information in the book will complement a species-focused book quite nicely.

This book helped me setup my first marine aquarium. The advice on setup, run up and maintenance is well written and interjected with great wit every once in a while. It is packed with very useful information. The book is very close to a perfect marine starter manual. It's only flaws lack of some graphics (such as the disease section) and in organization. That is the only reason I did not give the book a five star rating. These minor flaws are easily overlooked and overshadowed by the wealth of the book. If you are a first time marine aquarianist (as am I) this is a well-written, excellent book to start with. If you have been in the hobby for a while, it is an excellent reference.

I referred to Moe's book to confirm that my fish had Black Ich (my first experience with a fish disease). The book stated clearly the proper treatment,and I even carried the book into the fish store to confirm what needed to be done. I'm happy to say, fish are now Ichless. This is the kind of book you would want to have nearby, so diagnosis and treatment can happen quickly.

One of the best beagle books ever! I have read and refer to it daily.

Of the four major Beagle books I've read ("The New Beagle" by Judith Musladin; "Beagles" by Beverly Pisano; and "The Beagle: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet" by Richard Roth) this one is clearly the worst. There is nothing of relevance to a pet owner in the "real world" - for someone who is looking for some common sense tips on how to care for and understand their pet. Chapters include such useless topics as@"Beagles in Hawaii," Hound Shows and National Beagle Club Recognized Packs," and "Gun Dog Trials." The countless dated black and white photos are all nearly identical - the usual champion's pose on the winner's podium - page after page of them. I don't think there's a photo taken after 1950 in the entire book. If you're just a regular pet owner who would like to learn more about where your Beagle is coming from and how to take the best, most practical care of it - read Richard Roth's book "The Beagle: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet."

This is an excellent book for those who have loved beagles for years, and for those who are just finding out how great beagles can be! Here is a small testimony to the research involved with this book. Imagine our surprise when we found out that our female has a living legend for a great-grandfather!!! You would never know from just the Pedigrees from the American and Australian Kennel Clubs!!! It's a pleasure to see the authors make so much effort to produce very intelligent and informed material to the public.

I, too, was a little disappointed in this book. Although I loved the photographs of the beautiful little hounds, I was dismayed that the book contained nothing recent. The book was little more than a step-by-step manifesto on how you, too, can enter your beagle in a show and the issues concerning dog shows. I was disappointed that very little was offered in the way of the care of the hound and that the book was really directed towards showing the hounds as opposed to regular owners. Although information about showing beagles is all very well and good, I did not feel this work did a good job in presenting that information.

I gave this an extra star because the photographs (although dated) of the hounds were very appealing.

I Read this book when it was published and over the years lost my copy.This book is for the exibitor,I believe,specifically for those who look at pedigrees and like to match photos to names of dogs you were not able to see personally either because you were not exibiting at the time the dog was shown,or were not in the same geographic area... I would also recommend their previous book Beagles and Beagling....jfahrlen@bellsouth.net

First off, DJ Short is an unbelievable breeder. This guy is an artist, really, and I've been reading his stuff for years. So I guess you could complain that a lot of what's in here has been published elsewhere but even as a fan of the guy, I'm not going to spend all my time flipping through hundreds of magazines trying to find all his articles. So if you want to hear what Short has to say about anything and everything- and believe me, you should- this book is where to find it. Also, the pictures are phenomenal and only DJ Short would have a flavor and olfaction chart centerfold. You've got to love this guy.

This book has good information from a solid breeder and it looks good too. A crazy purple budding plant wraps around the entire cover and it looks tasty. Inside there's useful charts and illustrations. PLUS, the color photo section has some nice photos.
Sure, this information has been in Cannabis Culture Magazine, but I don't have time to read through back issues and find all the articles (if I even saved them all). I like having all this information in one place.
I like this book. If you want to know how to go about breeding and stabilizing marijuana, you will like this book. DJ Short knows what he's talking about. His writing style is casual and straight forward. The book answered all of my questions about breeding and had some interesting asides and thoughts from DJ Short. Good stuff.

Before you condsider wasting your money on Dj Short's book consider this: This book has nothing new it is just a compilation of Dj's articles that he wrote for cannabis culture, thrown together in an effort to make money. All of these articles can be found online at CC. The book looks as if it were thrown together in an hour, there are pages with only a sentence or two. There a few pictures that were also already in CC. Dj Short is respected in his trade as one of the best but he is not an author. If you want detailed information, this book is not the right one. I suggest reading one of Mel Frank's or one Ed Rosenthal's books.

This book will lead you to the bushel of buds at the end of the rainbow! It takes you through all of the necessary (and not always obvious) measures you need to take to grow some utterly mind blowing pot. DJ Short takes you on a magical cloud walk through the realms of safety and sprouting. From there you fly through the land of the dirt covered hands where you learn about all the aspects of raising a pot baby of your very own. Then, as you stroll across that wonderful rainbow, DJ discusses the many aspects of curing, and enjoying the bushel of pot that you are about to harvest. If you so desire you can stay and soak up DJ?s knowledge about breeding or cloning your little ladies, and even learn something about choosing the color of your flowers.

I Give this book five stars from my cannabis sky because I?m on my way to the bushel at the end of the rainbow! Thank you DJ, I'll see you there!

The book has great photographs very informative, it has lot of important information well organizet easy to read and understand. I found the information I needed for the problems that can be prevented from puppyhood through senior years. Is very practical informative and still fun to read.

I purchased this book because I own a Collie. I am dismayed at the amount of misinformation and disinformation contained within this book. The book is poorly written in parts, which creates contradictions from chapter to chapter. A novice would not be able to purchase and care for a Collie based on the information as it is presented
I am convinced that the author never owned a Collie, nor even spent much time with one. The author states that the Collie requires more exercise than most breeds; this simply is not so. The Border Collie does, but not the Scotch Collie. It requires exercise, to be sure, and it is a large breed dog, but it is less active than a Parson Russell Terrier half its size!
The author is most egregious in the health chapters. The author is pushing a personal agenda that is not only dangerous for the dog, but could result in a dog being impounded by municipal animal control. In one sidebar, the author recommends against monthly treatment with a heartworm preventive, yet almost every municipality (or breeder contract, or adoption/rescue contract) requires the treatment with vermifuge! The author refers to the medicine as "poison" (does she even know that Ivermectin is used for people, I wonder?) and recommends using the vermifuge every other month or every three months, which is not how it is supposed to be used. A dog in poor health due to heartworms may be removed from its owner by local human authorities, and unfortunately, at this stage the treatment may very well kill the dog (the dying worms may put the dog into fatal shock). The author also recommends that in place of conventional veterinary medicine (again, see stipulations regarding dog health that originate from municipalities and contracts) owners should use homeopathic nostrums, which are nothing but water (something diluted millions or billions of times in water is water-- someone who had only high school chemistry can tell you that). She also recommends against the use of prescribed flea and tick preventives, yet never mentions Lyme disease by name (although she identifies the bacterium that causes it). Lyme disease is a menace to people as well as to dogs, and the use of Frontline Plus or something similar on the dog is essential throughout the US.
Yet, she does not mention that the Collie breed is sensitive to certain medicines! Collies are prescribed a non-Ivermectin vermifuge (mine gets Interceptor), Colies should not be given Pepto-Bismol or other bismuth-based anti-diarrheal medicines, and so forth (great information is available on the Collie Health Foundation website, which is not mentioned).

Buy the Collie Concept by Bobbee Roos, it remains the standard book on the Collie breed.

I own two rough collies, a tri-colored and a blue merle. This book had great photographs and information regarding the collie. It has great information on plants that collies should stay away from such as the common daisy. Also, it praises the crate method, something I was against until I tried it with the collies and determined they love having their own space.

This book is full of good information about every aspect of owning a collie.

it was on back order from another place, i finally got it and its this little book......not worth the wait, was upset about all the stuff i knew already was in it, it was supposed to be this great book......if you already have an understanding for genetics and diseases then dont bother paying for this book. for the novice person, its a little over whelming i think....informational for them but not for me.

This is a very straightforward book which details every aspect of feline genetics. It is very readable and informative on the facts and also on breeding theories. The writers coming from four different disciplines is helpful, along with a glossary which explains the terminology. It would be a very good investment for an experienced person or novice breeder (me).

The authors of Robinsons' Genetics for Cat Breeders and veterinarains are two breeders who have written on breeding and showing (Vella and McGonagle), a geneticist (Shelton) and a practicing veterinarian (Stanglein). This book simply and directly covers the subject of genetics, incorporating the lastest scientific advances, while at the same time reflecting the practical knowledge of experienced breeders.

The whole subject of genetics is covered: principles of heredity; breeding systems and inbreeding; coat and color inheritance; color variations; breeds; and genetic anomolies. The heart of this book is the material on breeding systems and practices, and selective breeding and inbreeding. The evaluation of cats for breeding purposes and comparisons between possible mates are explored in considerable depth. The chapter on genetic anomolies is up-to-date and quite comprehensive.

The new Fourth Edition is good news for all serious fanciers. Not only does it continue Robinson's work, it actually makes the best guide to feline genetics better!

There is alot of god info in between, and the book i a must if you have the first 2 books.

The "new" strains in the book could in my opinion have been better selected.

An excellent, comprehensive encyclopaedia of the variety of marijuana available around the world. For anyone (especially here in CA, where medical cannabis is legal) who has access to purchasing pot, this is a serious guide book -- attractively designed, with ample color photos for identification of dozens of strains. Valuable and fascinating.

As a llama owner that is always looking for more information I found the first half of this book to be very interesting. However the last protion of the book got into a lot of personal beliefs of the author and was a complete waste of time. I could care less about her belief in psychics as well as her dreams. There are a lot better books on llamas I would suggest you save your money and shop for other books.

I really enjoyed reading this book.It was loaded with practical information and a lot of the authors personal insights.I would suggest this book to anyone interested in this subject.