Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs

Tender Paws is a book that applies therapeutic parenting best practices to dogs in our care, offering practical benefits and insights for dog owners. It was a finalist in the Animals/Pets/Nature category of the IAN Book of the Year Awards. The book explores parallels between human and canine research, attachment styles, history of trauma, parenting styles, and the author's own "inner child" to provide a mindful path for pet parenting. It offers a synthesis of the fields of child development, attachment, trauma, sensory integration, neurobiology, learning, animal behavior, and ethology, as well as a problem-solving framework to make dog training decisions clearer and behavior frustrations easier to resolve. It also provides parenting wisdom to help dogs move beyond trauma and into wellness.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 18 July 2024
Publisher: Health Communications

Tender Paws takes a deep dive into the practical benefits of applying therapeutic parenting best practices to dogs in our care. Finalist in the Animals/Pets/Nature category of the IAN Book of the Year Awards, Wendy Lyons Sunshine's book explores how strategies for raising happy, well-adjusted kids can transfer to puppies. From the first try, parenting wisdom transformed Sunshine's relationship with her challenging little one, shifting her view of her puppy from one of adversity to one of compassion and understanding. She was able to bring patience and therapeutic concepts to meet her dog's needs. When Sunshine reached out to experts, they affirmed that science-based principles used with at-risk children align well with best practices of holistic, positive, and progressive dog handling. Exploring parallels between human and canine research, attachment styles, history of trauma, parenting styles, and her own "inner child" proved a mindful path for pet parenting. Far from a standard dog training manual, Tender Paws explicitly applies parenting wisdom and best practices used with special needs kids to a cross-section of scenarios, from recognizing developmental trauma and unmet core needs to making decisions about appropriate equipment to responding to difficult behavior to understanding the parenting style from which we approach our dogs. Sunshine empowers you and your dog by offering a synthesis of the fields of child development, psychology, and dog training.
Tender Paws is a groundbreaking book that explores the practical benefits of applying therapeutic parenting best practices to dogs in our care. Finalist in the Animals/Pets/Nature category of the IAN Book of the Year Awards, Wendy Lyons Sunshine's book offers a unique perspective on dog training and care. As a child development expert, Sunshine struggled to find effective training guides for her challenging puppy, who was abandoned behind a gas station and suffering from worms and anemia. She turned to her work helping world-class child development experts and discovered that strategies for raising happy, well-adjusted kids can transfer to puppies. The book explores the parallels between human and canine research, attachment styles, history of trauma, parenting styles, and the author's own "inner child" to provide a mindful path for pet parenting. Tender Paws goes beyond a standard dog training manual by explicitly applying parenting wisdom and best practices used with special needs kids to a cross-section of scenarios, from recognizing developmental trauma and unmet core needs to making decisions about appropriate equipment to responding to difficult behavior to understanding the parenting style from which we approach our dogs. Sunshine empowers you and your dog by offering a synthesis of the fields of child development, psychology, and dog training.

Weight: 396g
Dimension: 139 x 215 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780757324956