Susan Overfield - New website & blog

aahhtt.com

Susan Overfield has moved www.overfieldkennel.com to aahhtt.com - Bark Outloud a new dog information blog, products, free online & subscription newsletter Psych-O Analysis. Follow Overfield on Twitter and Facebook

Come visit, learn, participate, read book reviews, dog behavior tips and more...

Saturday Dogs for Christmas

What If ONE Saturday Could Change Your Dog's Life Forever?

Discover how to have an amazing relationship with your dog through

the true and heart-warming stories in "Saturday Dogs...and the Owners They Trained"

Imagine, changing the way you think and making your relationship with your dog richer and more rewarding. Here's your opportunity to get the book that has owners laughing out loud and dogs happily wagging their tails, and for only $16.95.

You can give your dog the Christmas gift that will last a lifetime.

Just go to www.overfieldkennel.com and click on the picture of Saturday Dogs

(available in book & download format)

or call 1-800-658-4889

and we'll happily take your order

* *Due to temporary limitations in the shopping cart, all multiple book orders by a customer will be shipped to a single address. If you wish to send books as gifts to an address other than your own please call or email us to place your order* *

If you have ever wanted the best life for your dog, then this 266 page book for $16.95

will help you achieve that dream.

Here's what reviewers have to say about this absolutely wonderful book:

FUN, INFORMATIVE, FUNNY AND A DELIGHT TO READ. Saturday Dogs and the Owners They Trained, by Susan Overfield is a wonderful read for any dog owner or dog lover...a delightful book which is not only fun and an absolute hoot to read, it is also packed with good sound information and advice as to how to train, and indeed, live with your dog...absolutely hilarious at times. There is no doubt after reading just a few pages that this lady knows what she is doing. Her keen sense of humor shines through on almost ever page. I found myself chuckling often and indeed laughing out loud several times...She has the skill and knowledge of animal behavior and the developed, workable techniques to help the dog, and just as importantly, the owner, which I found to be most helpful and educational...Even on the off chance that you learn absolutely nothing, it is still a great read! Highly recommend this one." D. Blankenship, Amazon Reviewer

A person and his loving and trusting companion "Saturday Dogs" recommends how owners and dogs can reshape their relationship into what it should be - that of a person and his loving and trusting companion. "Saturday Dogs... and the Owners They Trained" is a top pick for community library pet collections and for dog lovers in general. Midwest Book Review

You don’t have to be a dog-owner (let alone, be trying to ride herd on a three-month-old Weimaraner puppy) to appreciate the humor and acuity of Susan Overfield’s book...Saturday Dogs, named after participants in the author’s many Saturday obedience classes, offers engaging, funny and often poignant anecdotes about our canine companions and our often misguided and sometimes damaging attempts to manage them...I closed the last page, growled a firm “aaahtt” to Minnie as she was joyfully unraveling the rattan from my chair, and vowed to be a better communicator, for my dogs’ sake. Kristi Niemeyer, Lively Times

Susan Overfield makes a distinction between dog trainers and dog handlers, people who understand dogs, dog behavior and dog pack dynamics, and can work with dogs in a way that the dogsunderstand intimately and immediately. Overfield is the latter, and it is that knowledge and understanding she brings to training...Saturday Dogs isn't a classic dog-training manual. Rather, it's a book about the method Overfield uses to help owners understand and work with their dogs. Each chapter tells the story of one dog (or pack of dogs) and owner, and how Overfield helped them become a well-adjusted team...While many training manuals are dust-dry and boring, Overfield's writing is engaging and funny; she has a knack for story-telling. Her behavioral analyses and explanations are presented in a clear, straightforward manner... I would absolutely recommend her book to dog owners... Mark Oxbrow, Rambles

We all know book reviews are great...but what do real dog owners think of "Saturday Dogs"?

They all LOVE it...

"This is an awesome book. Susan has helped myself and my dog beyond what you can imagine!!" T.L.

"Great book! I opened it to glance through when it was delivered and didn’t put it down until I had read the whole thing." L.H.

"A most excellent book--not only entertaining, but worthwhile information for any dog owner." A. K.

"A wonderful book and insightful about the mind of a dog and how people often misread their own pet’s behavior. Can’t wait for the next book!" T. G.

"I loved Susan Overfield’s book, Saturday Dogs. I would highly recommend this book (and I have) to anyone, whether or not you own dogs. The first two dogs in the book described my dogs exactly. Great book." N. Z.

"Saturday Dogs...are the stories that everyone of us has experienced with our pets. Each story is a real life, different behavior problem that shows what great changes the dog can achieve when humans understand dogs and adjust their communication and actions. It's a joy to read, full of common sense, fun and funny, and since I changed how I am with my dog, he is so much happier. I can see it in his eyes and behavior. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." E.M.

I’ve read your book, my daughter borrowed it and read it as well. I think EVERY dog owner should read it. I wish EVERY dog owner could meet you, learn your methods and help EVERY dog out there. Maybe then we would no longer need rescues. I look forward to such a day. A WONDERFUL book. C.S

Reader Rating (Barnes & Noble) ~~

All you dog lovers out there pour yourselves a glass of wine, settle in by the fireplace and enjoy this delightful book. Overfield's vignettes from her years of dog training are irresistibly hilarious, witty and poignant. Her love of dogs and shrewd understanding of the canine and human psyches is evident in every page...Can't wait for a sequel...

Listen to Susan - She knows Dogs. The anecdotes in 'Saturday Dogs' recreate, in a most helpful way, problems others have had and how she helped correct 'the dogs and their people!' Susan entertains, instructs, counsels, and encourages dog owners as she shares her expertise.

I learned to have greater respect for animal intelligence after reading Susan Overfield's book. Clarity, consistency, immediate response and effective use of the voice is the key to your dog's good behavior and contentment (it works on children too!) Not only will you learn something, but it's a great read. The stories that precede each chapter are touching, hilariously funny,and sometimes filled with empathy and pathos. If you loved 'All Creatures Great and Small', you will also love 'Saturday Dogs'!

There is hope for even the most unruly K-9. Susan has saved more relationships between owners and pets, the proof is in the reading! Sit down and enjoy,you will laugh as you realize you are not alone with your 'problem child'. There is hope--there is Susan Overfield!

Susan Overfield has an amazing insight into the behavior of our canine companions. She doesn't care a bit about our excuses for why we allow problem behavior to continue, her only concern is the health and well-being of our relationships with our pets--and she is not afraid to let us know about it. This book is not a 'how-to' so much as a dog expert sharing her knowledge of canine psychology, which ultimately gives the reader his or her own starting point for building a great relationship with that special furry someone.

Susan Overfield has done a great job on this book. It taught me a lot about about dogs and how they think. I laughed so hard throughout this book that I had to have my tissue box next to me while I read. I have SEEN dogs do these funny things she talks about. I have also been doing a lot of the things she says to do, and IT WORKS!! I can't wait for my parents to finish reading it so I can loan it to another friend I have with a dog. I will definitely tell more people about the book.

Susan Overfield does an outstanding job of relaying her stories of both dog and owner in this hard-to-put down, laugh-out-loud book. Every time I picked up the book, I got so absorbed, I felt like I was out there with them on a Saturday morning in Montana. Highly Recommended.

Here's your opportunity to get the book that has owners laughing out loud and dogs happily wagging their tails, and for only $16.95.

Also available for Great Falls residents at

Hastings Books

Barnes & Noble Books

BOSS Dog Clinic, American Brittany Rescue Fund-raiser

ABR is sponsoring a fund-raiser

BOSS Dog Clinic
(Behavioral-Obedience Skills Seminar)

Instructor: Susan Overfield
Nationally known for her BOSS Dog Clinics and her method of behavioral-obedience training and author of "Saturday Dogs...and the owners they trained" www.overfieldkennel.com

*Note: Susan's clinics fill up quickly, so please register early if you want to guarantee a spot. My
contact information is below. Thank you, Dave Powers, MT Co-Ordinator, ABR

Morning Session: Dog psychology seminar,
This is a 2-hour seminar discussing the emotional, physical, social and mental development of dogs and their behavioral and psychological responses to stimuli within their immediate environment. How humans create misbehavior, phobias and unintentional problems through their miscommunication and actions with their dogs. For humans ONLY. Cost $50 per person

Full-Day: Psychology seminar & Behavioral-Obedience
Dog Psychology Seminar in the morning and the afternoon devoted to applied-behavioral
obedience for a maximum of 25 dogs and owners who must have attended the morning session.
The afternoon concentrates on communication and basic behavioral-obedience. Owners and
their dogs work with Susan Overfield in order to learn how to implement the psychological and
behavioral skills discussed in the morning session. This is NOT a theory/lecture class,
this is a hands-on class for owners and dogs. Cost $100 per dog/handler

SATURDAY 14, JUNE 2008

9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Gallatin County Fairgrounds
901 North Black
Bozeman MT

For more information, or to register for Morning or Full-Day Clinic, please contact:
Dave Powers bowhunter1955@msn.com or call: (406) 222-6847
Susan Overfield stockdog@3riversdbs.net or call (406) 868-5121

Dog Gone Walk 2008

Dog Gone Walk 2008

Dog Gone Walk 2008 will be a walk benefitting Cut Bank Animal Shelter on Sunday, May 4th, 2008. Dogs and their owners made our last walk an event to remember. We look forward to the Dog Gone Walk 2008. Dog Gone Walk 2008 is a walk benefitting Cut Bank Animal Shelter. Sunday, May 4, 2008. The walk is a 1.5 mile flat walk. 2:00 p.m. Registration on the south side of A.J. Park, next to the tennis courts on the northwest side of Cut Bank. 3:00 p.m. Start on the south side of A.J. Park, next to the tennis courts on the northwest side of Cut Bank. Humans and canines are welcome. Pets receive bandanas. Pet owners are responsible for cleaning up after & maintaining control of their pets. All dogs must be leashed. Aggressive dogs & dogs in heat should not participate. Entry fee=$5.00 per dog/walker; $10.00 per family We will be selling various items ranging from $2.50 to $50.00. Various sizes of Furminator-dog grooming comb; Magnetic Rescue Ribbons; Clickers; Stuffed Squeaky Toys; Cat/Dog Beds and carriers; Spay/Neuter Tote Bags and Beanie Babies. Bring your wallet or checkbook and support a worthy cause - your Animal Shelter and the animals that pass through on a daily basis. In the last four years, Cut Bank Animal Shelter has had 560 animals pass through our doors. All funds are donated to the Cut Bank Animal Shelter Medical Fund and are a tax free donation, you will receive a tax receipt. Come join the celebration of another Dog Obedience Class graduation and our 1st Dog Walk of the year. We'll see you there.

Saturday Dogs...and the owners they trained

Ditching Treats, Choke Chains, and Shock Collars

New book gives remarkable insight
to dog behavior and the mistakes owners make

Though the recent history of dog training suggests otherwise, treats, choke chains, and shock collars ignore what makes a dog a dog.

In fact, the overuse of such stimuli in combination with owner ignorance has created generations of hyperactive, disobedient dogs, some of whom are put to death.

In her critically acclaimed book, Saturday Dogs...and the owners they trained, Susan Overfield outlines her proven training approach, focusing on behavior and social identity in a relationship-oriented way.

Written in the spirit of James Herriott, Overfield's book is an anecdotal manual that examines common mistakes owners make in the realm of dog behavior.

Overfield's unique insight to both man and dog focuses on the stress and misery caused by insecure owners. Her stories focus on clients with common behavioral problems that cause their animals to jump, pull, lick, and bite.

Her method trains the owner to see their dog for what it is (a dog) and analyzes how the behavior and response of both parties results in either joy or abject misery.

Written for any owner who has ever been trained by a dog, Saturday Dogs opens the door to a relationship with long-term stability within the behavioral, psychological, emotional and social parameters of man's best friend.

Praise for Saturday Dogs

"...Susan Overfield's work is noteworthy...she focuses our attention on the dog's behavioral properties, on its social identity...her contribution is to remind us that...successfully living with a dog is not a process of rewards and punishments, it is a relationship..."

Stewart Hilliard, PhD, one of the world's leading authorities on canine psychology, behavior and training, co-author of Schutzhund: Theory and Training Methods

"The wonderful stories are the stories my rescue dogs have experienced...because of the wealth of common-sense information, the dogs and I now communicate easily...this knowledge has literally saved dogs' lives."
David Powers, Montana coordinator, American Brittany Rescue

Softcover
$16.95

ISBN: 0-980-2199-5-7

Available immediately from
Overfield Kennel.com
MuddyCreekPublishing.com

Available May 2008 through Barnes and Noble, Amazon and other fine book dealers

Great Falls develops parameters for Baker

I understand that the City sat down and developed parameters for Ms. Baker, the investigator.
How can one investigate if there are parameters? I would like to address Ms. Baker in the following letter:

Ms. Baker:

We, the citizens, would ask that you investigate everything. Speak to everyone involved. We would ask that you realize that the City Commission and Mr. Lawton ARE the Board of the Animal Shelter, and as such, will, in all probability, develop "parameters" that shy away from certain of their behaviors.

Here are some issues we would like investigated, please:

1) Cashing of HSCC checks without their authorization
2) Hiring of an unqualified individual as Director of the Animal Shelter
3) Acts of cruelty by Shelter staff
4) Negligence and lack of oversight by the Board of the Animal Shelter, which is comprised of City Commissioners and Mr. Lawton, which resulted in this investigation
5) Involvement by that same board with the Animal Foundation of Great Falls and the intended purpose of the original take-over and future "hand-off" of the shelter to the AFGF or its sub-group which resulted in this investigation
6) The amount of money spent by the City on the Shelter to date
7) The purported claim by the City that over 70% of the Staton Report requirements for Shelter improvement has been met by the City since taking over the facility.
8) The shut-down of the foster-home program
9) The number of animals killed to date within the Shelter
10) The lack of records kept for public inspection (violation of MCA)
11) The exact amount and types, i.e., fines, licenses, etc., of monies collected by the Shelter and City to date, and to whom they were funneled i.e., the Animal Foundation, Spay of the Falls, back into the Shelter or into other City accounts
12) The qualifications of the personnel currently writing policies and procedures for the Shelter
13) The intent by the current Shelter director to eliminate specific animal-related duties, such as temporarily caring for certain wild animals until such time as they can be handed off to another authority.
14) The lack by shelter personnel & board to ensure performance of their duties, i.e., collection of licensing fees, inspection of commercial kennels/pet stores and subsequent reissuing of annual licenses, education programs for the public, adoption fees, etc.

Thank you and we await your report,

The Concerned Citizens

Great Falls HAS a dog park

Interesting the information one finds that isn't public knowledge. Once found, one asks why ISN'T this public knowledge?

Great Falls HAS a dog park. It's Wadsworth Park, though it's not termed a "dog park".

It's owned by the City of Great Falls, and it is just outside the City limits. You may run your dog there off-leash. John Thompson, City Forester, run HIS dog there. The City even has a development plan for Wadsworth.

Here's what I find interesting. It's free. Tax dollars are already paying for it. So why did the City keep the information quiet?

Perhaps it's so the Animal Foundation could PR their way into a dog park which would make them look good, especially in light of the fact they've done nothing else with the money we've donated.

I can see another reason why Dona Stebbins and the Foundation haven't told people about the park. The people MOST interested in a Animal Foundation dog park have the LEAST control over the behavior of their dogs. (Lattes, cell phones and poorly behaved dogs, yep- really makes me want to take my dog there.) By creating a FENCED dog park, the Animal Foundation has simply created a big backyard for the owners that can't keep their dogs off-leash behavior in line in the real world.

A very good example of the type of dog and owner which one will find utilizing the Animal Foundation dog park is here. (Since many won't purchase this archived blog, let me quote it as I used it in my newsletter as a perfect example of WHY DOG PARKS ARE A BAD IDEA.)

"The first time we took Bailey to the dog park, we kept him on leash for awhile. Much like parents sending their kids off to kindergarten, we weren't sure if Bailey would make friends (or if he'd return when called)...Bailey can be aggressively playful, ready to wrestle whether other dogs like it or not. He seems to get along with dogs that either let him run the show or that like to wrestle as much as he does. Samba was neither...Within seconds of the initial sniff test she had Bailey pinned to the ground and her teeth were inches from Bailey's neck...After that, my husband wouldn't let Bailey play with other dogs--unless they were pocket pooches or labs (sic). I guess his logic is that all labs (sic) are nice and Bailey could squash even a really mean mini dog." (Kim Skornogoski, Aug 7, 2007, Dog Blog, Great Falls Tribune)

Let's recap:

The Animal Foundation, because they don't have enough money to erect their Taj Mahal of shelters and has pushed a dog park because it wants to have good PR.

Dona Stebbins, (Spay of the Falls, Mayor of Great Falls, and part of the Animal Foundation,) doesn't inform the public of this City park. Why? In order to continue funneling money to her personal projects? Because she's noted for not telling the citizens much? Because she & her dog can't correctly utilize this park's off-leash abilities?

City Parks & Rec isn't announcing this park, either. Could this be because they follow the orders of the Commission and the Commission has created a closed-door deal with the Animal Foundation?

Not the Mayor, the Commissioners, nor the Animal Foundation have done a single thing for the animals in the shelter, but they certainly have supported the idea of a dog park under the auspices of the Foundation, with the help of development by Melanie Lattin (city employee and Foundation board member).

If we have an off-leash park where dogs may run and play, why do we need the Animal Foundation's dog park? Why do we need them to waste ANY money on another playground for dogs while what is truly needed is a realistic, workable shelter?

Why are they trying to us sell political swill as bouillabaisse?