Pets

Want to learn a lot about dog training while enjoying a lovely little read? Pick up a copy of Carol Lea Benjamin's "See Spot Sit: 101 Illustrated Tips for Training the Dog You Love" (Skyhorse Publishing, $11). It probably should instead be subtitled "101 really sneaky ways to get people to train their dogs without realizing it."

"Wow," I thought as I read it, "I bet (name redacted to protect the guilty) wouldn't even know I was sending her a dog-training book if I gave her this, and it might finally make her get why her dogs have so many behavior problems."

And then it struck me: Everyone should read this little book of dog cartoons, because it slips in its sensible, humane, effective message with such gentle humor that before you catch on, you'll find yourself nodding, smiling and reaching for a dog cookie to see if your dog, too, will do what's shown in the book.

It's funny and it's cheerful. And it's neither rooted in outdated training concepts nor is so firmly allied with any single school of training that it will get anyone's resistance up or lead owners astray (no choke chains, no "alpha rolls," but also, no clicker-training). It's just subtle enticement down the path of teaching you how to communicate with your dog so that the two of you don't get into trouble.

All of that is wrapped up in a little stacked-by-the-cash-register paperback package -- which means anyone you give it to will just think it's a witty little book of dog doodles. That's so deviously smart!