This Dog For Hire

Winner of the Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel: In the first book of Carol Lea Benjamin’s acclaimed mystery series, Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her loyal pit bull must find a killer and a missing show dog Divorced dog trainer–turned–private-eye Rachel Alexander and her canine assistant Dash—short for Dashiell—are hired by a man named Dennis Keaton to investigate the hit-and-run death of his friend and neighbor Clifford Cole, whose body was found on an isolated Christopher Street pier. The police are treating the gay painter’s suspicious death as a hate crime, but Dennis insists Cliff hadn’t cruised the waterfront in months. Plus, Magritte, Cliff’s champion basenji—a competitor in the upcoming Westminster Dog Show—may have been a witness to the crime and is now missing. The search for answers takes Rachel and Dash from the SoHo art scene to the most famous dog show in America. Now Rachel is in the sights of a killer hunting her across a treacherous urban landscape. There’s no one she can trust—especially not of the two-legged variety. This Dog for Hire is the 1st book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A Greenwich Village PI and her pit bull hunt down killers in these three smart, witty mysteries from a Shamus Award winner. In This Dog for Hire, the debut of New York private detective Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash—short for Dashiell—a hit-and-run leaves a local painter dead and his show dog, a basenji, temporarily missing. After cracking that case, Rachel and Dash return in The Dog Who Knew Too Much to investigate a t’ai chi teacher’s fatal leap from a window. Rachel suspects there’s more involved, as the woman would never have left her beloved Akita behind. Rounding out the collection is A Hell of a Dog, in which Rachel, a former dog trainer herself, must find out who’s killing off trainers at a professional gathering at a posh New York City hotel. With comparisons to the mysteries of Laurien Berenson and Susan Conant, these novels—with “excellent” writing and a “nice touch of humor”—are an involving, atmospheric read for fans of strong female PIs, especially those with furry sidekicks (Library Journal).

'Britain's top dog whisperer... a canine-human Esther Perel' The Observer Wouldn't you love to know what your dog was thinking? The truth is that your dog is communicating with you all the time but, unless you know the signs, you aren't picking up on what your dog wants you to know. Louise Glazebrook is a dog behaviourist, trainer and television presenter who specialises in teaching people how to understand and connect with their dogs. In The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read, Louise tackles everything from bringing the right dog home, understanding body language and breed behaviour, responding to common behavioural issues, to the toys and games that you and your dog will both love. Most dog trainers focus on the dog, but Louise focuses on you, the owner, giving you the skills and confidence to interpret your dog's needs and behaviour and build a better, happier relationship for life.

"Carol Lea Benjamin is the finest writer about dogs we have today." Job Michael Evans, former Monk of New Skete and author of the best-selling How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend Dog Training in 10 Minutes is Carol Lea Benjamin's dog-training book for the 1990s, geared specifically for people short on time but long on intention. Chapters cover: * How to Know What Your Dog Is Feeling * Teaching via Praise and Correction * The Bare Minimum (Sit; Give Your Paw; Housetraining; How to Stop Your Dog from Pulling) * Ten Secrets of Problem Correction * Ten Ways to Play There's even a "Ten Minute Work-Out" to do before leaving your dog alone a great way to calm and satisfy your dog. With its down-to-earth style, practical advice and emphasis on the dog-owner relationship, Dog Training in 10 Minutes is sure to follow in the wildly successful paw prints of Carol's other books: Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog: Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence; Second Hand Dog: How to Turn Yours into a First-Rate Pet; Dog Problems; Dog Tricks (with Captain Arthur Haggerty); Dog Training for Kids; and The Chosen Puppy: How to Select and Raise a Great Puppy from an Animal Shelter A Howell Dog Book of Distinction

"Benjamin's plain speech and charming cartoons disguise a first-rate writer absolutely determined to improve the quality of each human/dog relationship."—Dog World First-time dog owners may be overwhelmed by advice from a seemingly endless array of experts. Acclaimed dog trainer Carol Lea Benjamin breaks the dog training process into manageable chunks, providing straightforward advice on all aspects of puppy training, behavior, and play. Benjamin's advice is based on the most current research on dog thinking and communication, and each tip in the book is accompanied by a cartoon, which illustrates an instantly recognizable situation common to dog owners and provides easy-to-understand solutions. Benjamin's visual format, essentials-only text, and generous use of humor make See Spot Sit a perfect choice for anyone who wants to learn to better appreciate, communicate with, and understand his or her canine companion. 101 color illustrations.

Contains two mysteries in one book. "This Dog for Hire" and "The Dog Who Knew Too Much" will introduce you to Rachel Alexander, a private investigator with a truly formidable partner -- a pit bull named Dashiell. In "This Dog for Hire" Rachel and Dash track down the killer and his missing pet. In "The Dog Who Knew Too Much," David and Marsha Jacobs refuse to believe that their daughter Lisa's death was a suicide. They hire Rachel Alexander to investigate.

Someone is killing off the great dog trainers of the world—and it’s up to PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, to collar the murderer Rachel has just been hired as undercover security at a dog-training symposium at a posh Manhattan hotel. How can the Greenwich Village PI and her pit bull, Dashiell, turn down the hefty fee, plus free room and biscuits at the Ritz? All Rachel has to do is keep the peace among the competitive diva dog trainers who have come with their prize pooches from all corners of the globe. She and Dash have barely infiltrated the festivities when they find out that one of the trainers, the self-proclaimed guru of a controversial obedience technique, has been electrocuted in his bathtub. The cops are calling it an accident. Until another trainer dies . . . and then another. With suspects including a dog psychic and a behaviorist to the stars, Rachel discovers that it’s the humans who need to be housebroken as she and Dash bring a serial killer to heel. A Hell of a Dogis the 3rd book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The Hiring Handbook for Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers will take you through every aspect of the hiring process - from finding the right people, to effectively managing them, to knowing what to do if it's time to let them go. This book has all the information you need to succeed with pet business hiring!