ISBN: 1-884330-09-6

Publisher:   BJ Spanos Ink

As a person brought up around dogs, I have always had a deep passion for these wonderful animals. The canines I know have a fairly easy life - a leisurely walk twice a day followed by a large hearty meal and finally a snooze by the fire or even on the bed!

Their life is fairly uncomplicated, casual and workless. However it is easy to forget that this type of living is not always the same with every dog.

Schutzhund, a dog sport developed in Germany in the early 1900s, is a training that is applied to popular working dogs - German Shepherds mainly. This magnificent book illustrates this dog sport so well with its simply stunning photography and insight.

As soon as I began this I was captured - like these authors say simple summaries just do not describe the close bond between handler and dog as well as photographs do. That is why BJ and her partner Peter have composed this excellent book to help demonstrate this sport for what it is.

They have chosen to focus on the day-to-day preparations of Schutzhund and less on the competitive side as really that is only the tip of the iceberg. The training is possibly the most important part - participants are known to spend thousands of hours with their dogs and each other on the training field. With many groups and clubs across the United States, it is clear it is a popular sport and a very enjoyable one too.

In this graphic book of 370 outstanding photographs, there are a total of nine chapters divided into sections from tracking, obedience and protection through to playtime. Yes that’s right even these hardworking dogs enjoy a play every now and again.

I find German Shepherds an amazing breed and these photographs really prove that. What fine, handsome dogs they are!

Toward the end of this book we have The Faces of Schutzhund to really show the beauty of these gorgeous creatures. The picture on page 173 of a dog’s face covered in flakes of snow is just stunning. Who says dogs are not judged on their looks?  These canines are too beautiful to just describe, get this and see for yourself!

Of course this book isn’t just full of pictures of magnificence, it is mainly to show us just how clever, intelligent and skilful working dogs can be when trained by the sport of Schutzhund.

The photographs show the step-by-step phases ( tracking which uses the dog’s keen sense of smell and also obedience skills which include heeling, jumping hurdles, scaling walls and retrieving dumbbells) so you really can get a good idea what is involved if you are a dog owner and fancy a go at this sport yourself. Or you may just be a big lover of animals like myself and savour each page and the intellectual side of these dogs too as illustrated in this book.

I cannot express how wonderful this book is but will say it is an excellent introduction to this sport with colourful photographs taken by professional and amateur photographers alike. Also there are some photographs from Europe too. If you weren’t inspired before you looked through this collection - you certainly will be once you have!

Words are simply not enough to convey what a wonderful collection of photographs are inside this book and would look so great on your coffee table. The dogs inside, one word -  beautiful! I just completely fell in love with them.

A wonderful book in every way.                

The above review was contributed by: Jessica Roberts:  Jessica is a book reviewer for a local newspaper and has reviewed for a national women's magazine too. She has had various articles published in magazines and has now completed her novel. Jessica currently lives in West Yorkshire and enjoys walking in the dales and woodlands as part of her hobby as well as, of course, reviewing books. To read more of Jessica's reviews  CLICK HERE