Books to help kids train their pets -- National Dog Day is tomorrow!

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you know tomorrow (August 26th) is National Dog Day? National Cat Day is October 29th and January is National Train Your Dog Month. In honor of these "holidays" I am going to share two books from National Geographic Kids about training dogs and cats. Since tomorrow is National Dog Day we will start with Fetch! A How to Speak Dog Training Guide by Aubre Andrus and Gary Weitzman, D.V.M. 

Both books start with an introduction to co-author Dr. Gary. He is a veterinarian and president of the San Diego Humane Society. Next they introduce a dog and why one might want to train his or her dog. Then Dr. Gary talks about dogs and how to read their body language. Next there is a mandatory chapter about training and how the rules to doing it to keep both yourself and your dog safe. Then come the fun chapters about how to train and teach your dog different things from sit to tricks. 

Now if you are like me and don't own a dog but own cats our next book is for you. It is Pounce! A How to Speak Cat Training Guide by Tracey West and Gary Weitzman, D.V.M. This book starts in the same way and is really set up exactly the same except it is about cats and not dogs. There is also not much about the history of training cats like the dog book has. However it explains how to use a clicker training tool and teaches a kid to train his or her cat to get in the cat carrier, to come as well as other fun tricks. 

What I love about these books is that it is easy to read and follow and is written to the targeted audience, grades 3 to 7. They both also suggest that training by kids always be observed by an adult to make sure both child and pet are safe. The training sessions seem easy to follow and I know many kids who would love to have the ability to train their pets. Do you? These books are done in a responsible way and are full of wonderful information about the animals as well as safety in the training process. Plus they are National Geographic Kids books so they are full of fun photographs of dogs and cats respectively. 

I hope you will check out these fun books and have your child(ren) give training your family pet a try. And if you don't have a family pet, perhaps you will enjoy seeing the photos of dogs all over the internet tomorrow! For more books about cats and dogs be sure to check out these posts: Breeds, Fun Facts about Cats, Books about Dogs, Pet Books, Dog Science, and Animal Picture Books.  Happy National Dog Day!