Pretty well actually. Mr. Dibra is well-known dog trainer himself, and to be honest about it, his book does offer a couple of advantages over "Paws" (although it feels slightly treasonous to me to say that...)To begin with, his breed listing contains more breeds than does "Paws" (over 160 compared to 147) and some may also find his straight alphabetical listing easier to use than the by lifestyle approach used by Brian and Sarah. Okay, no more comparisons to "Paws" or mentioning of other dog trainers...

Mr. Dibra does all dog lovers a favor by listing in his dog "groups" (or types in this case) the most common of all breeds/types/ call it what you will...the common everyday mutt. And along those lines he echoes the feelings of other noted "dog people" that the potential new dog owner not be fooled by the current fad of matching one breed or another to a poodle, calling it a "something-a-poo" (cockapoo, pekeapoo, whatever) and billing it as a new breed. They not. Period. Cute, yes, adorable without a doubt, but folks, these guys are just plain mutts. Don't pay pure breed prices for a mix.

"Your Dream Dog" also deserves applause for mentioning that your dream dog maybe one of those unfortunates abandoned at the shelter. Yes you can get pure breds there too, and the number of dogs (and cats) that are killed each year in this country is nothing short of criminal.

More credit must be given to Mr. Dibra for including the "puppy temperment test", a more or less standard test used to be the right puppy for you out of a liter, mentioned in dog books by..er...other dog book authors. (See? No names.)

Other pluses includ what to have ready when your new puppy comes home, something so many of us forget, until you raise a frantic shout "Oh my god, I forgot to get...(what?") He also lists activties that you can share with your dog, (and there are a lot of them) and the fact that your dream puppy may be and need not be a puppy at all. Adult dogs can and do bond to their new owners. Our own West Highland White Terrier( ada "Westie), Sally, was five when we got her, and it has been a great match-up.

So what is wrong with the book? Well, a few things, minor for the most part. The brief breed description are a little too brief, especially in regard to the diseases that various breeds are subject too. Mitral Valve Disorder is listed as a problem for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, with no mention that this problem is a real killer in these cute little fellows. The national breed assocation for the Cavvy estimates that as many as 50% of the dogs may have this. Breeders are working hard on curing the problem, but starting out so far behind is real handicap. Skin allegeies are real problem, especially in summer for Westies and their owners, but this is not even mentioned in the breed description, although it is in the appendixes dealing with medical problems, but the potential owner of these dogs would not know that without specifally looking for it.

Which brings me to what I think is the major flaw in "Your Dream Dog." There is no index. I was actually more than a little surprised to see that, since this is a book intended to be used, and used hard. It's not fair to blame Mr. Dibra for this of course, but someone sure dropped the ball here.

Still the book is a worthwhile additon to a dog-lovers library. "Your Dream Dog" doesn't merely lecture, it teaches. All dog trainers, breeders what have you, will agree that research in arugably the most important of the first steps in getting your canine companion and this book will be a good one to begin your search.

Would have given it a 5, but since, you know, there ain't no-stinking-index, I took away a point, (actually a half, but Amazon won't let me do that) for a score of 4 1/2